Trepagnier’s Status Still Uncertain

Still no paperwork from the NCAA clearing Jeff Trepagnier.

Still no Jeff Trepagnier on the basketball court this season.

By now the Trojans should be getting worried.

USC officials were expecting to have Trepagnier back for Saturday’s game against Long Beach State. He missed the first three games because of a stress facture in his left foot and has missed the eight others while under investigation for possible violations during a trip to Las Vegas last fall.

But Trepagnier’s immediate return is looking remote, since nothing had come down from the NCAA offices by Thursday afternoon.

The players keep talking about the difference Trepagnier will make when he returns, how he provides an energy level they’ve lacked even while winning nine of 11 games.

They also say how much they will need him for the Pacific 10 Conference race.

But slow starts, more than the absence of Trepagnier, have kept the Trojans from having any easy nights this season.

“We can’t come into the games the first half and be in a slump,” noted freshman guard Desmon Farmer. “We have to come out strong. [Only playing] the second half is not always going to work.”