Trepagnier Is Not 100%

Jeff Trepagnier has put his problems with the NCAA aside, but his season is still not trouble free.

The stress fracture in his left foot that caused Trepagnier to miss the first three games of the season has not healed completely. And Trepagnier aggravated that injury when he turned his right ankle in Thursday’s game against Washington State.

Coach Henry Bibby said Trepagnier may need surgery after the season. Because he has already missed 13 of the team’s 14 games, Trepagnier wants to try playing through the pain.

So the Trojans will have to limit Trepagnier’s practice time.

“This is not new,” Bibby said. “Bill Walton had to do that. [The injury] affects everything--running, cutting, jumping. He’ll be able to play but we’ll have to take it easy with him.”

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David Bluthenthal, the Trojans’ leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, could have been getting his 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds a game this season at UCLA.

The Bruins were high on Bluthenthal’s wish list during his senior year at Westchester High. But UCLA recruiters did not want to make a scholarship commitment to him until Bluthenthal’s spring semester, and Bluthenthal wanted to sign in the fall.

Up stepped USC, pen in hand.

“I wanted to stay in Los Angeles,” Bluthenthal said. “Plus, USC had been recruiting me since my sophomore year. I thought I should be loyal to them.”