For Openers, USC Not Looking Ahead

USC Coach Henry Bibby insists the Trojans aren’t looking past tonight’s basketball season opener against Cal State Northridge in the Sports Arena to Monday’s game against North Carolina in Hawaii.

OK, what’s the punch line?

There is none. For one thing, the Division I landscape is already littered with upsets. If you foresaw the stumbles by Connecticut, Duke and Ohio State in their season openers, you should be trying to win a million bucks from Regis Philbin.

Also when you have a team that’s coming off a 15-13 season, a seventh-place finish in the Pacific 10 Conference and a first-round NIT exit, you don’t overlook anyone.

“It’s a game that they have everything to gain,” Bibby said of Northridge. “It’s big for them. And it’s big for us too. We’re not underplaying this team at all. Coach [Bobby] Braswell has done a great job over there. This is one of their big games of the year.”

Bibby has six returning players who will get most of the minutes. Four are returning starters--Sam Clancy, Brandon Granville, Brian Scalabrine and Jeff Trepagnier. David Bluthenthal begins the year as the fifth starter. Jarvis Turner is the first man off the bench.

And maybe the last man, because USC’s bench is thinner than Ally McBeal. Three reserves--Kostantinos Charissis, Nate Hair and Malachi Thurston--are freshmen. Rashad Jones is a junior but in his first year of Division I basketball, having transferred from San Jose City College. Freshman Luke Minor probably will be redshirted.

“It will be a little different coaching situation this year,” Bibby said. “The last couple of years I’ve made 15, 16, 17 different [lineup] changes. I don’t think you’re gonna see that much change with what we have. We don’t have the depth we’ve had in the past.

“But I’m happy where we are because there are six to seven guys who know they are going to play the majority of the minutes. Are we talented enough? I don’t know. I think we should be better than we were last year. I do know our schedule is tougher than it was last year.”

Northridge is coming off a 17-12 season, the most victories the school has recorded at the Division I level. The Matadors tied for third in the Big Sky Conference with a 9-7 record, and lost in the first round of the conference tournament.

“It’s going to be a good game for us because of the way they play,” said Scalabrine, a 6-foot-9 junior center who led USC in scoring last season at 14.6 points a game. “They’re very athletic and real active. A lot of those guys are Pac-10 [caliber] players who happened to fall into their hands.”

Like the Trojans, the Matadors have four returning starters, losing leading scorer and All-Big Sky first team guard Derrick Higgins.

Center Brian Heinle, a 6-9 junior, is Northridge’s top returning scorer and rebounder at 12.6 points and 5.7 rebounds a game.

Heinle is supported in the front court by two senior forwards, Jeff Parris and Andre Larry. Parris averaged 9.1 points and 3.5 rebounds and Larry 9.6 points and 4.2 rebounds. However, Larry has been suspended for the first two games by the NCAA for playing in non-sanctioned summer league games. The other returning starter is guard Markus Carr, who averaged 6.2 points and 4.4 assists.

Braswell’s top freshmen recruit is guard Craig Calloway, who averaged 16 points and six assists last season at Long Beach Jordan.

Although Northridge likes to run--the Matadors have ranked among the NCAA Division I top 15 in scoring the last two seasons----Braswell said he was not interested in a “track meet” with USC.

“We want to make them play defense and be patient when we’re on offense,” Braswell said. “Our big disappointment last year was our defense. Any time you run like we do, you know your opponents will get a lot of possessions. But last year the team thought it could just outscore people. Now our first focus is on stopping people and letting the offense take care of itself.”

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CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE AT USC

Tonight, 7 p.m. at Sports Arena

Radio: KCTD (1540)