Pruitt Endures Learning Curve at USC

The hardwood instruction of Gabriel Pruitt’s college education is continuing right on course.

It has been methodical, painstaking and occasionally frustrating.

USC’s freshman point guard does not have the luxury of having an experienced teammate in the backcourt to help guide him through his first Pacific 10 Conference games, and he won’t until Errick Craven has recovered sufficiently from a right ankle sprain.

So Pruitt is learning first hand. And not all the lessons are happy ones.

He got a bit of schooling in Oregon last weekend, going up against veteran guards such as Aaron Brooks of Oregon and Jason Fontenet of Oregon State. Both Brooks and Fontenet were instrumental in their team’s victories over USC.

Tonight, Washington’s Nate Robinson, considered one of the Pac-10’s top playmakers, is hoping to dish out a few more pointers.

“What I’ve learned so far is you have to bring your best game every night,” Pruitt said after a practice this week. “Every player is a great player in college, and everyone brings it every night. There’s no night I can take off.

“For example, Aaron Brooks, a great player. I feel I didn’t play that good against him; I was kind of passive, allowed him to have his way. It showed me if you don’t bring [a top effort] to the court you can get embarrassed.”

Pruitt hasn’t felt embarrassed often. The former Westchester High standout is the Trojans’ second-leading scorer with an average of 10.9 points a game, and he leads the team with 52 assists. He has too many turnovers -- 35 -- but on defense he also forces them. He has a team-high 29 steals.

Interim Coach Jim Saia said Pruitt would mature by facing -- and sometimes stumbling against -- high-level competition

“It’s not going to get any easier for Gabe, but I’m not concerned about him,” Saia said. “Remember, he gets another chance at these guys again. He’s going through a learning curve right now, and he’ll continue to get better.”

For now, Pruitt is preparing as best he can by studying film of his opponents.

“Film and the scouting report does give me a chance to see what a guy likes to do,” Pruitt said. “Then when I see them on the court I can kind of put things together so I know what I need to do if I don’t stop them the first time.”

TONIGHT

vs. No. 12 Washington, 7:30, FSNW2

Site -- Sports Arena.

Radio -- KMPC AM (1540).

Records -- Trojans 7-6 overall, 0-2 in Pacific 10 Conference; Huskies 12-1, 2-0.

Update -- Two weeks ago, the Trojans were on a four-game winning streak and looking settled after the dismissal of coach Henry Bibby. But since then USC has lost three of four, including two games in Oregon last weekend. The Huskies, who defeated California and Stanford last weekend, come into Los Angeles leading the Pac-10 in scoring (89.6 points a game), scoring margin (+16.8), turnover margin (+4.92) and assists (20.4).