Practice is focused on the outside game

Hoping to rouse his team from its midseason funk, USC Coach Tim Floyd took the Trojans on a short field trip Friday afternoon.

The players crossed Figueroa Street before conducting practice on the outdoor concrete courts on campus across from their $130-million arena. It was an unusual sight, a college team in full workout gear on one court alongside a two-on-two pickup game featuring shirts and skins.

“Everybody kept looking at us like we must be in trouble or something,” freshman forward Davon Jefferson said. “They’re not even in the gym playing.”

USC is in trouble in the Pacific 10 standings after losing its first three conference games, though the Trojans hope today’s game against Washington at the Galen Center represents the start of a swift turnaround.

Sophomore guard Daniel Hackett said the Trojans needed to “find the nastiness” after USC essentially quit during the latter portion of its 73-58 loss to No. 4 Washington State on Thursday night.

“We kind of gave up last night, and I’m one of the first to admit that,” Hackett said. “No way we should have quit like that. We quit on the coaches, we quit on the rest of the team and the people who came to watch the game. . . . .

“We just needed to find ourselves out there. We’ve got this nice arena that they spent millions of dollars on and we’ve got 10,000 people filling the arena and we go out there and play like [that], and it’s not working.”

Jefferson said he still wasn’t sure why he didn’t play against Washington State, though he conceded that his effort in practice could improve.

“[Floyd] was kind of disappointed in me and wanted me to go a little bit harder in practice or whatever, but I really don’t know” what the issue was as far as not playing, Jefferson said. “You have to talk to him about it.”

Floyd remained mum on the topic a day after saying only that Jefferson had “a lot of room for growth.” A couple of sources said Floyd held Jefferson out of the game because of friction between the player and coach stemming from Jefferson’s attitude.

Asked if he felt his relationship with Floyd was satisfactory, Jefferson replied, “Yes. He’s the boss. I’m just thankful for being here.”

Grades apparently were not the issue. Floyd said Jefferson fared well during the first semester and Jefferson said he was “impressed” with his grades despite a late slip.

Jefferson, who is expected to play today, may have even more work to do on the court than in the classroom after acknowledging that Floyd “got on me a little bit about having too many costly turnovers in the start against Cal” and displaying poor shot selection.

“I’ve just got to get better at the little things that he talked to me about and just hope that he puts me in the game,” Jefferson said.

Freshman center Mamadou Diarra, having played only 10 minutes in three games since hernia surgery in November, will receive a medical redshirt this season unless the Trojans’ roster becomes further depleted by injuries. “If we get in some kind of jam maybe we’ll look at him in late February or March and review it, but right now I don’t think it’s in his best interest health-wise to try to bring him back,” Floyd said.

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TODAY

vs. Washington, 3:30 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket

Site -- Galen Center.

Radio -- 710.

Records -- Washington 9-6, 0-2; USC 9-6, 0-3.

Update -- Freshman guard O.J. Mayo is one of 62 candidates for the Bob Cousy Award, given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the nation’s top point guard.

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