USC Trojans

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1 USC Trojans MEN S BASKETBALL NEWS RELEASE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE TIM TESSALONE, DIRECTOR (MEN S BASKETBALL SID: PAUL GOLDBERG pgoldber@usc.edu) HERITAGE HALL 103, L.A., CA TELEPHONE: (213) FAX: (213) January 30, 2001 No. 19 USC at No. 1 Stanford, California USC Quick Look RECORD 15-4 overall; 5-2 in the Pac-10 RANKING AP (21); ESPN/USA Today (19) NEXT UP at Stanford Thur. (2/1), 7:30 p.m. at California Sat. (2/3), 5 p.m Schedule DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME 11/18 Bradley W /21 San Diego (FS WEST) W /25 Loyola Marymount W /2 ^ Utah (KCAL) W /5 Cal State Northridge W /9 at UC Santa Barbara W /14 Pepperdine (FSW2) W /21! BYU-Hawai i W /22! Mississippi L (OT) /23! BYU-Provo W /27 at Northwestern L /30 Long Beach St. (FSW2) W /4 * Washington St. (FS NET) W /6 * Washington (FSW2) W /11 * at UCLA (FS NET) L /18 * at Arizona (FS NET) L /20 * at Arizona State(ABC) W /25 * Oregon W /27 * Oregon State (FS WEST) W /1 * at Stanford 7:30 p.m. 2/3 * at California (FS NET) 5 p.m. 2/8 * UCLA (FSW2) 7:30 p.m. 2/15 * Arizona State (FSW2) 7:30 p.m. 2/17 * Arizona (CBS) 11 a.m. 2/22 * at Oregon State (FS NET) 7:30 p.m. 2/24 * at Oregon (FS WEST) 7 p.m. 3/1 * Stanford (FSW2) 7:30 p.m. 3/3 * California (FSW2) 5 p.m. 3/8 * at Washington 7 p.m. 3/10 * at Washington State 1 p.m. 3/15-18 NCAA 1st and 2nd Rounds TBA 3/22-25 NCAA Regionals TBA 3/31, 4/2 NCAA Final Four TBA Home games in bold * Pacific-10 Conference game! Yahoo! Sports Invitational (formerly Pearl Harbor) ^ Wooden Classic in Anaheim, Calif. USC Quick Facts LOCATION: Los Angeles, Calif. ENROLLMENT: 28,800 NICKNAME: Trojans HEAD COACH: Henry Bibby ASSISTANTS: Silvey Dominguez, David Miller, Damon Archibald DIRECTOR OF BASKETBALL OPERATIONS: Tim Farmer LOS ANGELES The 15-4, 5-2 USC men s basketball team (No. 21 AP/No. 19 ESPN/USA Today), coming off of a home sweep of the Oregon schools, travels north to face top-ranked Stanford (19-0, 7-0) on Thursday (Feb. 1) at Maples Pavilion at 7:30 p.m. and then takes on California (14-5, 5-2) on Saturday (Feb. 3) at Haas Pavilion at 5 p.m. Stanford and California are a combined 18-0 at home. GAME #20 USC (15-4, 5-2) at Stanford (19-0, 7-0) on Thursday (Feb. 1). Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. There is no television coverage of the game in Los Angeles, but it will be aired in the Bay Area on Bay TV (no affiliation with FOX Sports). The game will be broadcast live on XTRA 690-AM. Stanford, under 15th-year coach Mike Montgomery, is coming off a win at Washington and a win at Washington State. The Cardinal are led by sophomore forward Casey Jacobsen, who is averaging a team-best 17.4 points per game and has shot.458 from three-point range. Senior forward Jarron Collins is averaging 13.6 points and 6.8 rebounds while twin brother Jason Collins, a sophomore center, is averaging 12.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Senior guard Michael MacDonald leads the Pac-10 in three-point percentage at.509 (28- of-55). As a team, Stanford leads the Pac-10 in scoring offense (84.6), scoring defense (61.0), field goal percentage (.505) and field goal percentage defense (.387). GAME #21 USC vs. California (14-5, 5-2) on Saturday (Feb. 3). Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. The game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net and will be broadcast live on XTRA 690-AM. California, under fifth-year coach Ben Braun, is coming off of a overtime win at USC VS. NO. 1 The Trojans game against the top-ranked Cardinal on OF NOTE Thursday is their first against a No. 1 team since falling to then-no. 1 Stanford last year at Maples Pavilion on March 2, The previous meeting against a No. 1 team came in a loss to UMass in the Rainbow Classic on Dec. 29, The Trojans last defeated a No. 1 team on March 6, 1970, when they upset UCLA, 87-86, at Pauley Pavilion. That win was actually USC s second straight over a No. 1 team, as the Trojans also downed the top-ranked Bruins in their previous meeting a year earlier, TROJANS PROBABLE STARTERS NO. NAME POS. HT. WT. YR. HOMETOWN (LAST SCHOOL) 5 Brandon Granville G Jr. Los Angeles, CA (Westchester HS) 12 Jeff Trepagnier G Sr. Compton, CA (Compton HS) 24 Brian Scalabrine F/C *Sr. Enumclaw, WA (Highline C.C.) 34 David Bluthenthal F Jr. Los Angeles, CA (Westchester HS) 50 Sam Clancy F Jr. Fairview, OH (St. Edward HS) RESERVES 00 Anthony Saadey # G Fr. Canfield, OH (Canfield HS) 1 Nate Hair G So. Mission Viejo, CA (Capistrano Valley HS) 2 Jarvis Turner F **Sr. Bakersfield, CA (South Bakersfield HS) 4 Robert Hutchinson G *So. Albany, GA (Okaloosa-Walton College) 11 Jamie Hooper # G *Jr. San Diego, CA (Montana State) 14 Gennaro Busterna G Jr. Denver, CO (McCook College) 15 Kostas Charissis C So. Athens, Greece (Bachlitzanaki-Pireus) 25 Tyler Murphy G *Sr. Los Angeles, CA (Vermont) 30 Luke Minor C *Fr. Richmond, VA (Blue Ridge Academy) 31 Eze Burts # G Fr. Los Angeles, CA (St. Bernard HS) 33 Desmon Farmer G Fr. Flint, MI (Northwestern HS) 44 Abdullah Elmagbari # F Sr. Greeley, CO (Otero JC) 52 Rob Eres # F Jr. Sacramento, CA (El Camino Fundamental HS) * Utilized redshirt year **received fifth year for medical hardship # walk-on

2 Game 20 Stanford Feb. 1, 2001 Maples Pavilion (7,391) Palo Alto, CA 7:30 p.m. On the Air The USC-Stanford game will be carried live on XTRA- AM (690). Rory Markas handles the radio play-byplay, while ex-usc assistant coach Jim Hefner adds the color commentary. All of USC s radio broadcasts feature short pre- and post-game shows immediately before and after the game. Series USC leads, The Trojans have lost seven of the last eight meeting at Maples Pavilion, the lone win an overtime victory in The previous USC road win over Stanford came in 1992, which was the last season the Trojans swept the Cardinal. Since the sweep in 1992, USC is just 4-12 against Stanford. Last Game The only good news that came out of the last USC- Stanford game for the Trojans was that it featured the return of an injured Sam Clancy, who had missed the previous 10 games with a foot injury. Besides that, it was all Cardinal in a beating at Maples Pavilion on March 2 last season. David Bluthenthal scored a team-high 17 points for USC while Nate Hair had 12 points and Brandon Granville scored 11. USC was still in shouting distance at with 5:31 to go before halftime, but Stanford closed the half with an 18-4 run and led at the break. It only got worse from there as the Cardinal led by as many as 44 points before