Good Time Had by All, Including Reserves

The players at the deep end of the USC bench--freshmen Kostas Charissis, Nate Hair and Malachi Thurston--relished the extended playing time they got in USC’s victory over UC Santa Barbara Wednesday.

Thurston had the longest run, scoring five points and grabbing four rebounds in 26 minutes. Charissis played nine minutes, getting two points, one rebound and one technical foul but fouled out. Hair, being brought along slowly since recovering from a stress fracture in his lower left leg, was scoreless in six minutes.

“It was a different experience,” said Charissis, who played club basketball in his native Greece last year. “I have to get used to the speed of the game. But I got my feet wet; the next time I hope to go in and be more effective.”

Rashad Jones, along with Jarvis Turner, is the main reserve Coach Henry Bibby uses to rest the starters.

“We could use them when [Pacific 10 Conference] play starts,” Jones said. “If they keep developing and earn Coach’s trust, and we have more bodies, I think we can be pretty good.”

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Brandon Granville had 12 assists Tuesday, giving him four consecutive games with 10 or more. He has 63 in the team’s five games. The school’s single-season record is 176, set by Larry Friend in 1984-85. Granville’s assist average (12.6) so far is double what Friend’s average was (6.1) that season.