Turnovers a Concern of Bibby

Coach Henry Bibby wants his team starting the regular season the right way. That means doing the right things, win or lose.

High on Bibby’s list is taking care of the basketball. Even though the Trojans won both exhibition games, they averaged 18.5 turnovers and had 23 in last week’s game against the Double Pump All-Stars.

“In the exhibition season we played as if we were very young,” Bibby said. “We had unforced turnovers, and that was a concern of mine. But that’s what those games are for--to see the things you have to work on.

“I’m concerned about us rebounding the basketball. I’m concerned about the defense. Can we hold people under 65 points a game? That’s one of our goals. Can we minimize our turnovers? That’s something we haven’t done in the exhibition season. Other than that, we’re ready to go.”

Center Brian Scalabrine does not want his coach to worry.

“I don’t know if you can ever look real good in exhibition games, regardless of who you’re playing,” Scalabrine said. “Those teams are not really structured, and even if you win it’s an ugly win. It’s tough to tell how good your team is. What you can tell is how bad your team is. And we know we struggled defensively that second game.”

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Freshman guard Nate Hair, who suffered a stress fracture in the lower left leg during the summer, began practicing with the team this week. But Bibby would not put a time frame on when Hair could compete for playing time.

“He should be ready to play next week. But he hasn’t had any conditioning,” Bibby said. “He’s so far behind it’s incredible. Not having that mental edge of competition every day is the big difference with him more so than the injury.

“He’s behind the guys who have been here. It will be awhile before he gets into the flow.”

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Friday’s season opener will be the second meeting between USC and Cal State Northridge. They first played Feb. 4, 1991, with the Trojans winning, 86-69, in the Sports Arena. Northridge assistant coach Andre Chevalier played in the game, getting six points and seven assists in 33 minutes.