Farmer Earns Praise

How happy is Coach Henry Bibby with the production of Desmon Farmer, USC’s leading scorer and the lone junior in a starting lineup with four sophomores?

Bibby doesn’t even flinch when Farmer launches 21 shots to get 22 points, as he did in the Trojans’ blowout win at Nevada Las Vegas on Sunday. In fact, Bibby draws an unlikely parallel between the junior guard and the game’s elite.

“Michael Jordan has a great game and he goes eight for 21 [but] gets 20-some points. That’s a great game for him,” Bibby said. “No one looks at the percentages anymore.

“You look at the pros and you say, ‘Gosh, man, this guy gets 25 points.’ But he goes eight for 23. It happens all the time and that’s what I used to say when I played.”

Bibby played nine years in the NBA.

“I would shoot, like, two for six and Dr. J [Julius Erving] would shoot eight for 27 and he would have his 25 points and I would have my seven and the headlines would be, ‘Dr. J gets 25 points,’ ” Bibby said. “Everyone looks at the end result.”

Farmer’s 20.6-point scoring average in Pacific 10 Conference games is second in the league. He is averaging 17.6 overall, and shooting 40%.

“When I do get out of hand, he lets me know,” Farmer said. “It’s about letting it come to you [and] good shot selection.”

That Farmer is the Trojans’ leading scorer, despite Bibby’s not running much offense through him, is a tribute to Farmer’s tenacity.

“There are some guys that just have a knack for scoring,” Bibby said. “Desmon Farmer just scores.”

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After sitting out at UNLV, sophomore forward Nick Curtis (right heel) did not practice Tuesday and may also miss Thursday night’s game at Arizona State.