Hutchinson Gives Ankle Some Rest

Injured senior point guard Robert Hutchinson has not practiced since severely spraining his right ankle Dec. 21 and he is not expected to play again until the Trojans’ third Pacific 10 Conference game, Jan. 8 at UCLA.

“It will probably be up to Hutch, mostly, when he’s ready to come back,” Coach Henry Bibby said Saturday afternoon.

Hutchinson initially sprained the ankle in the Trojans’ loss at UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 3. After sitting out USC’s Wooden Classic defeat against Missouri four days later, he re-injured the ankle last weekend against La Salle when a pile of players rolled up his leg during a scramble for a loose ball.

Being in the middle of a stretch that has USC playing only once in 21 days has its advantages, Bibby said, dismissing the notion that such a lull will make the Trojans (4-3) rusty for their Pac-10 opener Thursday at Washington State.

“It’s been great,” he said. “We’ve had time to teach. Guys have had time to relax a little bit because there hasn’t been pressure on them and we’ve saved guys’ legs. It’s been a good time for us to be off. I love it.”

The respite was made possible when, for the first time since 1997, nonconference games were scheduled on the weekends after the Trojans play UCLA. USC will play host to Pennsylvania on Jan. 11 at the Forum and play at Nevada Las Vegas on Feb. 9.