settling for the 43-point win. It was the worst loss for USC since a 54-8 setback to the Los Angeles YMCA in Brian Scalabrine sat out the second half with a hip injury. Coach Stanford head coach Mike Montgomery is in his 15th season with the Cardinal. He has led the Cardinal to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four appearance in Before coming to Stanford, Montgomery was the head coach at Montana for eight years. Probable Starters Ht. Yr. pts. reb. G 4 Michael MacDonald 6-1 Sr * G 32 Ryan Mendez 6-7 Sr C 34 Jason Collins 6-10 So F 31 Jarron Collins 6-9 Sr F 23 Casey Jacobsen 6-6 So *assists Game 21 California Feb. 3, 2001 Haas Pavilion (12,172) Berkeley, CA 5 p.m. On the Air The USC-California game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net and will be carried live on XTRA- AM (690). Rory Markas handles the radio play-byplay, while ex-usc assistant coach Jim Hefner adds the color commentary. All of USC s radio broadcasts feature short pre- and post-game shows immediately before and after the game. Series USC trails, , in the overall series. The Trojans have lost six consecutive games to the Bears, the last win a home victory in the season. USC hasn t won in Berkeley since an win in 1992, also the last season USC swept California. The Trojans defeated the Bears on the road only twice in the 1990s, in 1991 and 1992, and only seven times ever in Pac-10 play. Last Game David Bluthenthal had 17 points and Brandon Granville posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists, but it wasn t enough to stop a hot California, which beat USC, 86-73, at Haas Pavilion on March 4 last season. The Trojans, who never led, fell behind 17-5 five minutes into the game and trailed at the half, USC got to within with 4:35 left on a Brian Scalabrine layup. But the Trojans went cold from there as Cal used an 8-0 run to go ahead with 2:18 left, sealing the win. Coach California head coach Ben Braun is in his fifth season with the Bears. He has taken Cal to back-toback NIT berths, including the NIT Championship in In his first season in Berkeley, he directed the Bears to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament s Sweet 16 and earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors. Before joining the Bears staff, Braun spent 11 seasons at Eastern Michigan, where he led the Eagles to three Mid-American Conference titles and three NCAA appearances. Probable Starters Ht. Yr. pts. reb. G 12 Shantay Legans 5-10 So * G 42 Ryan Forehan-Kelly 6-5 Jr C 32 Nick Vander Laan 6-10 So F 25 Brian Wethers 6-5 So F 21 Sean Lampley 6-7 Sr *assists

3 ROSTER ADDITION No. 25 Tyler Murphy Senior guard Tyler Murphy, who transferred from Vermont last year and spent the season as a redshirt, received USC s final scholarship for the season. A 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard from Los Angeles (Sherman Oaks-Notre Dame HS), Murphy played 80 games in three years at Vermont. As a junior in , Murphy averaged 6.6 points in 20.3 minutes per game, starting four of 27 games. Murphy, a fine outside shooter, made 67-of-189 three-point attempts (35.4%) in his career at Vermont. Washington State and a victory at Washington. California, which has won six in a row over USC, is led by senior forward Sean Lampley, who is averaging team highs in points (18.9 ) and rebounds (6.9). Sophomore guard Shantay Legans is averaging 9.7 points and 4.3 assists per game and has made a team-high 28-of-69 three-point attempts (.406). Junior forward/center Solomon Hughes is the Pac-10 leader in field goal percentage (.642). The Bears lead the Pac-10 in turnover margin (+2.95). USC IN THE RANKINGS USC is ranked No. 21 by the latest AP Top 25 Poll (Jan. 29) and No. 19 by the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Poll (Jan. 29). When USC hit No. 12 in AP earlier in the season, it was USC s highest ranking since finishing the season ranked No. 8. When USC opened in both preseason polls, it marked the first time since the season that USC opened a season ranked in the Top 25 in one of the two major polls. The last time USC was ranked in the preseason, the Trojans were tabbed No. 12 in the AP poll at the start of the year. LAST TWO GAMES USC beat Oregon State, 73-47, on Saturday, after taking care of Oregon, 78-74, on Thursday, completing a home sweep of the Oregon schools for the first time since Against the Beavers, Brian Scalabrine scored 16 points while Sam Clancy had 10 rebounds and three blocks, pacing a balanced effort. USC outrebounded Oregon State and held the Beavers to.315 from the field. Brandon Granville finished with 12 points and seven assists while David Bluthenthal added 11 points and six rebounds. The Beavers, playing without injured center Jason Heide, were led by Emonte Jernigan s game-high 17 points. The Trojans opened strong, taking a 14-2 lead halfway into the first half. Oregon State closed to with 3:14 to go, but USC went into the break ahead The Trojans got off to a fast start after the half, using an 18-5 run to go ahead with 11:53 to play. USC eventually led by as many as 31 points at Against the Ducks, Clancy had 21 points and five blocks and Scalabrine had 20 points and a game-high nine rebounds in the win. The Trojans, who outrebounded the Ducks, 36-18, led virtually the entire game, building a 16-point lead with five minutes to go, only to have to hang on in the end. Oregon, led by Frederick Jones 21 points and Bryan Bracey s 20, turned a deficit with 5:08 to go into a game with under a minute, but the Ducks never had the ball needing only one score to tie. A Granville free throw gave USC a lead with 19 seconds left and, after the Ducks failed to score, Bluthenthal connected on two free throws for a six-point lead with five seconds left. Oregon s Luke Ridnour hit a two-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin. The game was close for most of the first half, but USC used an 11-0 run to go up with 4:39 left before going into the break ahead LAST GAME NOTES David Bluthenthal made his first free throw against Oregon State, giving him 42 in a row in Pac-10 play, breaking the record held by Stanford s Todd Lichti (1989). Bluthenthal missed his next free throw, ending the streak... Sam Clancy had three more blocks, giving him 116 for his career, which ties him with Rod Keller for second on the all-time USC block chart. The USC record is 128, held by Lorenzo Orr. His three blocks marked the 10th time he has had at least three blocks in a game this year... Brian Scalabrine s 16 points gives him 1,225 for his career, good for 11th on USC s all-time scoring list... The Trojans have now won four in a row over the Beavers, their longest win streak in the series since taking six in a row between With his four threepointers, Brandon Granville has now had at least three treys nine times this year and 21 times in his career. 