USC NOTEBOOK : TROJANS BULKING UP INSIDE, AND IT'S HELPING.

Byline: Scott Wolf Daily News Staff Writer

Although Rodrick Rhodes' switch to the point forward position received most of the attention in USC's victory over Washington on Thursday, the Trojans have undergone another recent change that should help them in the Pacific-10 Conference.

USC finally has some post players that can help out center David Crouse, who has struggled for much of the season.

The victory over Washington provided an excellent example of the Trojans' newfound depth.

The 6-foot-11 Crouse fouled out and played only 11 minutes against the Huskies. That might have doomed the Trojans earlier in the season, when big men like North Carolina's Serge Zwikker had 22 points and 20 rebounds.

But in the past two weeks, USC has added 6-7 junior Anthony White and 6-8 freshman Jarvis Turner.

White was ineligible until Dec. 18 because he did not have the necessary transfer units, while Turner suffered a stress fracture in his back before the season.

``We are fairly big inside,'' USC coach Henry Bibby said. ``We have five guys (now) that are fairly athletic and do different things.''

White and Turner also helped USC shut down Washington's 7-foot center, Todd MacCullough, in the second half. MacCullough had seven points and seven rebounds in the first half, but was held scoreless and had only two rebounds in the second half.

Walker's back: Freshman guard Danny Walker returned against Washington after a two-game absence. He has been bothered by a sore knee that will probably require surgery after the season and played seven minutes against the Huskies.

Bibby said Walker should be able to play more today against Washington State.

``He last played a month ago so we wanted to bring him along slowly,'' Bibby said. ``I think he can be a factor like he was before he left.''

Hot and cold: USC can be a dangerous 3-point shooting team, depending upon who is shooting the ball. Guard Ken Sims (56 percent) is the second-best shooter in the Pac-10 and Walker is shooting 43 percent.

But Stais Boseman has made only 10 of 48 (21 percent) of his 3-pointers, and Rhodes is just 10 for 33.

Criticism deserved: Although Bibby has recently criticized the inconsistent play of Rhodes and Boseman, Rhodes said he was not bothered by the remarks.

``When you play bad, you should get what you deserve,'' Rhodes said. ``We should never have put ourselves in that position.''

Rhodes added that USC's success is based on a simple formula. If he and Boseman play well, the Trojans usually win.

``The stats show it. In games we won, we both played well,'' Rhodes said.

Thompson tops Pac-10: USC women's basketball forward Tina Thompson is leading the conference in scoring (23.1 points) and rebounding (10.6 rebounds).

The Women of Troy also tied a school record by converting 95 percent of their free throws (19 of 20) in Thursday's 69-68 victory over Washington in Seattle.

The biggest three free throws were made by Jody Parriott, who was fouled on a desperation half-court shot and no time remaining. Parriott made all three free throws to pull out the victory.