Surgery for Brooks; No. 2 Arizona Awaits

Sophomore point guard Brandon Brooks will undergo season-ending surgery today on his broken leg and dislocated ankle, injuries suffered at practice on Tuesday.

Brooks, whose foot was pointing backward after the accident, is expected to be out eight months after today’s procedure at USC University Hospital, trainer Mark Pocinich said.

“That should be how long until he’s back fully at the level he was at before the injury,” Pocinich said. “But it changes as you go.”

Brooks’ absence, combined with the questionable status of senior Robert Hutchinson (sprained right ankle) and junior Roy Smiley (sprained right knee), leaves the Trojans woefully thin at the point for tonight’s game against No. 2 Arizona.

Coach Henry Bibby has suggested that walk-on Peter McCaslin could play a role behind starting point guard Derrick Craven, who has been picking up fouls at an alarming rate of late, eight in his last two games.

Senior center Kostas Charissis has seen it all before.

It was during his freshman season that the Trojans lost senior forward Jarvis Turner (broken left ankle) and sophomore forward Sam Clancy (broken right foot) to injuries in the same game.

Left for dead, the Trojans rebounded two days later to shock then-second-ranked Arizona at the Sports Arena, 80-72.

Could the Wildcats be in for another surprise?

“I don’t think they expect us to be as strong because we lost by [38 points to Pennsylvania on Saturday] and we lost Brandon,” Charissis said. “They probably don’t expect us to be as good.”

And who could blame them, especially if the Trojans play without Hutchinson, who has twisted the bothersome ankle three times this season, and Smiley, who played the point for half of his sophomore year at Southeastern Iowa College?

*

TONIGHT

vs. No. 2 Arizona, 7:30

Fox Sports Net

Site -- Sports Arena.

Radio -- KMPC (1540), KPLS (830).

Records -- USC 6-5 overall, 2-1 in Pacific 10; Arizona 11-1, 4-0.

Update -- The Trojans have won four of the last six games against the Wildcats at the Sports Arena, but USC’s worst home loss, 105-61, came against Arizona on Feb. 17, 2001.