16TH NOT-SO-RANDOM-NOTE AND COUNTING Almost halfway through the Pac-10 slate, USC is first in the league in scoring defense (64.3 ppg). A year ago, The Trojans were next to last in scoring defense in Pac-10 play (77.9). THE END OF JINX ALERT With his first free throw on Saturday against Oregon State, David Bluthenthal set the Pac-10 record for consecutive free throws made in conference play at 42. He also owns the Pac-10 record for consecutive free throws made in all games at 41. Ironically, after setting the respective records, Bluthenthal missed his next foul shot both times to end the streaks. Stanford s Todd Lichti was the previous owner of the conference-only record and Lichti and Oregon s John Greig were the previous record holders of the overall record. CLANCY DOMINATING THE PAC-10 In the Pac-10, Sam Clancy leads USC in scoring (20.1), rebounding (7.6), field goal percentage (.549, 50-of-91) and blocks (3.4) Pac-10 Standings (as of ) Pac-10 Overall W L W L Stanford Arizona UCLA USC California Oregon Oregon State Washington Wash. State Arizona State Rankings ESPN/USA Today (Jan. 29) 1. Stanford (28) 2. Duke (3) 3. Kansas 4. North Carolina 5. Michigan State 6. Illinois 7. Tennessee 8. Syracuse 9. Arizona 10. Maryland 11. Virginia 12. Wake Forest 13. Georgetown 14. Florida 15. Alabama 16. Wisconsin 17. Iowa 18. Iowa State 19. USC 20. Boston College 21. Oklahoma 22. Fresno State 23. Connecticut 24. Texas 25. Seton Hall AP (Jan. 29) 1. Stanford (65) 2. Duke (5) 3. Kansas 4. North Carolina 5. Michigan State 6. Illinois 7. Arizona 8. Tennessee 9. Maryland 10. Wisconsin 11. Virginia 12. Syracuse 13. Florida 14. Georgetown 15. Iowa State 16. Wake Forest 17. Alabama 18. Iowa 19. Fresno State 20. Boston College 21. USC 22. Seton Hall 23. Notre Dame 24. Oklahoma 25. Georgia USC Ranking by Week ESPN/ AP USA Today Preseason Nov Nov Nov Dec Dec Dec Dec Jan Jan Jan Jan Jan Consecutive weeks ranked by: AP 13 ESPN/USA Today 13

4 USC IN THE PAC-10 Among Pac-10 players, Sam Clancy is second in blocks (2.6), third in scoring (18.4), seventh in rebounding (7.2) and ninth in field goal percentage (.536). David Bluthenthal is sixth in rebounding (7.3) and 12th in scoring (13.6). Brian Scalabrine is eighth in scoring (14.9) and ninth in blocks (1.1). Brandon Granville is first in assists (6.6), third in steals (1.8) and sixth in three-point percentage (.420). BLOCK-A-HOLIC Sam Clancy is not only scoring and rebounding extremely well but is making the paint an unfriendly place for opposing players. He is averaging 2.6 blocks per game and has blocked 36 shots in the last 10 games (while the rest of the team has a combined 17). He s had at least three blocks 10 times this year. For the year, he has a teamhigh 50 rejections, 23 more than he had in 20 games last year. He blocked 39 shots as a freshman in 27 games. He has 116 for his career, tied for second-most ever at USC (with Rod Keller). The record is held by Lorenzo Orr (128). SICK OF CLANCY NOTES YET? As a freshman, Sam Clancy made only 47.6% of his free throws (30-of-63). As a sophomore, he jumped to 59.7% (74-124). Clancy has continued to improve as a junior and has now gone from a "hack-a-shaq" candidate to a good bet from the line, making a very respectable 70.9% this season (81-113). That is slightly better than the team average of 70.4%. SURPRISE SURPRISE More than halfway into the season, few would have guessed that Brian Scalabrine would not lead the team in field goal attempts per game, let alone be in third in the category on the team. But after 19 games, Scalabrine has averaged only 9.7 field goal attempts per game. David Bluthenthal is averaging 10.3 while Sam Clancy, who is having a fantastic junior season, is averaging 13.1 attempts. BG FG NEWS Quietly, Brandon Granville has made solid improvements in his field goal and three-point percentages. He is shooting.449 from the field and.420 from three-point range this year. Coming into the season, Granville was a career.375 from the field and.343 from beyond the arc. Granville averaged 1.5 three-pointers per game as a freshman and 1.9 as a sophomore. As a junior, he is averaging 2.2 per game. USC AT THE SPORTS ARENA USC is currently riding a 12-game win streak at home. Dating back to , the Trojans are (.742) in their last 62 games at the Sports Arena USC CAREER SCORING CHART 1. 2,048 Harold Miner (87 games) ,727 Ronnie Coleman (116) ,524 Wayne Carlander (116) ,484 John Rudometkin (81) ,483 Derrick Dowell (119) ,423 John Block (79) ,341 Lorenzo Orr (114) ,318 Gus Williams (82) ,248 Stais Boseman (105) ,247 Purvis Miller (90) ,225 Brian Scalabrine (77) ,211 Ron Holmes (111) ,204 Maurice Williams (111) ,168 Allen Young (77) ,127 Don Carfino (101) ,116 Jaha Wilson (111) ,107 Bill Sharman (82) ,107 Ron Riley (78) ,086 Marv Safford (77) ,085 Paul Westphal (66) ,073 Roy Irvin (84) ,020 Dan Anderson (83) ,007 Joe Mackey (77) Jeff Trepagnier (91) Bill Hewitt (51) Gordon Martin (78) and USC is (.722) at the Sports Arena since the beginning of the 1991 season, including a 16-game winning streak over a span of the 1992 and 1993 seasons and two nine-game winning streaks that spanned the and seasons and the and seasons. CONCENTRATION In USC s first 13 games, the Trojans shot better than.700 from the free throw line only five times. But in five of their last six games, USC has bettered the mark, hitting a combined.758 (94-of-124) of their foul shots. For the season, USC is POINT NOTE Sam Clancy has scored 31 points twice this year, making him the first Trojan to score at least 30 points twice in a season since Gary Johnson did it twice in the 1998 season. Before that Rodney Chatman did it twice in the 1993 season. Harold Miner, USC s all-time scoring leader, did it 11 times his junior year in DUNK-O-METER It took 18 games, but Jeff Trepagnier finally registered his first dunk of the season vs. Oregon, a sweet reverse job off of a lob from Brandon Granville. He also had another alley-oop throw-down vs. Oregon State. A year ago, USC s athletic guard had 52 slams for the season. MINUTIA Last season, four of five USC starters all averaged at least 34.6 minutes per game. This year, the only starter averaging more than 32.1 minutes per game is Brandon Granville (33.7). USC INFORMATION OUTLETS TROJANS