His Rebounding Is Going by the Boards

David Bluthenthal has been the Trojans’ leading rebounder with 129 and couldn’t be prouder.

But in the last two weeks, he has seen his average slip from 9.1 to 7.6. In the three games against UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State, he collected a total of nine rebounds.

The problem is threefold, Bluthenthal said Tuesday:

* Opponents are working harder to keep him away from the basket.

* He has gotten caught up in watching Sam Clancy, expecting every shot to go in rather than each shot being a potential rebound. “That’s something I wasn’t doing last year,” he said.

* He has grown too interested in coming off screens and shooting his long jump shots, leaving himself in no position to rebound.

“I’ve had open shots and, for the most part, I’ve knocked them down,” Bluthenthal said. “But I’m focusing on rebounding this week. I need to focus more on going for the offensive rebound, and get to the basket a little more.