Trojans Seeking Short-Range Solution

A change in philosophy seems to be in the making for USC. At Monday’s practice, Trojan Coach Henry Bibby whistled a scrimmage to a halt and reminded his players what they have to do on Thursday against Washington’s 7-foot players, Todd MacCulloch and Patrick Femerling.

“Everything we do now is going to be geared to getting the ball inside,” Bibby said. “We want to get layups instead of jump shots.”

For much of the season the Trojans have relied on their perimeter shooting for points, but in three of the last four games, USC has been in a shooting slump.

Things bottomed out against UCLA a week ago when the Trojans made only 16% of their three-point shots. USC’s best outside shooters, senior Gary Johnson and juniors Adam Spanich and Elias Ayuso, have been shooting 300 to 400 shots every morning, trying to find their touch again, Bibby said.

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Former USC guard Danny Walker, who played an important role as a reserve last season for the Trojans but transferred to New Mexico State in September, has moved to Compton College.