Bibby: Trepagnier’s Potential Unlimited

Among the Trojans appearing to have breakout seasons, none is more spectacular than Jeff Trepagnier’s year, in part because Trepagnier--the team’s second-leading scorer (16.5)--is the most spectacular athlete USC has.

The 6-foot-4 junior guard doesn’t only jump well, he soars for rebounds and dunks. He is arguably the fastest of Coach Henry Bibby’s starters. In addition to scoring, Trepagnier is usually assigned to defend the opponent’s best player or top scorer.

Bibby said one of the reasons Trepagnier is so valuable is his inexhaustible energy supply. “I don’t think Jeff gets tired,” Bibby said. “I’ve never seen him get tired. He’s the only guy that can sit out days, come back and still outrun everybody.

Bibby said once Trepagnier can consistently make the 15-18 foot jump shot, there’s no telling how far he can go. “He has to believe he needs it,” Bibby said. “He doesn’t believe that right now because he thinks he’ll outleap everybody, run and dunk the ball.”

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The win over UCLA slightly raised USC’s Rating Percentage Index, the formula used by the NCAA since 1981 to supplement the selection of at-large teams and the seeding of all teams for the NCAA basketball tournament. Last week the Trojans ranked 83rd among the 318 Division I schools listed. This week they are 72nd. Other Pacific 10 schools ranked in the RPI include Arizona (second), Stanford (fourth), Oregon (21st), Arizona State (31st), and UCLA (38th).