Bibby to Trojans: Don’t Get Discouraged
With the Trojans mired in a four-game losing streak and leaving today for Washington and Washington State, Coach Henry Bibby decided to take it easy on his players in practice this week.
“We kind of backed off a little bit,†Bibby said. “I wanted to give them a little breathing room and come back strong.â€
There were no extra drills or sprints, no threats of tinkering with the starting lineup. At least not yet. Instead, Bibby closely watched his players, especially the freshmen, for signs of discouragement.
“I’ve been somewhat surprised by that,†he said. “They seem like they can bounce back.â€
In Seattle, where USC plays Thursday night, the Huskies know all about rebounding from a bad spell. Among the preseason Pacific 10 favorites, they lost their first three conference games before winning three in a row and barely losing at Stanford.
One of the keys to Washington’s turnaround has been the play of freshman point guard Senque Carey, who recently broke into the starting lineup and has scored in double figures four of the last five games. Carey is averaging 10 points and three assists in conference play.
“You tend to go with how the point guard is playing,†Washington Coach Bob Bender said. “It may not always reflect in the statistics, it may just be a sense of confidence in running the team.â€
Coming up: Thursday at Washington, Saturday at Washington State.
