Confident USC Not Shy About Its Lofty Goals

Is USC, 10-2 and ranked 20th, prepared for the next 10 weeks of banging and clanging in the Pacific 10 Conference race that begins tonight against Washington State?

Can they compete in a conference that has two other top-25 entries in Stanford and Arizona, a conference where the nine other teams were a combined 66-29 in nonconference play and none has a losing record?

The Trojans say the answers are yes and yes. In fact, they say they can do more than compete.

“We’re not talking about finishing in the top three as we did last year,” point guard and floor leader Brandon Granville said. “We’re talking about winning the Pac-10. That’s a realistic goal for us. We know with this team, this is the [season] we’ve anticipated as being the best year we’ll have at USC.”

Granville paused and grinned.

“And every day in practice he’s gonna make us win the Pac-10 whether we want to or not.”

“He” is Coach Henry Bibby, who spent much of the nonconference schedule growling and pushing the Trojans to their best start since the 1975-76 team won 12 of its first 13.

It is a team carried by the starting lineup of Sam Clancy (17.4 scoring average), Brian Scalabrine (17.1), David Bluthenthal (14.7), Granville (14.4) and Desmon Farmer (8.9). Unlike last season, when he depended on six players, Bibby has a bench he can turn to and keep the starters fresh.

While he hasn’t always said so publicly, Bibby does like his squad.

“I’m pleased with the team. We find ways to win,” Bibby said. “I’m not saying we’ll win the conference. But if we play the way we should, we’ll give it a run. And we could go some distance in the [NCAA] tournament.”

Certainly the Trojans, who last won a Pac-10 basketball championship in 1985, have their flaws.

While third among Pac-10 teams in scoring (82.2 points), USC is seventh in rebounding (36.3) and eighth in points allowed (73.7).

Bibby also has fretted much of the season over the Trojans’ inability to sustain their defensive intensity for long stretches, He has been frustrated by USC’s tendency to fall behind early and let teams back in games late.

Granville admitted that the Trojans, with a veteran core of seniors and juniors, have been blase at times.

“We have been too calm sometimes,” he said. “Coach Bibby has been getting on us to bring more intensity and bring back enthusiasm to the game. Sometimes it looks like we’re not having fun out there. That’s something we all have to bring--except for Desmon, he’s excited on every play.”

Farmer has been more than a cheerleader. The 6-foot-4 freshman has been an able replacement for senior Jeff Trepagnier, who is suspended while under investigation by the NCAA. When--and if--Trepagnier returns, Farmer will further bolster a bench that includes Jarvis Turner, Tyler Murphy, Robert Hutchinson, Nate Hair and Kostas Charissis.

Still, Granville said, there is room for improvement.

“We’ve played well in spurts,” Granville said. “I don’t think we’ve put an entire game together yet. We still have our best basketball to play. And that’s what you want going into the Pac-10. You don’t want to peak too early then ride the roller coaster, like we did last [season].”

USC won six of its first seven Pac-10 games last season before losing eight of 11 after Clancy and Turner were sidelined because of injuries.