Parker Will Get Rid of ‘Interim’ : College basketball: USC will name him its 19th basketball coach today.

At USC’s season-ending basketball banquet two weeks ago, interim Coach Charlie Parker made a blunder when introducing Athletic Director Mike Garrett as Mike McGee, the Trojans’ former athletic director.

“I hope you still hire me,” Parker said sheepishly as Garrett walked to the podium.

It appears Garrett has.

After a six-week search to fill the job, USC is expected to name Parker, 46, as its 19th men’s basketball coach today, school sources said Thursday.

Parker, who took over after the retirement of George Raveling, will reportedly be given a multiyear contract worth more than $150,000 a year.

Despite USC’s 7-21 record and last-place finish in the Pacific 10 Conference, which included a 14-game losing streak to close the season, Parker’s recruiting ability and two strong interviews with Garrett proved to be the difference, sources said.

Parker was selected after Garrett queried Utah’s Rick Majerus, Long Beach State’s Seth Greenberg, George Mason’s Paul Westhead, Duke assistant Tommy Amaker and Phil Ford, among others.

Parker took over two days before the season when Raveling, 57, resigned after suffering serious injuries in a car accident.

Parker, who was Raveling’s assistant for seven seasons, is hoping the program can rebound with personnel changes.

After losing the season finale in overtime to Oregon State, Parker said: “We can’t keep losing. The players have to change. With everybody back, I don’t know if that’s good or bad.

“We need some players who can contribute right away.”

USC has signed Damion Dawson, a guard from Long Beach Poly, and 6-foot-9 Maurice Strong of Memphis, Tenn. Strong signed scholarship papers with USC, but not a national letter of intent because he wanted to wait to see who the coach would be. He confirmed his commitment to Parker.

The status of guards Burt Harris and Claude Green and center Kirk Homenick, however, is unclear. They might not return next season.

The Trojans also could lose assistant Jack Fertig, who served as co-coach with Parker for the month while Raveling was hospitalized. He is a candidate for three coaching positions at smaller Division I programs.

Fertig’s departure would leave room for USC to add former Trojan Mack Calvin to the staff. Calvin, coach of the Mexico City Aztecas of the Continental Basketball Assn., and Parker met early this week.

Calvin did not return phone calls from Mexico City this week.

The Aztecas were 18-35 with three games remaining in the regular season in their CBA debut. Parker, 47, became an assistant to Raveling after recording a 119-56 record in five seasons at Wayne State from 1983 to 1988.