Best Offense Is a Good Defense

USC’s early-season shooting woes would seem to be cause for concern. After four games, the Trojans are shooting 37.4%, 24.2% from three-point territory, and averaging 64.8 points. But as they prepare for tonight’s 7:30 game at the Sports Arena against Rhode Island (3-2), the Trojans are 3-1.

Coach Henry Bibby is quick to point to the play of the defense.

“The offense is OK,” Bibby said Monday, “we’re just not shooting the ball well. I looked around the country; a lot of teams are not shooting the ball well. Offense takes a little more [time to teach and develop] than defense.”

The Trojans are allowing 58 points a game and opposing teams are making 31.2% of their shots, which makes USC the best in that department among Pacific 10 teams. Stanford is second, allowing opponents to shoot 36.8%.

“It’s not a perfect world that we live in,” Bibby said. “To have great defensive basketball and great offensive basketball every night, when we get there then we’re the top team in the country. And I don’t know if there’s any team in the country that, every night, plays great offense and great defense.

“If the defense can keep holding it like this, then I’ll take what we can get offensively,” Bibby said. “I don’t have a problem with it.”

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Just as senior small forward David Bluthenthal shot his way out of Bibby’s doghouse, sophomore shooting guard Desmon Farmer was ushered in.

Farmer, from Flint, Mich., had 12 relatives at Peoria, Ill., Saturday for USC’s 60-50 win over Bradley. He was the only Trojan who didn’t play.

“We had some discipline reasons,” Bibby said. “[Farmer] wasn’t working as hard as I thought he should be working in practice.”

TONIGHT

vs. Rhode Island, 7:30

Site --Sports Arena

Radio--KMPC (1540)

Records--USC 3-1, Rhode Island 3-2.

Update--Under first-year coach Jim Baron, the Rams have beaten Iona, Fairfield and Buffalo, and lost to Virginia Tech and Providence. Junior guard Brian Woodward is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 13.2 points off the bench.

Tickets--(213) 40-4672.