PHILADELPHIA – Henry Bibby says his USC team is not tough, so he has to be.
“We’re a team that has to be pushed into a corner sometimes to respond,” Bibby said yesterday. “We’re an easygoing team. I’m probably the toughest guy on the team, I guess.”
This may not be good news for the Trojans, who tonight face Kentucky in an East Regional semifinal game at the First Union Center.
Toughness figures to be a fairly crucial ingredient if USC is to pull off an upset and win three games in an NCAA Tournament for the first time.
Let’s see. This foursome includes Duke, UCLA, Kentucky and USC. Three programs steeped in tradition, filled with championships and joyous March memories. Then there is USC.
Just look at the coach. Bibby hails from, of all places, UCLA, the Los Angeles rival that rules the city, leaving USC as a hoops afterthought.
“I think this is a program that is building, but it hasn’t gotten to where it’s ready to take off,” Bibby said.
One more victory should do the trick for the No. 6 seed Trojans (23-9).
With the athletic Jeff Trepagnier joining court general Brandon Glanville in the backcourt and Brian Scalabrine, David Bluthenthal and Sam Clancy forming a muscular front line, the Trojans are a solid team that lost six of its nine games to Pac-10 heavy- weights Stanford, Arizona and UCLA.
Getting past No. 2 seed Kentucky (24-9) will create the noise USC craves. Led by the paper-thin, lethal shooting Tayshaun Prince, the Wildcats are considered the last line of defense between Duke and yet another Blue Devil Final Four appearance.
Are the Trojans tough enough to handle this? “We’re really not tough-nosed guys,” said Trepagnier, who locked up in several high-school battles with Prince at rival schools in Compton, Calif. “All the kids on this team have nice personalities. Coach pressures us to be the bad guys.”
For now, Bibby takes the tough-guy role and hopes his players will follow his lead. Asked what concerns him most about Kentucky, Bibby quickly responded “Nothing.” He followed that up with, “I don’t care who’s here.”
Not long after Bibby’s declaration, Kentucky coach Tubby Smith was asked what about USC concerns him most. “Everything,” Smith said. “I guess I’m probably a much bigger worrier than Henry Bibby is.”
