Depleted Trojans Resume Practice

The afterglow of beating its cross-town rival on its own floor having quickly faded, USC returned to practice Sunday after three days off and Coach Henry Bibby ran any delusions of grandeur out of the Trojans.

“It was something beastie,” guard Derrick Craven said. “Made you wish you didn’t have three days off.”

Bibby, who welcomed the break as an opportunity for players to heal from nagging injuries, used the first day back for conditioning.

“We needed to blow them out,” he said, “get their lungs open again and get them focused.”

Still, the Trojans were short-handed in the North Gym as they prepared for the second half of Pacific 10 Conference play. Guard Errick Craven was out with a cold, guard Desmon Farmer was limited by a sore left (shooting) hand and both forward Nick Curtis and center Jonathan Oliver left early, leading to speculation that someone had been kicked out of practice for the first time this season. Bibby, though, said both players had to attend class.

Farmer, meanwhile, injured his hand late in the second half of the Trojans’ 76-69 win at UCLA on Wednesday.

The hand swelled up the next day and Farmer has been undergoing treatment since. He is expected to play Thursday against Washington.

“He hasn’t missed any practice,” trainer Mark Pocinich said. “He just has to get that touch back.”

Farmer, whose 21.6-point scoring average in Pac-10 games ranks second, was not available for comment.

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In conference games, USC leads the Pac-10 in steals per game (10.22) but is eighth in scoring defense (81 points). The Trojans are third in scoring offense (78.1).