WHERE'S THE FIRE?Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer USC coach Henry Bibby's frustration with the Trojans' lack of intensity reached a boiling point boiling point, temperature at which a substance changes its state from liquid to gas. A stricter definition of boiling point is the temperature at which the liquid and vapor (gas) phases of a substance can exist in equilibrium. When heat is applied to a liquid, the temperature of the liquid rises until the vapor pressure of the liquid equals the pressure of the surrounding gases. Tuesday, as he abruptly canceled a morning practice, made the players leave the North Gym and had them return for an afternoon session. ``I was surprised he stopped it,'' sophomore guard Desmon Farmer said. ``He just didn't like the way it was going. We were lackadaisical in the first drill.'' Senior forward David Bluthenthal said the players deserved Bibby's loss of patience. ``We weren't excited enough or going hard enough,'' Bluthenthal said. ``Guys needed it.'' Bibby criticized the entire team during his Tuesday news conference, saying the Trojans lack a real leader. In particular, he singled out the Trojans' three seniors - Bluthenthal, forward Sam Clancy and point guard Brandon Granville. ``We have a bunch of nice, low-key guys,'' Bibby said. ``We need someone to say, `This is my team' and lead. Last year, we didn't have that. I asked Brian Scalabrine, and he said, `Not me.' I've asked Sam Clancy and he can't do it. David Bluthenthal can't do it. Brandon Granville can't do it. ``Someone is a leader over (at Arizona) and it's not Lute Olson,'' Bibby said. ``Maybe it's (point guard) Jason Gardner. Someone who says, `If you're late to practice, don't show up.' '' Bibby continued by saying, ``We need someone to say, `We're going to win the Pac-10 and get to the NCAA Tournament.' I think we needed a fiery leader.'' His players didn't necessarily disagree with Bibby's assessment. ``We're not going to yell at our guys, but I understand where it's coming from,'' Bluthenthal said. --Brooks improves: Junior-college point guard Brandon Brooks of Indian Hills College in Ottumwa Ottumwa (ŏtŭm`wə, ō–), city (1990 pop. 24,488), seat of Wapello co., SE Iowa, on both banks of the Des Moines River, in a farm and coal area; inc. 1851. A commercial and industrial center, Ottumwa's economy is based on its meatpacking plant and a farm machinery industry., Iowa, who orally committed several weeks ago, was considered risky because of academic issues. But Brooks' situation has improved enough this semester that he now is considered a safe bet to meet all academic requirements. Brooks (6-feet, 195 pounds) is not playing this season, so he will have three years of eligibility remaining. He would be USC's third commitment after the November signings of Ventura College center Jonathan Oliver and forward Jack Wolfinger. The Trojans have one scholarship remaining. --Possible raise: There's been nothing stronger than a gentleman's agreement Gentleman's Agreement An unwritten agreement or transaction backed only by the integrity of the counterparty to actually abide by the terms of the agreement. An agreement like this is not legally binding and could have a negative effect on business relationships if one party decides to default on their promise., but preliminary discussions have been made regarding Bibby's contract. Current discussions have proposed giving Bibby a raise for the 2002-03 season that would increase his salary to about $600,000 a year. He also would get a yearly raise for the next three years of his contract. None of the talks are expected to be firmed up until after this season, and nothing at this point has been guaranteed. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: HENRY BIBBY USC coach says Trojans lack leadership and need someone to ignite the team. |
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