ON INFO CONNECTION USC updated stats, box scores and releases can be found on Info Connection, which is updated as often as possible. To access Info Connection, using the handset on your fax machine, dial (770) The Pac-10 pass code is Codes for key USC information include: Latest box score: Latest release: TROJANS ON THE WEB Current and historical USC men s basketball information as well as news and features can be found on the internet at: The Pacific-10 Conference web site address is: TROJANS ON TELEVISION Date Opponent Time Outlet 11/21 San Diego 7:30 p.m. FOX West 12/2 Utah 2:30 p.m. KCAL 12/14 Pepperdine 7:30 p.m. FOX West 2 12/30 Long Beach State 5:30 p.m. FOX West 2 1/4 Washington State 7:30 p.m. FOX Net 1/6 Washington 7 p.m. FOX West 2 1/11 at UCLA 7:30 p.m. FOX Net 1/18 at Arizona 7:30 p.m. FOX Net 1/20 at Arizona State 4 p.m. ABC 1/27 Oregon State 7 p.m. FOX West 2/3 at California 5 p.m. FOX Net 2/8 UCLA 7:30 p.m. FOX West 2 2/15 Arizona State 7:30 p.m. FOX West 2 2/17 Arizona 11 a.m. CBS 2/22 at Oregon State 7:30 p.m. FOX Net 2/24 at Oregon 7 p.m. FOX West 3/1 Stanford 7:30 p.m. FOX West 2 3/3 California 5 p.m. FOX West 2 All times local to site. TROJANS ON THE RADIO Twenty of USC s 30 games will be broadcast by XTRA-AM Sports 690. Included in that package are all 18 Pac-10 games as well as the Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State games. The Utah game will be aired on KXTA-1150 AM and the remaining 10 games will be aired on KMPC- AM TROJAN BROADCASTS ON THE WEB Fans can listen to USC games live on the internet as a cybercast (www. usctrojans.com). Click on the men s hoops page to access the live feeds. PAC-10 MEDIA TELECONFERENCES The Pac-10 media teleconferences will begin on Wednesday (Dec. 13). Starting Tuesday, Jan. 9, and then each Tuesday thereafter, the Pac-10 will conduct the remaining nine calls. Media can dial in to the call at (913) To listen to the taped replay, call (402) The men s coaches begin at 10:35 a.m. and Henry Bibby s time slot begins at 11:31 a.m. USC ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW ARENA On Oct. 21, 1999, USC announced plans to begin construction of a multipurpose oncampus events center that will be home to USC s men s and women s basketball and volleyball teams. Construction is set to begin in the coming months and it is expected that the 12,000- seat arena will be completed in PRONUNCIATION GUIDE David Bluthenthal... blooth-in-thall Gennaro Busterna. JUH-nair-oh Buh-STIR-nuh Konstantinos Charissis...HA-riss-iss Brian Scalabrine... scal-uh-bree-nee Jeff Trepagnier... truh-pan-yea

5 WHO DO YOU STOP? USC has had four different players lead the team in scoring this year and have had five different players score at least 20 points in a game this year. In fact, Sam Clancy (31 twice), David Bluthenthal (29), Brian Scalabrine (28) and Desmon Farmer (24) have all scored at least 24 points or more in a game at least once this season. Brandon Granville (22) is the fifth player to score at least 20. USC PAC-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK THIS YEAR Junior forwards Sam Clancy and David Bluthenthal have both been named Pac-10 Player of the Week this year. It is Clancy s first such honor, Bluthenthal s second and gives the Trojans 22 overall. Clancy earned the honor for the week of Dec. 25-Jan. 1. He averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 2.5 steals in USC s loss at Northwestern and win over Long Beach State. He posted double-doubles in both games and shot 19-of- 29 overall (.655). Bluthenthal was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for the week of Dec He averaged 27.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists as the Trojans defeated Cal State Northridge and UC Santa Barbara. It was Bluthenthal s second such honor of his career. FOR WHAT IT S WORTH USC has been a much better offensive team when playing at the Sports Arena than when playing away from it. USC is averaging 86.6 points at home compared to 72.2 away from it. The Trojans are shooting.492 at home and have hit.386 of their threes at home. Away from home, they are only.444 from the field and.297 from behind the arc. FINISHERS In all but four games this year, the Trojans have scored more points in the second half than in the first (and in one other, USC scored as many). USC is averaging 37.3 points in the first half and 42.2 in the second. USC s opponents are averaging 33.9 in the first and 36.0 in the second. MR. STICKEM With his three steals at Arizona State, Brandon Granville has now had at least three steals 24 times in his career. He has had at least four steals in a game 13 times in his career. He is fourth on USC s all-time steals chart with 151. A GRAND IN HAND Senior Brian Scalabrine became the 23rd player at USC to score more than 1,000 points when he scored 19 against Cal State Northridge. He now has 1,225, good for 11th on the Trojans all-time scoring list. Senior Jeff Trepagnier has 982 (24th). THIRD S A CHARM The Trojans were picked to finish third in the Pacific- 10 Conference men s basketball race, according to a poll of media members who cover Pac- 10 men s basketball. Arizona was chosen first and garnered all 29 first-place votes (290 points). Defending Pac-10 co-champion Stanford was picked second (255) and USC (206) edged UCLA (205) for third. California was picked fifth (160), followed by Oregon (138), Oregon State 2001 USC Double-Doubles (12) PTS REB AST STL OPP David Bluthenthal (6) Bradley Utah CSUN UCSB Pepp BYU Sam Clancy (5) Utah BYU Northwestern LBS UCLA Brandon Granville (1) BYU-HI Brian Scalabrine (1) CSUN (133), Arizona State (109), Washington (58) and Washington State (41). THE TROJANS VS. RANKED TEAMS The Trojans are 1-2 against ranked teams this year. They beat then-no. 18 Utah in the Wooden Classic and lost to then-no 24 Mississippi in the second round of the Yahoo! Sports Invitational and at then-no. 17 Arizona. USC s victory over Utah was its first win over a ranked non-conference team since beating then-no. 18 Missouri on Dec. 28, The Trojans are only 7-22 versus ranked teams since December of USC was 2-5 against ranked teams last year with wins over No. 2 Arizona and No. 25 UCLA and losses to No. 5 North Carolina, No. 15 Duke, No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 Arizona and No. 1 Stanford. USC s wins over Arizona and UCLA gave the Trojans back-to-back wins over ranked teams for the first time since the season. That year, USC downed No. 18 California, 86-78, and No. 15 UCLA, The last time USC defeated ranked teams more