FRESH MEN

The big freshman emerged from the trainer’s room with an ice bag strapped to his arm.

“They beat me up the whole game,” he said, then added: “I held my own.”

Sam Clancy is too sturdy to give up. He stands too tall at 6 feet 7, muscles bundled too thickly across his chest and shoulders. But at 18 years old, a teen in a man’s body, he feels the bumps and bruises of being the new power forward at USC.

“I knew it was going to be physical,” he said. “You watch the films and everything but you can’t prepare yourself until you’re in there.”

*

The smallest freshman worries when the team loses.

At 5-9, Brandon Granville is quiet, which is his strength at point guard. Calm beyond his years. Off the court, teammates suspect he feels the burden.

“Being a little guard, I have to be faster and stronger than everybody else,” he said. “I have to get back in the weight room.”

Mental strength is just as vital. Maybe Granville and Clancy have reached the point, midway through their first college season, when games and practices and classes become too much. The malady is common to young players.

“You hit that wall as a freshman,” senior Adam Spanich said. “You have to keep your head up.”

*

This season, all the attention on freshmen has been focused on UCLA and its celebrity class of Jerome Moiso, Dan Gadzuric, JaRon Rush, Ray Young and Matt Barnes. That leaves Granville and Clancy to take their lumps quietly, learning on the job, trying to help the underdog Trojans stay afloat in the Pacific 10 Conference.

Now, with UCLA visiting the Sports Arena on Wednesday, the USC freshmen are emerging from the shadows.

“To me, [Granville] was the real sleeper of the freshman class,” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said. “If we weren’t loaded with point guards, he’s someone we would have recruited.”

And on Clancy: “Because of his rebounding, he’s a factor.”

Granville ranks second in assists and steals in the Pac-10. Clancy ranks first in blocked shots and is a top-20 rebounder.

“It’s tough to ask freshmen to do that much,” USC Coach Henry Bibby said. “And they keep getting better each day.”

No one expected the teenagers to fill pivotal roles so soon. Bibby insisted this fall that veterans would shoulder his team’s fortunes.

Granville, in particular, figured to play behind returner Kevin Augustine. Then Augustine took leave for personal reasons in November and, by the time the sophomore returned a week or so later, Granville had a death-grip on the job. Granville said, simply: “I never really saw myself sitting on the bench.”

Confidence makes him bigger, makes him better than his natural-born talent. Just listen to his coach list all that he lacks.

“Not super-quick, not a great ballhandler, not a great defensive player and not strong,” Bibby said. “He just plays with this air. He knows he can beat you.”

Six steals against Long Beach State. Fifteen points and seven assists at Nevada Las Vegas. Thirteen points and seven assists at Oregon State. And every minute of every game, the same poker face.

“Brandon isn’t a freshman,” center Brian Scalabrine said. “The guy plays like a junior or senior.”

Clancy, on the other hand, plays exactly like a freshman, alternately brilliant and awkward.

The USC staff is building his game from the ground up. Brad Ohrt, the strength coach, works with him on running and jumping while assistant coach David Miller teaches him to set his feet and show his palms to the passer.

“He’s like a seed in the ground,” Miller said. “We’re pouring water on him so he’ll grow bigger.”

It wasn’t supposed to be so tough for the young man who came from Ohio as one of the most heralded recruits ever to sign with the Trojans. But his college career began in controversy, with allegations that USC had paid him $25,000. A Pac-10 investigation found no evidence of impropriety.

Then, Clancy discovered the truth about college basketball.

“In high school it was easy because I had more talent than most people,” he said. “Here, everyone is as good or better than me.”

They aren’t all as strong. Clancy bulled his way into the starting lineup about a month ago. He blocked five shots against No. 10 Kansas. He manhandled No. 8 Arizona for 16 points and 10 rebounds.

As Bibby put it: “When Sam wants the rebound, he gets the rebound.”

*

The freshmen had a rough Saturday night against California. Granville shot poorly, finishing with three points and four assists. Clancy had five rebounds and no points, starting but playing only twelve minutes.

“We’re trying to grow,” Bibby said. “We’re not there yet.”

Granville sat in his locker afterward, his voice calm, his words betraying discouragement.

“Been trying everything,” he said. “I go into the gym to get extra shots on off days. I still go out there and struggle.”

The freshman managed a thin smile.

“It’s tough” he said.

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Bios

Sam Clancy

Age: 18

Hometown: Fairview, Ohio

Position: Forward

Fast Fact: Father Sam Clancy Sr. played defensive end for Seattle, Cleveland and Indianapolis of the NFL from 1982-93.

Statistics

Games played: 14

Games started: 9

Scoring avg. per game: 5.8

Field goals: 31 for 61 (.508)

Free throws: 19 for 42 (.452)

Rebound avg.: 5.3

***

Brandon Granville

Age: 19

Hometown: Westchester

Position: Guard

Fast fact: Led Westchester High to City Section 4-A title and Division I state championship in 1998.

Statistics

Games: 15

Games started: 15

Scoring avg. per game: 7.7

Field goals: 37 for 94 (.394)

Free throws: 18 for 24 (.750)

Assists avg.: 5.3