SC NOTEBOOK: BUSINESS AS USUAL AT USC.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

USC players are learning meetings are a normal part of the Pacific-10 Conference basketball season.

The Trojans' two sets of twins (Errick and Derrick Craven; Lodrick and Rodrick Stewart) met with Charlotte Bobcats scout Charles Payne before last week's UCLA game to discuss their recent performances and how to improve their effort.

``He just wanted to talk about the toughness of the team,'' USC coach Henry Bibby said. ``And talk about what he'd seen the past four or five games.''

The meeting seemed to be beneficial, at least according to one of the participants.

``Actually, I think it did help because I had a meeting with the coaches afterward and it did help me see things clearer,'' point guard Derrick Craven said.

The Stewart twins are not allowed to speak to the media and could not comment about the meeting.

--Lost recruit: USC already signed three players in November and has an oral commitment from Cleveland High of Reseda forward Nick Young, but the Trojans recently lost out on a recruit. Forward Jerome Habel of Washington, D.C., committed to Florida State.

--Craven likes the bench: Guard Errick Craven, who has come off the bench the past two games, told Bibby he prefers not starting.

``I'm trying to do something different,'' Craven said. ``Something to motivate me. I feed off the starters and become a spark off the bench. I felt a little more energy. It's a different scene to see what everybody does.

``After the Stanford game, I realized I liked coming off the bench. It was something different to give me energy. I have to step back to see what I need to do to get more comfortable.''

He sat out Monday's practice because of the flu but participated in Tuesday's practice.

--Farmer gets tossed: Bibby admitted Tuesday he threw guard Desmon Farmer out of Monday's practice. Originally, he said Farmer left early to get his injured hand examined by doctors.

``He's the only guy I've coached that I've thrown out of practice so much,'' Bibby said. ``You couldn't have a good weekend unless you throw Des out of practice at least one time. Des is a guy you can throw out and the next day he'll bounce right back. Of all the kids I've had, he's probably matured the most and made the most out of his talent.

``I love Desmon Farmer. He hits big shots for us. I was remembering when we played Arizona State and Desmon scored 14 of our first 19 points. You look over some of the bad shots he takes or some of the deficiencies handling the basketball.''

Bibby said Lodrick Stewart is a younger version of Farmer.

``Lodrick is the guy next year I'll throw out like Des,'' he said. ``I've already tossed Lodrick out a couple times this year for not working hard, not running and talking back.''

Scott Wolf, [phone]

scott.wolf(at)dailynews.com