Wednesday, February 18, 1998
Bruins to face USC without McCoy
MBASKETBALL: With shuffled lineup, team hastens to toughen
defense as Duke game nears
By Brent Boyd
Daily Bruin Staff
They’ve done it before, and now they’ll have to do it again.
The Bruins will enter their second stint tonight without Jelani
McCoy and his 6-foot-10-inch frame standing in the middle of the
key.
In its first game since the resignation of McCoy, UCLA (19-5,
9-4 Pac-10) will take on USC at the Sports Arena in a game that
will undoubtedly be used as a measuring stick for how well the
Bruins will perform without their star center.
It will be the only tune-up for the McCoy-less Bruins before
Sunday’s showdown at second-ranked Duke. And with only three weeks
to prepare for the NCAA tournament, the game takes on added
significance.
"Obviously this is a big week," head coach Steve Lavin said.
"We’ve got to find a way to improve, and we only have three weeks
to do it. We need to play better defense, collectively."
McCoy also missed the first nine games of the season due to
suspension for undisclosed reasons.
In his absence, the Bruins amassed an 8-1 record, which included
their only victory over a ranked team this season – a 69-58 win
over then-No. 8 New Mexico.
Without McCoy, the Bruins will have a giant hole to fill. J.R.
Henderson (6 feet 8 1/2 inches) will move over to full-time center,
while freshman Travis Reed (6 feet 6 inches) figures to pick up
more minutes at forward.
"With (McCoy) resigning, we’re obviously much smaller," Lavin
said. "We’ll have to generate more points from the bench. Reed will
definitely get more playing time."
Throughout the year, Lavin has mainly used a six-player
rotation, resulting in inexperience among the reserves.
Reed, however, played well in the nine games before McCoy’s
return, averaging 5.4 points and 3.2 rebounds while playing about
15 minutes per game. Included in that stretch was a 14-point,
10-rebound performance against Cal State Fullerton and another
14-point outing against New Mexico.
Since McCoy’s return, though, Reed has seen limited action. He
has only played in nine of the past 15 games for a total of 63
minutes.
"I’m going to have to be a big presence, just like I was
before," Reed said. "Except this time, he’s not coming back."
The matchup against the Trojans (7-16, 3-10) couldn’t have come
at a better time for the Bruins, who have lost two of their last
four games and barely pulled out a three-point victory over
California Saturday.
In addition to USC’s lack of a player taller than 6 feet 8
inches, Troy has been struggling of late.
They have lost seven of the last eight (the only win came in
overtime against Pac-10 cellar-dweller Washington State), and have
lost four in a row.
Last week, USC was routed at home by California, 73-43, and
Stanford, 83-59, by a combined 54 points – the Trojans’ largest
total margin of defeat for consecutive home games in school
history.
"It’s been a disappointing year knowing that we are losing
games," USC head coach Henry Bibby said. "We’re just a little young
– a little youthful – and we just don’t know how to play at this
level yet."
The top four players from last year’s NCAA tournament squad all
graduated – taking 60 percent of the team’s points and almost all
of its experience with them.
Like the Bruins, USC’s roster has changed more often than Dennis
Rodman’s hair style.
Last week, guard Ken Sims was kicked off the team, while Bibby
suspended point guard Gary Johnson (curfew violation) and shooting
guard Elias Ayuso (poor academic performance).
Both Johnson and Ayuso will return for tonight’s contest.
All told, USC has started 16 different lineups this year.JUSTIN
WARREN/Daily Bruin
Freshman forward Travis Reed dribbles the ball during a previous
USC game.