FOR ONCE, COACHES' TALK NOT SO CHEAP; TROJANS ARE PART OF ATTRACTIVE DOUBLEHEADER.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

John Wooden listened for 20 minutes as Mike Krzyzewski, Mike Montgomery, Cliff Ellis and Henry Bibby showered him with praise Friday before talking about today's sixth annual John Wooden Classic at the Pond.

Krzyzewski, whose 16th-ranked Duke Blue Devils play Bibby's USC Trojans at 2:30 p.m., thanked Wooden for giving back to basketball more than anyone in history. Montgomery, who leads No. 9 Stanford against No. 2 Auburn at noon, called Wooden a role model and legend.

Finally, it was Wooden's turn to talk.

``You know, if I believed all this stuff these coaches were saying about me, I'd be a pretty bad person,'' Wooden said.

In other words, he wasn't buying it.

``I guess some things don't change much,'' Wooden said. ``If you listen to these coaches, they'll tell you their opponent is the better team and that they'll have a tough time getting by. That sort of stuff happened in my day; I did some of that. I always thought all the good players went to other schools and that (UCLA) got the players that (were left over).''

Maybe the old coach is on to something. The way Krzyzewski and Co. talked up their respective opponents today, you'd think these guys were playing the 1969 UCLA Bruins.

To be sure, though, the two matchups offer some intrigue.

USC, coming off a last-second 52-50 loss to Utah State at the Maui Invitational, plays Duke, an uncharacteristic 2-2, in a game that should define where the Trojans are as a team, and what work remains.

It's the second time in seven days that USC faces an Atlantic Coast Conference power with North Carolina dealing the Trojans an 82-65 loss in Maui last week.

The Blue Devils lost four impact players from last year's national runner-ups, three of whom left school early for the NBA - freshman Corey Maggette, William Avery and Elton Brand. Also gone from that team is Trajan Langdon.

Duke opened with losses to Stanford and Connecticut before beating Army and Columbia.

Still, good players continue to roll through Durham, so nobody feels too sorry for Krzyzewski.

``They're probably the best 2-2 team in the nation,'' Bibby said. ``Hopefully we can come through and make this a basketball game.''

Duke's best player is Shane Battier, who averages 15 points and draws the other team's best offensive player. He's also the only player with experience in a starting lineup featuring two freshmen - 6-foot-9 forward Carlos Boozer and point guard Jason Williams, who is averaging 13 points and five assists.

In all, the Blue Devils have seven freshmen and just one senior.

``It's the youngest team I've ever coached,'' Krzyzewski said. ``We have a chance to be really good, but are we ready (right now) to play a polished basketball game? I don't think so.''

USC goes without forward Jarvis Turner, who is out with a foot injury. The Trojans have been up and down, routing Memphis 92-65, then following up with the loss to Utah State a day later.

The Trojans are just as young as Duke. Three starters - Brandon Granville (point guard), Sam Clancy and David Bluthenthal - are sophomores, and the other two are juniors.

Clancy leads the team in scoring (17) and is third in rebounding (7.0). Jeff Trepagnier (15.0), Brian Scalabrine (14.2) and Bluthenthal (10.5) are the other top scorers.

While Duke and USC are still searching for identities, Stanford and Auburn have established themselves as national-championship material.

The Cardinal, which features former Harvard-Westlake stars Jason and Jarron Collins, opened the year by winning the four-team Coaches for Cancer tournament at Madison Square Garden, beating Duke 80-79 and Iowa 72-58.

Stanford is without power forward Mark Madsen, who will be out until mid-December with an injured hamstring.

But the Cardinal still has the Collins twins, who are playing together for the first time in two years, plus impact freshman Casey Jacobsen from Glendora High, who is averaging 12 points.

``They're going to be a solid team for a long time,'' Auburn coach Cliff Ellis said.

Jason Collins (9 ppg, 8.5 rpg) has played only 104 minutes since getting to Stanford, suffering various injuries. He's reasonably healthy now, although sore knees keep him from practicing every day. But his impact, along with that of Jason (13 ppg, 7.8 rpg), is crucial in the paint.

``They play extremely well together,'' Montgomery said. ``and you can tell that they were well-coached. They're legitimate, quality big people and they've been a very effective combination.''

They need to play strong inside today. Auburn (2-0) is deep and athletic, boasting one of the top players in the country in Chris Porter, an explosive 6-7 forward who's averaging 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. He leads a physical frontline that also features 7-footer Mamadou N'diaye, who averages 16 points and 16 rebounds.

The Tigers return four starters from a team that won the Southeastern Conference championship last year and reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

``When they invited us to play in this event we accepted right away, but when I found out we'd be playing Auburn I wished we'd just gone to the beach or to Disneyland,'' Montgomery said. ``It's not about what they're doing, it's how they're doing it. We'll have our hands full, no question.''

Stanford hasn't shot particularly well, just 40 percent, which could hurt them against the Tigers.

``Their physical toughness on the boards will be a challenge,'' Montgomery said. ``And the advantage a team like Auburn has, if they get in trouble (offensively), they'll just pitch it off the glass and let four guys go get it.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 2 boxes

PHOTO (1) Brian Scalabrine

(2) Mike Krzyzewski

(3) Chris Porter

(4) Casey Jacobsen

BOX: (1) John R. Wooden Classic

(2) Wooden Classic matchups