Scalabrine Still Searching

Thirteen points is not a breakout game. And Brian Scalabrine knows it.

The Trojans don’t mind riding on the breakout season Sam Clancy appears to be having. But if they are going to compete with Stanford, Arizona and UCLA, another consistent scoring threat must emerge.

Scalabrine began the season as a Wooden and Naismith candidate. When he averaged 27 points in the Yahoo! Sports Invitational tournament in Hawaii, the 6-foot-9 center looked ready for a big senior season.

Since that time, however, Scalabrine’s biggest outing was 17 points against Long Beach State. Three times he has scored six points or less, including being blanked at Arizona on Thursday.

Coach Henry Bibby is quick to point out that Scalabrine is constantly double- and triple-teamed, especially if he receives the ball close to the basket, and Clancy is feasting primarily against one defender--even the good ones such as the Wildcats’ Michael Wright.

But Scalabrine, perhaps the most introspective of the Trojans, said he’s battling his own hoop demons.

“I have had a little loss of confidence,” Scalabrine said. “But there are things you can do to get your confidence back, and what I fall back on is hard work.”

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There is speculation coming out of Las Vegas that UNLV is interested in Bibby as its next coach.

When asked, Bibby said he has not had any contact or discussions with UNLV officials.