Gibson, Trojans use the long lens

There is no time like the present to think about your legacy. USC junior post player Taj Gibson certainly needed little prompting to fill that lane.

“We came in here and turned the program around,” Gibson said of what he hopes to have accomplished by the time his eligibility is done. “This program went through some problems during the Henry Bibby era. We came in as young guys and wanted to help this university grow in basketball.”

The Trojans get back to that to-do list today, when they open Pacific 10 Conference play at Oregon.

There is a single-minded focus to the game.

“We have a chance to win this game, that’s all I’m worried about,” guard Daniel Hackett said.

There is also an eye on a bigger picture.

“We’re trying to be like the guys across town and have a consistent season every season,” Gibson said.

The “guys across town” are expected to raise another conference championship banner at UCLA. The Trojans, who begin conference play with a 9-3 record, are expected to . . . well, no one is quite sure.

The Trojans, picked to finish third, have lost to Seton Hall, Missouri and fourth-ranked Oklahoma, and have struggled at times against the mid-major teams they have defeated.

“Being successful consistently is going to the NCAA tournament and going deep into the tournament,” Gibson said. “We’re on a slow pace, but we’re getting there day by day.”

USC has never had three consecutive 20-win seasons. Nor have the Trojans ever made the NCAA tournament three consecutive years.

Both seem attainable, which would give USC an aura of that consistency after decades of taking two steps forward and three steps back.

“I think we received some credibility last year,” Coach Tim Floyd said. “But there is nothing like cementing that by winning on the floor.”

Only twice previously have the Trojans had back-to-back 20-win seasons. Their last was under Bibby, who went 24-10 in 2000-01 and 22-10 the next season.

When Floyd came on the scene in 2006, USC was coming off three seasons with a total of 38 victories.

The next season the Galen Center, the Trojans’ long-awaited arena, opened.

“There were great coaches here before me, with some great players, but it seemed like every other school had more at that time,” Floyd said. “People always felt like the potential was here, but the facility wasn’t here.”

Now it is, and so are expectations.

Said Floyd: “If our new players play to the level our new players did a year ago, and Taj, Daniel, Dwight [Lewis] and Keith [Wilkinson] are better players, then we got a chance. But all things have to be in place.”

Thus far, a few things haven’t been.

Alex Stepheson, a 6-foot-9 center from North Carolina, sought immediate eligibility, but his transfer waiver was denied. Leonard Washington, a talented freshman post player, suffered a high ankle sprain Dec. 22 and is out at least two weeks.

That leaves the Trojans a little short inside, where Gibson will need help.

On the perimeter, the Trojans have shown they are difficult to defend, especially with Hackett at point guard. Highly regarded freshman DeMar DeRozan has improved steadily and is averaging 18 points in the last three games. Lewis is solid at both ends, and transfer Marcus Johnson, ruled academically eligible last week, is expected to be a boost.

“I think we have a lot more confidence going into conference this season,” Hackett said. “Taj, Dwight and I are better, and we have guys like DeMar, who spent all summer playing against Pac-10 guys. Everyone understands their role, and now is the time to step it up.”

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chris.foster@latimes.com

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USC today

AT OREGON

Time: 1 p.m.

Where: Eugene, Ore.

On the air: Radio: 710. TV: None.

Records: USC 9-3, Oregon 6-6.

Update: USC has won five of its last seven games against Oregon, including the last three at McArthur Court. With power forward Leonard Washington out with a high ankle sprain, the Trojans hope Nikola Vucevic, a 6-foot-10 freshman, accelerates his development. Vucevic played 15 minutes against Oral Roberts on Sunday after playing 16 minutes total in the 11 previous games. Tajuan Porter, a 5-6 guard, averages 14.4 points to lead Oregon.

-- Chris Foster