Cunningham’s knee injury is a big concern for Floyd

USC redshirt freshman forward Kasey Cunningham suffered what the Trojans feared was a serious injury during practice Wednesday when he twisted his surgically repaired left knee.

The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Cunningham underwent an MRI exam on the same knee that he injured midway through his senior year at Albuquerque Cibola High when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament. Cunningham sat out last season while recuperating.

“We’re worried,” Coach Tim Floyd said. “He’s got a knee injury that appears to be substantial. Hopefully, it’s not.”

Cunningham started three games and was averaging 2.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 14.6 minutes. He had a career-high 10 rebounds against the Citadel on Nov. 15 but had been bothered by bronchitis the last three games and was using an inhaler.

Floyd has a two-word rebuttal for any of his reserve players who complain about playing time or unusually strenuous practices:

Fresno Pacific.

The NAIA Sunbirds routed USC’s second-stringers, 65-44, in an exhibition Saturday at the Galen Center, leading to some reflection among Trojans players who primarily come off the bench.

“We’ve got a lot to prove,” said freshman guard Angelo Johnson, who made three of 10 shots in the exhibition. “The second string needs a lot of work.”

One problem was that USC was working Mamadou Diarra and Marcus Simmons, two players coming off long injury layoffs, back into the fold. The duo showed plenty of rust, combining for six turnovers and making two of 10 shots.

The Trojans also suffered from a lack of scorers on the floor, with the eight players who participated averaging a combined 9.8 points in regular-season games.

“We should have won with the guys we had, I thought,” Johnson said. “We just had some inexperienced guys, some who didn’t know the offense.”

Most troubling, perhaps, was USC’s inability to defend the perimeter or solve Fresno Pacific’s 1-1-3 matchup zone that keyed a big run by the Sunbirds over the final nine minutes.

Freshman guard O.J. Mayo and sophomore guard Daniel Hackett rank first and second in the Pacific 10 Conference in minutes played, but it has less to do with Floyd’s hesitation to use his reserves than an early season spate of injuries that left the Trojans thin at guard.

“As Marcus gets healthy, we’ll be able to go to our bench a little deeper and that should get those guys a blow or two,” Floyd said. “I think they could use one.”

Mayo is averaging 37.2 minutes and Hackett, who has been bothered by a strained groin but returned to practice, is averaging 35.5.

The three USC players who transferred last season are in various stages of coming and going with their new teams. Forward Jeremy Barr is enrolled at San Jacinto Junior College in Pasadena, Texas, but has signed with Louisiana Lafayette for the 2008-09 season. Guard Kevin Galloway is averaging 8.6 points and five rebounds for the College of Southern Idaho. Guard Sead Odzic will become eligible to play for Illinois State on Dec. 29 when the Redbirds open Missouri Valley Conference play against Creighton.

ben.bolch@latimes.com