Bibby Passes Along His Advice

When USC visits UCLA tonight, Trojan Coach Henry Bibby wants his team to have this idea clear in their minds:

Share the ball and share the wealth.

It means, basically, to go back to the passing game that was working so well during USC’s seven-game winning streak rather than shooting the ball at the first opportunity.

“Confidence is not a problem. We have to eliminate the selfish play,” Bibby said. “If we execute our offense, play with patience, let shots come to us, we’ll get what we need.

“We’re human. When things go wrong you tend to struggle. But the games we’ve lost, our team assist totals are way down.”

The Trojans, who earlier this season broke an overall 10-game losing streak to the Bruins, seek to end a six-game losing streak at Pauley Pavilion.

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USC guard Brandon Granville said he likes going to Pauley, but he had one of his worst games there last season, going 0 for 10 from the field and scoring only two points in the Trojans’ 68-63 loss.

He’s also coming off rough performances against California and Stanford, making six of 22 attempts in the two games.

“I know I need to shoot the ball well for us to play as well as we can,” Granville said Tuesday. “But I’m not going to go out there [tonight] stressing about my shot, or trying to get involved early. I’m going to let the game come to me.

“Stanford played pretty good defense; I didn’t get too many open looks against them. And [opponents] aren’t leaving me too open any more, not helping others off me. So it makes it tougher. But as long as we’re winning and everything is going well on the court, I don’t have a problem with it.”

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Bibby said Sam Clancy--who sustained a broken right foot in the Arizona State game Jan. 20--might return to USC in the next two to three weeks. “He’s been healing quickly,” Bibby said. “Once he’s ready to practice he’s ready for the games. And the seven days off next week are a plus.”

Jarvis Turner, who sustained a broken left foot in the same game, is progressing at a slower pace. Bibby said he does not expect Turner to be ready for another three to four weeks.