than twice in a row was in , when the Trojans did it four straight times. They beat No. 24 Stanford, 82-72, No. 2 UCLA, 86-82, No. 4 UCLA, 83-79, and No. 2 Arizona, Counting wins over No. 5 Arizona and No. 12 UCLA at the end of the season, the Trojans defeated six straight ranked teams. TROJANS VS TOURNA- MENT TEAMS USC is 3-2 against 2000 NCAA Tournament teams this year and 3-1 against 2000 NIT teams. Overall, USC will face six teams that played in last year s NCAA Tournament: Arizona, UCLA, Oregon and Stanford (twice each) and Pepperdine and Utah. The Trojans will face 2000 NIT teams Arizona State and California (twice each), Long Beach State, Mississippi and BYU. PRESEASON HYPE The Trojans received more than their share of hype in the preseason and have been ranked as high as No. 14 in some polls. Both the Trojans backcourt and frontcourt have been listed among the nation s Top 10 and each of the starting five are rated by numerous sources as first or second team in the Pac-10 or as the most underrated player in the Pac-10. Lindy s ranks Brian Scalabrine as the No. 2 power forward in the country and The Sporting News has him at No. 4. Jeff Trepagnier is listed as the Pac-10 s top defender by Lindy s The Trojans When At the Sports Arena On the Road At a Neutral Site Scoring First Leading at Halftime Trailing at Halftime Tied at Halftime Leading or Tied with 5:00 Left Trailing with 5:00 Left In Overtime In Double Overtime Scoring Less Than 70 Points Scoring Between Points Scoring Between Points Scoring Between Points Scoring More Than 100 Points Trojans in Double Figures Trojans in Double Figures Trojans in Double Figures Trojans in Double Figures Trojans or less in Double Figures USC 50% or Better from Field USC Under 50% from Field USC Outrebounds Opponent Opponent Outrebounds USC USC Has More Turnovers Opponent Has More Turnovers USC Has More Assists Opponent Has More Assists The Last Time A Trojan... Scored 40 or More Points... Harold Miner (43), 11/25/91 Scored 30 or More Points...Sam Clancy (31), 1/11/01 Got 15 or More Rebounds... David Bluthenthal (15), 2/9/00 Had 10 or More Assists...Brandon Granville (11), 12/21/00 Had a 20-Point, 20-Rebound Game... Derrick Dowell (24, 21), 2/1/85 The Last Time the Trojans... Scored 100 or More Points...vs. Bradley (107), 11/18/00 Allowed 100 or More Points... at No. 1 Stanford (111), 3/2/00 Had 50 or More Rebounds... vs. Arizona State (51), 1/20/00 Allowed 50 or More Rebounds... vs. Stanford (#2) (50), 2/5/00 Had 25 or More Assists... vs. Memphis (25), 11/23/99 Made 15 or More Steals... at Washington (15), 1/8/00 5 or More Score in Double Figures... vs. Long Beach State (5), 12/30/00 Beat an Opponent by 20 or More... vs. Oregon State (26), 1/27/01 Beat a Ranked Opponent... vs. Utah (AP #18) 65-60, 12/2/00 Beat a Top-10 Ranked Opponent... vs. Arizona (AP #2) 80-72, 1/22/00

6 and Preview Sports. The Sporting News lists Brandon Granville as the seventh-best point guard in the country and Lindy s dubbed him the top playmaker in the Pac-10. Athlon Sports called Sam Clancy the most underrated player in the Pac-10 while The Sporting News gave the same distinction to David Bluthenthal. THAT BLUTHENTHAL STEALS NOTE David Bluthenthal entered this season with 32 career steals, 27 from last season. But so far this year, he already has 29 thefts, second most on the team. Bluthenthal has had at least three steals in a game five times this year. THREES AND COUNTING Junior Brandon Granville currently is fifth on USC s all-time three-point chart with 140 career bombs. Granville has had at least three three-pointers nine times this year and 21 times in his career. Junior David Bluthenthal is 12th on the school chart with 79. NOTES ARCHIVE USC has scored at least 90 points four times. The most times the Trojans have scored 90 points or more in a game in one season is 10 (Bob Boyd s 1975)... USC s eight-game win streak to start the was the best start for a Trojan team since the 1975 team opened with eight straight victories. The 1971 team, meanwhile, won its first 16 games. The record for best start at USC, however, is 17, courtesy of the 1910 Trojans...Sam Clancy s 31 points against Bradley were the most for a Trojan since Gary Johnson had 32 against Arizona State in the 1998 season finale... Clancy made his first career three-pointer against San Diego. Prior to that, he was 0-for- 2 in his career... The Trojans 65 points against Utah was its lowest winning total since defeating Arkansas State, 64-48, on Dec. 29, It was also USC s first win when scoring less then 70 points since that same game. USC was 0-9 in such games last year USC had only eight assists against Utah, its lowest total since five against Stanford on Jan. 5, USC held Washington State to.323 from the field, the lowest USC opponent mark since Loyola Marymount hit only.237 of its shots last season on Dec. 11. COMING FROM BEHIND USC was 0-8 last year after trailing at the half. But this year, the Trojans are 4-3. They trailed Bradley, 49-48, at the half, San Diego, 32-28, Cal State Northridge, 52-46, and BYU, The Trojans also almost came back from a 15-0 deficit at Northwestern and were three points shy of erasing a 19-point deficit with 11 minutes to go at UCLA. The Trojans also erased all but two points of a 13-point deficit at Arizona, but couldn t quite get all the way back. ALL THINGS ASSISTS Junior guard Brandon Granville now owns all of USC s major assist records. He broke Larry Friend s school career assist record of 409 against LMU and now stands at 513. The Pac-10 record is 938 (Gary Payton, Oregon State, ). Tenth place on the Pac-10 list is 554 (Reggie Geary, Arizona, ). He had at least 10 assists 13 times as a sophomore last year. ALL THINGS STEALS USC guard Jeff Trepagnier owns both USC s record for steals in a game (10 vs. Utah State last year) and for a season (94). Trepagnier is working his way up the USC career Top 10 in steals with 178, good for third place. Derrick Dowell is second with 179 and Stais Boseman ( ) owns the record with 208. Brandon Granville has quietly followed Trepagnier up the list and is fourth on the career chart with 151. The Pac-10 career record for steals us 321 (Gary Payton, Oregon State, ). Tenth-place on the list is Boseman at 208. ALMOST LIKE HALLEY S COMET A USC non-conference overtime loss is a rare commodity indeed. When the Trojans fell to Mississippi on Friday (Dec. 22), it was their first OT loss to a school outside the Pac-10 since losing to Georgia, 77-75, in the 1973 season. In fact, it was only the fourth non-conference