USC’s Banks Is Demoted, Leaves Team

Forward Calvin Banks, squeezed out of the starting lineup when Coach George Raveling switched to a three-guard alignment, has left the USC basketball team for an indefinite period, Raveling said Monday.

A 6-foot-6 senior from Toledo, Ohio, Banks started 25 of 28 games for the Trojans last season, averaging 6.2 points and 5.1 rebounds. But after starting in USC’s first two games this season, Banks was moved to a reserve role to make room in the starting lineup for junior guard Duane Cooper. Banks played only 26 minutes in USC’s next two games and didn’t play Saturday in a 74-67 victory over Colorado State at Ft. Collins, Colo.

“It’s always a traumatic experience when you go from being a starter to not playing at all,” Raveling said. “I certainly can empathize with Calvin on this, but at the same time, my (job) is to do what I think is best for the team and to put the team in position to win. Sometimes, when you make difficult decisions like that, people are disappointed.”

Raveling said he hoped that Banks would return to the team.