Bibby to Stay at USC

March Madness may mean the NCAA tournament to most college basketball followers, but around USC, it’s getting to mean the anticlimactic naming of a new coach.

Athletic Director Mike Garrett dropped the “interim” tag from Henry Bibby’s coaching title Friday, just as he had less than a year ago with Charlie Parker, who then was fired Feb. 7.

“This was a decision that I constantly thought about and thought about,” Garrett said. “Then on Wednesday I came to the conclusion to finalize it.

“Henry brings stability, expectation and discipline to the program, and our young people know what he stands for.”

Bibby, 46, played on three national championship teams at UCLA and has 14 years of college and pro coaching experience. Parker brought him to USC as an assistant last spring and Bibby took over as interim coach after Parker’s firing. The Trojans lost all nine games they played under his direction and finished the season 11-19 overall and 4-14 in the Pacific 10 Conference.

“This is definitely a challenge, but it’s a challenge that you want to have,” said Bibby, believed to have signed a three- or four-year deal worth $750,000. “I’ve taken a lot of giant steps just to get here. This is an opportunity that just did not happen overnight. I’ve been a lot of places. I’ve paid a lot of dues. Coaching is second nature to me. It is something that I’ve been doing 11 months out of the year for the last 10 years.”

Still, Bibby ended his interim season with a long losing streak, just as Parker had done before he was given the job last March 24. Parker lost the last 14 games of his interim season as he led the Trojans to a 7-21, 2-16 season.

“With Charlie, he was a coach that I was providing an opportunity to because I thought that in his years here [as an assistant], he had done a good job,” Garrett said. “I didn’t feel that he was absolutely ready [to coach USC]. That’s why I wanted him to have a real strong assistant [in Bibby]. We agreed on that and that’s how we came to terms. It just didn’t work out.

“This year, I’m not asking the head coach to have a strong assistant. I’m asking for him to have a staff and let’s [turn the program around].”

In his short term as interim coach, Bibby did establish himself as a coach in charge. He had to discipline players several times, suspending Avondre Jones for two games and benching both Stais Boseman and Jones for failing to meet a team requirement.

“Henry was thrown into a bad situation,” said Boseman, the Trojans’ top returning scorer for next season. “To take over a team halfway into the season with the problems we’ve had.

“He’s a good coach with a lot of experience who should be able to take the program to the next level. The thing about him is that it didn’t matter who the person was, everyone was handled equally when it came to [discipline]. . . . He did not put up with any nonsense.”

Forward Jaha Wilson also was pleased by the naming of Bibby.

“It’s better for the team, it’s better for the whole program,” said Wilson, the team’s top returning rebounder. “We won’t have to change systems again and Coach Bibby knows the game. He tells us what he demands from us and we know what he’s about. I’m glad that he got the job.”

Bibby’s first task will be getting enough players for next season. The Trojans had only four sound scholarship players for their final game and there have been rumors about transfers by sophomore Cameron Murray, who sat out the final six games for personal reasons, and freshmen Damion Dawson and Maurice Strong, who both face off-season surgery.

“Everything is going so fast,” said Strong, who acknowledged that he has considered leaving. “My first priority is getting my grades together. I don’t know about the rest.”

Bibby said that he is aware that some players may not want to return.

“I’m not looking to take anyone’s contract,” he said. “If a guy is in our program and he’s unhappy with USC or he’s unhappy with me, I will take time and sit down with the person and work to make the situation better. It’s about our student-athletes first. If we take care of them, basketball will just fall in place.”

With the first signing day for next season’s recruits April 10, Bibby plans to hire a recruiting assistant in the next two weeks. Current assistants Rob Alexander and Damaine Powell are expected to remain on staff, but Adrian Walters may not return.

“I want to surround myself with people who can help me,” Bibby said. “I’m looking at ways to make changes to make us better. We were depleted last year, so we’re looking to bring guys in who hopefully will able to play right away. Recruiting will be our top priority.”