Dupree Must Get His Life in Order

With final exams finished, Coach Henry Bibby does not expect any eligibility problems at USC for the spring semester.

But that doesn’t mean junior forward Jerry Dupree is in the clear

“It’s not just grades with Jerry,” Bibby said Thursday. “My thing is, ‘Is Jerry ready mentally to start handling his responsibilities for life?’ Not, ‘Is he ready to play basketball?’

“If his life is squared away, he’s going to be ready to play basketball. We need Jerry in the right frame of mind to come back and play and I’m not going to bring him back until [then].”

Dupree, who has served a six-game suspension imposed by Bibby, dropped a fall semester class and fell below full-time student status, and is awaiting the posting of grades Tuesday to see whether he pulled himself out of academic probation. He attended Thursday’s practice but did not participate. He will not be in uniform for the Trojans’ game Saturday against La Salle.

“It doesn’t matter,” Bibby said. “On this day he’s probably 70% back mentally of where I would like him to be with his thinking about life. When he gets back to 100% of making the commitment to Jerry Dupree and to the school, then Jerry is welcome back with open arms.

“That’s our role -- to help these kids get focused. Jerry has ... one more year after this year, and what is he going to do if he doesn’t have someone that’s going to be on him to make him focus?”

Dupree has admitted that he has trouble keeping priorities straight.

“I really don’t know, still to this day, there’s so many things out there,” he said of why he is not allowed to participate in team functions. “All I know is, I’m not playing and that’s all that really matters right now.”

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The MRI exam of junior center Jonathan Oliver’s injured left ankle was negative, but he has yet to return to practice since injuring it Dec. 11.