Real Surprise Would Be Another Big Season

USC’s second-place finish in the Pacific 10 Conference and first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1992 might have surprised some, but apparently not all members of the Trojan athletic department.

“[Coach] Henry [Bibby] and I talked at the start of the season and I asked him how good we could be,” USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett said. “He said if everything went right they could finish third or fourth, behind UCLA and Arizona.

“I had seen some of the kids in workouts and I told him I thought we could do better than that.”

USC did indeed do better, finishing ahead of Arizona and in a three-way tie for second. At 17-11, the Trojans posted their best record since 1993, meaning the first season under Bibby was, at least by Garrett’s standards, satisfactory.

“A lot of people didn’t believe in us and we are happy with what we accomplished,” said Rodrick Rhodes, one of four players whose eligibility ended after Friday’s 90-77 loss to Illinois in the first round of the Southeast Regional at the Charlotte Coliseum. “Hopefully, I can come back five years and from now and hear USC talking about the Final Four. Hopefully, [seniors] David [Crouse], Jaha [Wilson], Stais [Boseman] and myself can come back and say we started all this.”

Rhodes and the three other seniors achieved a great deal, with Boseman finishing ninth on USC’s career scoring list and first in steals. Rhodes’ play late in the season may have put him into position for a chance at the NBA, and Wilson and Crouse keyed victories in the final 7-3 push that got USC into the NCAA tournament.

“They were our backbone,” junior Gary Johnson said.

All but Crouse took slowly to Bibby’s stricter ways. Boseman and Rhodes were suspended one game for breaking curfew and Wilson was held out of a game for walking out of a meeting. But once Bibby finished “breaking old habits,” USC flourished, failing to defeat only UCLA in the Pac-10.

“I hope the younger guys learn from this [year],” Wilson said. “They need to look at this as a steppingstone. Now they see how hard you have to work.”

While some believe USC will achieve as much next season, it is more likely that the 1997-98 season will be difficult one. Because the success this season came largely on the shoulders of the departing veterans, it is probably best to view this season as a last hurrah before the true rebuilding begins.

“Coach Bibby came in [after the game] and told all of us what we needed to do over the summer to get back,” Johnson said. “This is just the start.

“We’ve got some talented guys and we’ll work during the summer and try and get back [to the NCAA tournament].”

The 1997-98 Trojans are sure to have more of a Bibby look. No scholarship players will have been in the program more than a year, meaning no holdovers from the pre-Bibby era.

Freshmen Jarvis Turner and Danny Walker are the keys to the future, as are recruits Greg Lakey, likely a small forward, and point guard Kevin Augustine. USC also hopes it can sign a much-needed center to replace Crouse.

But most important for USC is seeing that Bibby remains as coach.

The two early signings show he is working the recruiting trail, and he was rarely outcoached this season. The program stabilized after unraveling following the retirement of George Raveling and the firing of Charlie Parker.

Although Bibby has not received offers to coach elsewhere, there is concern among the Trojans that he will bolt if offered a higher salary. He is is in the first year of a four-year contract that paid him $191,180 this season, which is considerably less than some of his peers in the Pac-10.

Garrett said he was happy with the job Bibby did and hopes to eliminate the chance of Bibby leaving solely for financial reasons.

“Some [coaching] evaluations are easier than others, and this is a fairly easy one,” Garrett said. “We were picked ninth, and we finished second. I can’t really complain.

“Henry and I have both agreed to talk [about renegotiating his contract]. “I think [an increased salary] is what he deserves because of what he has done for the program.”

Bibby has said there is much work to be done before the program is where he and Garrett believe it should be, but he was happy with this season, and particularly the play of his seniors.

“Those [four] guys have been through so much in their careers,” Bibby said. “It is nice to finally see them have some success.

“For so long USC hasn’t had any tradition in basketball and that’s what we are doing here, starting a tradition. But it will take time.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

USC

Game-by-Game

USC (17-11)

*--*

USC OPPONENT 77 Long Beach State 70 97 Loyola Marymount 78 84 North Carolina 99 65 at N.C. Charlotte-x 61 107 at UC Irvine 45 59 at Tennessee 71 79 Ohio State 68 75 at Nevada Las Vegas 80 77 Washington 58 106 Washington State 73 71 at California 83 70 at Stanford 85 75 Arizona 62 75 Arizona State 56 87 UCLA 96 81 Cincinnati 100 71 at Oregon State 68 79 at Oregon 69 84 Stanford 81 93 California 85 72 at Arizona State 66 77 at Arizona 101 60 at UCLA 82 72 Oregon 69 83 Oregon State 62 92 at Washington State 85 84 at Washington 94

*--*

NCAA TOURNAMENT

*--*

USC OPPONENT 77 Illinois 90

*--*

x-Harris Teeter Pepsi Challenge