overtime loss ever and only the second in 60 years (USC is now 18-4 in such games). The other two defeats came against San Francisco, a winner in the 1942 season, and to Ohio State, a victor in the 1937 season. USC is now overall in overtime games, in single overtime games and 2-1 in OT games at a neutral site. NUMBER CRUNCHING USC has just about all of its firepower back from a year ago. All five starters return in addition to three key reserves. Percentage-wise the numbers are impressive. USC returns 97.2% of its scoring, 86.4% of its rebounding, 97.9% of its threepoint production, 99.2% of its blocked shots, 95.8% of its assists and 93.8% of its steals. Overall, USC has eight players coming back who accounted for 94.4% of the minutes played last year. YAHOO! SPORTS INVITATIONAL NOTES USC defeated BYU-Hawaii, 86-74, lost to Mississippi in overtime, 84-83, and defeated BYU, Brian Scalabrine and Sam Clancy both earned All-Tournament honors. Scalabrine scored 81 points in the three games, averaging 27.0 points per game, setting tournament records in both categories... Clancy averaged 20.3 points and 6.7 rebounds while David Bluthenthal, USC s leading scorer entering the tourney, averaged 9.3 rebounds to go with 8.3 points... USC shot.463 for the tournament (81- of-175), but only.260 from three-point range (13-of-50). Opponents, however, made.435 of their treys (27-of-62). A (BRIEF) LOOK BACK AT LAST YEAR USC opened by splitting its first 10 games, but two of those losses were to powers North Carolina and Duke and another came in a heartbreaking, buzzer-beating loss to Utah State. USC righted the ship by winning its last two non-conference games and then opened the Pac-10 season tied for first place at 6-1. The opening conference stretch included a road sweep of the Washington schools, a convincing win over No. 25 UCLA to snap a 10- game losing streak to the Bruins and then sweeping Arizona State (an OT win) and No. 2 USC CAREER BLOCKED SHOTS CHART Lorenzo Orr Sam Clancy Rod Keller Avondre Jones , Jeff Trepagnier Chris Munk David Crouse , Brian Scalabrine Charlie Simpson Ronnie Coleman Derrick Dowell USC CAREER STEALS CHART Stais Boseman Derrick Dowell Jeff Trepagnier Brandon Granville Mark Boyd Ronnie Coleman Rich Grande Larry Friend Harold Miner Elias Ayuso USC CAREER ASSISTS CHART Brandon Granville Larry Friend Duane Cooper , Jacque Hill Gus Williams USC CAREER 3-POINT FG CHART Harold Miner Elias Ayuso Phil Glenn Stais Boseman Brandon Granville Anthony Pendleton Dwayne Hackett Burt Harris Adam Spanich Duane Cooper , Rodney Chatman David Bluthenthal Brandon Martin Andy Olivarez Jeff Trepagnier Cameron Murray Brad Winslow Rich Grande Arizona before splitting two games in Oregon. But foot injuries to forwards Sam Clancy and Jarvis Turner in the Arizona State overtime win eventually took the steam out of the hot start. After the 6-1 beginning, the Trojans dropped eight of nine, most of them close losses as the Trojans lack of depth began to show. Included in the tight losses were a four-point defeat to California, a 10-point loss to No. 2 Stanford, a five-point loss at UCLA, a seven-point defeat (after leading for much of the game) at No. 4 Arizona and a three-point loss to Oregon. USC finished the season by sweeping, once again, the Washington schools, but it wasn t enough to earn the Trojans a postseason berth PAC-10 HONORS Forward/ center Brian Scalabrine earned Pac-10 first

7 USC Starting Lineups USC Coach Henry Bibby has used the same starting lineup in 14 of 19 games this year, but has reverted to the lineup expected coming into the season in the last three games. Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 11/18/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 11/21/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 11/25/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 12/2/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 12/5/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 12/9/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 12/14/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 12/21/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 12/22/00 L Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 12/23/00 W Murphy Granville Scalabrine Hutchinson Clancy 12/27/00 L Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 12/30/00 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 1/4/01 W Farmer Charissis Hutchinson Bluthenthal Turner 1/6/01 W Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 1/11/01 L Farmer Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 1/18/01 L Trepagnier Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 1/20/01 W Trepagnier Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 1/25/01 W Trepagnier Granville Scalabrine Bluthenthal Clancy 1/27/01 W team honors last year as a junior, the first Trojan to earn the honor since guard Stais Boseman did so in Three Trojans also earned All-Pac- 10 honorable mention honors last year: guard Jeff Trepagnier guard Brandon Granville and forward David Bluthenthal. The four Trojans selected were the most USC ever had in one season. TROY ON THE TUBE The Trojans will play 18 games that will be broadcast live in Los Angeles. Five games will be aired nationally on FOX Sports Net (Fox Net West in Los Angeles). Three games will be aired on FOX Sports Net West (Los Angeles only) and seven will be broadcast on FOX Sports Net West 2 (Los Angeles only). The game against Utah will be shown on KCAL (Channel 9). USC s game at Arizona State will be shown regionally on ABC and the Trojans home game vs. Arizona will air regionally on CBS. Refer to USC s composite schedule at for complete TV listings. TROY ON THE RADIO Twenty of USC s 30 games all Pac-10 games plus the Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State games will be broadcast live on XTRA-AM (690). The remaining games are carried by KMPC-AM (1540). Rory Markas returns for his third year as the playby-play voice of the Trojans while former USC assistant coach Jim Hefner is back for his fifth year providing commentary. A FEW OF LAST YEAR S MORE-INTERESTING NOTES Forward David Bluthenthal tied a 22-year-old USC record with 28 rebounds vs. Arizona State on Jan. 20 at the Sports Arena last season. He tied Cliff Robinson, who had 28 boards vs. Portland State on the same date in It was the most in the conference since Robinson s effort and is tied for fifth-best ever in the Pac-10. Bluthenthal s 28 rebounds is the third-most ever in a Pac-10 game (tied with Washington s Steve Hawes in 1972) and the most