USC Opens Season Against Prairie View Tonight

USC’s basketball team opens its season against Prairie View A&M; tonight at 8 at the Sports Arena.

What does USC Coach George Raveling hope to accomplish?

“I’d like to get a win and just get a feel for how far along we’ve come and how far along we have to go,” Raveling said.

Prairie View returns all five starters from a team that compiled an 11-16 record. Guard Michael Ervin averaged a team-high 12.9 points last season and guard Lamar Holt averaged 11.3 points and 6.3 assists.

USC will open with Ronnie Coleman and Calvin Banks at forward, Chris Munk at center and guards Robert Pack and Harold Miner.

A 6-5 freshman from Inglewood High, where he averaged 29.5 points and 10.5 rebounds, Miner is the first freshman to start a USC season-opener since Bob Erbst in 1986.

“Our expectations of him are pretty high but his expectations of himself are pretty high,” Raveling said.

A transfer from Tyler (Tex.) Junior College, Pack played well in USC’s two exhibition games. He had a game-high seven assists last weekend in the Trojans’ 83-78 win over Nosso, a Brazilian club.

The Trojans open Pacific-10 conference play against Washington State on Thursday night at Pullman, Wash.

“It’s not the most ideal of circumstances but it’s what the league dictates, so we’re goingto have to do it,” Raveling said.