Unusual Success Comes

One of the first things you have to do when you move to Southern California is explain to everybody back East that there is no university out here called Southern Cal.

And then, as soon as you finish explaining that almost nobody on this coast confuses “USC” with the University of South Carolina, the next thing you have to do is explain why one of the nation’s most famous universities vanishes into thin air during college basketball season.

USC hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since 1985.

USC hasn’t won a game in the NCAA tournament since 1979.

USC hasn’t won two games in the NCAA tournament since 1954.

And that was the only time USC even won that many.

Amazing.

One of the current Trojans, a fine four-year player named Ronnie Coleman who is practically unknown except on this side of Nevada, needs only 12 points to become USC’s all-time leading scorer.

Coleman could get the 12 Monday night, when USC plays the always dangerous Cal State Northridge, which probably will be tired from having played the always dangerous Eastern Washington.

While I am happy for Ronnie Coleman and his success, I was startled to discover the other day that not only had I never heard of USC’s current all-time scoring leader, but I had never heard of the all-time scoring leader before him.

Excuse me for not being a walking encyclopedia of sport or a native West Coaster, but until the other day I was completely unaware that anybody named Wayne Carlander had played basketball for USC, much less scored 1,524 points over four seasons.

And the leading USC scorer before Carlander was John Rudometkin, who scored 1,484 points in 1960-62.

Remember, this was before there were three-point shots. Hey, 1960--I think this was before there was color television.

Anyhow, no offense is meant to Mr. Carlander or Mr. Rudometkin, who, I’m certain, were outstanding athletes both. For all I know, with a little more publicity, we’d all be wearing Air Rudometkin sneakers by now.

It’s just that I am shocked that an athletic program as illustrious as Southern--uh, USC’s--could have remained so anonymous in college hoop circles throughoutmost of our adult lives.

Every year when the NCAA tournament pairings are announced, they include some six-bathroom backwater college or Southeastern Louisiana Unorthodox Baptist or James and Dolly Madison Presidential Baking Academy that usually draws some nationally ranked Big Ten team in the first round and usually wins. And USC stays home.

Well, it is too soon to tell, but here it is February and George Raveling’s Trojans are still very much in contention for an invitation to the big party. Raveling has been hiding his suffering and crossing his fingers ever since leaving the bumper crop of Iowa for the bumper-to-bumper crop of Los Angeles. The bright lights here haven’t found him. When George Raveling goes out to supper in California, he orders from friendly waiters named Derek or Eric who explain all the specials right down to the braised organic artichoke-and-hammerhead-shark omelet and then leave him to eat undisturbed. In Iowa, the coach would sign 50 autographs before Bertha the waitress brought the salad.

Raveling’s best record in four seasons at USC is 12-16. It would have been considerably better had Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble stayed and played rather than transfer to Loyola Marymount, but nothing can be done about that.

What can be done for USC basketball is being done by a team that already is 11-6, with 11 games remaining on the regular schedule.

If you think Raveling, at 53, might be too much the old pro to get excited over what is happening with his team, you should have seen him after Wednesday night’s 76-74 victory over 12th-ranked UCLA. I haven’t seen anybody work a room like this since Morton Downey Jr.

Raveling rose and orchestrated the Sports Arena crowd of 9,125 to make more noise. Later, he said: “I’m getting too old to be begging people to cheer.”

Cheer they did, though, and when Don MacLean missed UCLA’s last shot, Raveling took off like a lawyer after a divorcee. The coach raced across the court, hurled himself into the arms of anybody who would catch him and got his expensive suit (estimates by TV sportscaster Tom Kelly ranged from $600 to $800) nice and wrinkled.

Not only are Raveling’s Trojans thinking about a tournament trip, but with just a smidgen of luck, they could be 13-4 or even 15-2 and nationally ranked. And I am fairly sure that the last time USC was ranked, John Wooden was coaching high school ball in Indiana.

USC lost four games by four points or less: At Arizona, 87-85 (Phil Glenn’s three-pointer went in and out). At Arizona State, 84-80 in overtime (Coleman didn’t play). To Cal, 69-66 (Harold Miner missed two three-pointers in the final 10 seconds). And at Oregon, 86-84 (Duane Cooper and Yamen Sanders missed shots in the last 10 seconds).

It isn’t easy being the basketball team at a football school, especially when the quarterback keeps football news on the front page, even during basketball season.

But USC does play basketball and happens to be playing some pretty fine basketball at the moment. If the Trojans can get over this big Northridge hump, who knows how far they could go?