in a conference game since Hawes effort. The Pac-10 record in any game is 36, set by Swede Halbrook of Oregon State (Feb. 15, 1955). For perspective, no one in the Big Ten or the ACC has had at least 28 rebounds in the last 30 years. USC set a Pac-10, USC and a Gill Coliseum record for three-pointers made when they connected on 20-of-29 three-point attempts at Oregon State on Jan. 29. The previous conference record was 18 by Washington State vs. Seattle on Dec. 29, USC had three different Pac-10 Players of the Week last year (Brian Scalabrine, David Bluthenthal and Jeff Trepagnier). It was the first time USC had three different players earn the award in one season. David Bluthenthal finished one rebound short of averaging a doubledouble in Pac-10 play. HENRY BIBBY Henry Bibby, a coach with 18 years of college and professional experience and the only player to ever play for an NCAA, NBA and CBA championship team, will begin his fifth full season in as the head coach of the USC men s basketball program. With the Trojans on the rise, Bibby was rewarded with a three-year contract extension on Aug. 4, which will take him through the season. In , Bibby directed the Trojans to a overall finish and a 9-9 mark in the Pac-10 (sixth place), but USC fell just short of receiving a postseason berth. The Trojans looked to be headed to the NCAA Tournament after opening the Pac-10 season 6-1, but injuries to starting forward Sam Clancy and top reserve Jarvis Turner early in the conference schedule derailed the Trojans. The previous year, USC (7-11 in the Pac-10, tied for seventh) and made a first-round appearance in the NIT. USC went 9-19 in , but closed out the year with a stunning overtime victory over then-no. 2 Arizona and a rout of Arizona State. In his first full season at the helm of the Trojan program, Bibby did not waste any time in moving Troy in the right direction. The campaign saw the Trojans finish second in the Pacific-10 Conference and make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since The previous year, the Trojans went and finished ninth in the conference. The seven-game improvement is the third-biggest turnaround in USC history and the seven spot increase in the standings matches a school best. In addition, Bibby s mark in is the best by a Trojan coach in his first full year since Forrest Twogood went 21-6 in his debut season in Bibby was named USC s head coach on March 15, Bibby joined the Trojan program in May of 1995 as an assistant coach. He was named USC s interim head coach on Feb. 7, 1996, replacing Charlie Parker. Bibby came to USC after coaching a club team in Venezuela in He was a head coach for eight seasons in the Continental Basketball Association. His teams made it into the CBA playoffs six times and posted a regular season record, making him only the fourth CBA coach to post 200 wins. BRIAN SCALABRINE (RS) Senior forward/center 6-foot pounds Brian Scalabrine, a 2001 Playboy pre-season All-American and 2001 Wooden and Naismith Award candidate, is one of the Pac-10 s top offensive threats and most versatile players who can score equally well from the inside or outside. One of five Trojan returning starters, he is the Pac-10 s leading returning scorer. He has started all but one game in his USC career. He came off the bench for the first time against Washington this season. Scalabrine is USC s second-leading scorer (14.9) and third-leading rebounder (5.3) and is shooting.522 from the field. His assist average of 2.8 is second best on the team and his seven assists against Long Beach State tied a career high. He is also averaging 1.1 blocks per game, second on the team and ninth in the Pac-10. He scored 20 points and had nine rebounds vs. Oregon and had 16 points and three blocks vs. Oregon State. He averaged 27.0 points per game in the three games of the Yahoo! Sports Invitational, the best three-game average of his Trojan career. He earned All-Tournament honors for his efforts. He posted a season-high 28 points vs. BYU-Hawaii, making a career-high 14 field goals in a career-high tying 20 field goal attempts. He followed it with 27 points vs. Ole Miss. He played 44 minutes vs. the Rebels, the eighth time he s played at least 40 minutes in a game for the Trojans. He then had 26 points against BYU. Scalabrine had 22 points against Pepperdine, matching the same total he had vs. Loyola Marymount. He also had 18 points (including a career-high four treys) and three blocks vs. Utah. In the game against the Utes, his third block with 30 seconds remaining helped seal the win. He posted his fifth career double-double vs. CSUN with 19 points and 10 boards. He followed it with 10 rebounds and seven points at UCSB, giving him back-to-back double-digit rebound efforts for the first time in his career. Scalabrine has scored at least 20 points 24 times in his USC career. Scalabrine earned 2000 The Sporting News All-American honorable mention, All-Pac-10 and NABC All-District 15 first team honors as a 2000 junior forward/center, finishing as the Pac-10 s second-leading and

8 USC s top scorer at 17.8 points per game. He led the Trojans in field goal percentage (.531, fifth in the conference), tied for the best three-point percentage (.403), was second in assists (2.83) and was fourth in rebounds (6.0) last year. His 19.4 scoring average in Pac-10 games was second in the league. He scored in double figures in 26 of 30 games, scoring at least 20 points 12 times and at least 25 points six times. Scalabrine s 534 points on the season were the eighth most ever by a Trojan. He had a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds against Oregon last year. (Arizona Coach Lute Olson on Scalabrine): (Scalabrine) is an allleaguer. He s the closest thing I ve seen to (ex-washington and NBA star) Detlef Schrempf since Detlef Schrempf. He can bring it on the break. He can pass it and he can shoot it. He s a pro, no question. (Former Oregon State Coach Eddie Payne): Scalabrine showed us how smart of a player he is. He took our guys to school. He is arguably the best player in the league. (Ken Goe of the Oregonian): Strong, mobile, able to play inside and out, the 6-foot-9 Scalabrine almost certainly has a professional career waiting for him when he leaves the Trojans. JEFF TREPAGNIER Senior guard 6-foot pounds Jeff Trepagnier, a two-year returning starter, is a well-rounded swingman and one of the top athletes in the nation, as evidenced by his 40-inch vertical leap and high-jumping performance for the Trojan track team. Trepagnier, USC s second-leading returning scorer and thirdleading returning rebounder, looks to continue the improvements that have made him one of the country s most versatile players in Trepagnier made his first appearance of the season vs. Washington State on Jan. 4. Coming off the bench, he played 15 minutes, scoring three points (on a three-pointer) and blocking two shots. He missed the Washington game while resting a sore left ankle. In his second game of the season at UCLA, Trepagnier came off the bench to score 13 points and grab seven rebounds in 34 minutes. He played 16 minutes off the bench at Arizona. Trepagnier returned to the starting lineup for good at Arizona State. In Tempe, he scored six points and grabbed eight rebounds in 37 minutes. He had 12 points to go with three steals against Oregon. He missed USC s first three games while recovering from a hairline fracture in his left foot. Trepagnier was then suspended indefinitely by Coach Henry Bibby (before the Utah game) for violating athletic department rules. Trepagnier is third on USC s career chart in steals (178), fifth in blocked shots (87) and tied for 15th in three-pointers (54). Trepagnier earned 2000 All-Pac-10 honorable mention and NABC All-District 15 second team honors as a 2000 junior guard. He led the Pac-10 in steals (3.2, ninth nationally) and was the only player in the league to finish in the Top 10 in five statistical categories, posting career highs in each: steals, blocked shots (1.4, fourth), scoring (15.9, sixth), rebounding (6.6, 10th) and three-point percentage (.380, 10th). He had a USC single-season record 94 steals (third-most ever in the Pac-10), breaking the old mark of 62 (Derrick Dowell). He set a school record with 10 steals vs. Utah State in the Maui Invitational, breaking his old mark of eight. He scored a career-high 28 points on 13-of-18 shooting vs. Washington and 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting plus 10 rebounds vs. UCLA. He was one of only two players shorter than 6-foot-8 to be in the Pac- 10 s Top 10 in blocks (the other was Washington State s 6-foot-6 Tyrone Evans). (Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski): Jeff Trepagnier is as good of an athlete as we ve played against and he s got courage, too. (Gordon Wittenmyer, formerly of the Riverside Press-Enterprise): Jeff Trepagnier can be spectacular the way he starts that quick first step, that where d-he-come-from vertical leap that dazzles fans and demoralizes opponents. (Stacy Clardie of The Sporting News): On the basketball court, his quickness and leaping translate into acrobatic moves under the hoop, stunning dunks and steals galore. (Trojan teammate Brian Scalabrine, on Trepagnier s athleticism): Jeff breaks all basketball rules. SAM CLANCY Junior forward 6-foot pounds Sam Clancy returns as a two-year starting forward after missing 10 games last year due to a fracture in his right foot. Clancy is USC s leading scorer (18.4) and second-leading rebounder (7.2) and has a team-high 50 blocks (2.6). He is shooting a team-best.536 from the field ( ). He is averaging a 20.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks in the Pac-10. His 116 career blocks is tied for second-most ever at USC (Rod Keller). The Trojan record for career blocks is 128 (Lorenzo Orr). Clancy was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 25-Jan. 1. He averaged 19.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 2.5 steals in USC s loss at Northwestern and win over Long Beach State. He tied his career-high with 31 points (on 12-of-16 shooting) at UCLA to go with 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double. Clancy had 28 points, seven rebounds and four blocks at Arizona State after scoring 23 points to go with seven boards and four blocks at Arizona. Clancy scored a career-high 31 points on 10-of-20 shooting and 11- of-13 shooting from the line against Bradley and followed it with a gamehigh 22 points vs. San Diego, which included his first career three-point basket. Clancy posted his third straight double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds vs. Long Beach State and tied a career high with six blocks against the 49ers. He had his second double-double of the season vs. BYU, scoring 26 points and pulling down 11 rebounds at the Yahoo! Sports Invitational and earned All-Tournament honors there. He followed it with another double-double at Northwestern with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Clancy scored 21 points and had five blocks vs. Oregon. He had his first double-double of the year (and 10th for his career) vs. Utah with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Clancy averaged 15.5 points and 6.9 rebounds as a 2000 sophomore forward, but had what was turning into a monster season derailed by a fractured foot suffered against Arizona State on Jan. 20. At the time of the injury, Clancy was averaging team highs in points (17.6, also second in the Pac-10), rebounds (7.8) and blocks (1.6). He scored a career-high 24 points in the season-opener against Cal State Northridge and had 23 points against both then-no. 5 North Carolina and at Washington. (Jim Thomas of the South Bay Daily Breeze): The best player in the Pac-10 at the moment and possibly for the season is Sam Clancy. (He) is explosive and powerful around the basket, rising up in traffic to shoot a sweet medium-range jumper that is almost unstoppable. He s also a ferocious jam artist... and a great shot blocker for someone his size. (Trojan teammate David Bluthenthal): Teams will try to trash-talk him, but you can t really get to Sam. When I guard him in practice, I talk at him and he talks back to me, but it doesn t affect the way he plays. You can t really faze him. DAVID BLUTHENTHAL Junior forward 6-foot pounds David Bluthenthal returns as a starting small forward and one of the top all-around performers in the Pac-10 in Bluthenthal blossomed as a sophomore, starting 29 of 30 games at small forward en route to 2000 All-Pac-10 honorable mention honors. He averaged a USC-best 8.3 rebounds per game (third in the Pac-10 and the best USC mark since 1995) and his 250 rebounds were the 14th-most ever by a Trojan. Bluthenthal leads the Trojans in rebounding (7.3) and is third in scoring (13.6) and field goal percentage (.492). He also has 29 steals, second on the team. It is two more steals than he had all of last season. Bluthenthal made four three-pointers en route to 14 points at Arizona. He had 25 points and seven rebounds against Washington after getting 14 points and nine rebounds vs. Washington State.