Friends to the end

Among those who called to congratulate Gabe Pruitt on Saturday after USC had knocked off then-No. 9 Oregon was something of a surprise well-wisher: UCLA guard Arron Afflalo.

Then again, gracious gestures are nothing new when it comes to Trojans and Bruins who have been close for years.

Former UCLA standout Jordan Farmar once gave USC swingman Nick Young a set of SAT study guides and brought him to Westwood to shoot baskets on a recruiting visit.

But there is nothing friendly about the cross-town rivalry that will resume Wednesday when No. 2 UCLA plays host to No. 19 USC at Pauley Pavilion, where the Bruins have romped to consecutive 21-point victories over the Trojans.

"It is serious when we're on the court," Afflalo said of his camaraderie with Pruitt. "He wants to beat us and I want to beat them."

The last two UCLA-USC games played at Pauley have been one-sided, with Afflalo and Farmar combining for 56 points while shooting 51.4% (18 for 35). By comparison, Pruitt and Young have combined for 24 points while shooting 23.1% (nine for 39).

"The two times we've played there, it's been embarrassing losses," said Young, a junior swingman who is lamenting that he won't have an opportunity for payback now that Farmar is a rookie with the Lakers.

Young said that after the Trojans' last two games at Pauley, with the sting of defeat still fresh, Farmar had shown compassion, telling Young to keep his head up. But once summer rolled around, decorum gave way.

"In the summertime," Young recalled, "it would be, 'What happened to y'all?' He would rub it in more."

Afflalo also delivered a verbal jab during his recent conversation with Pruitt, telling the USC junior guard that he would lock him down on Wednesday.

Pruitt and Afflalo began playing against each other on club teams in the seventh grade before joining forces at Compton Centennial High as freshmen. Pruitt was the point guard and Afflalo the shooting guard until the players switched positions as sophomores.

Nearly every day after school, they would go to Afflalo's home to lift weights or to the YMCA to work out.

"We were really good friends," Pruitt said. "We were always together."

Pruitt said he considered going to the same college as Afflalo until Pruitt transferred to Westchester High after his sophomore year and Afflalo committed to UCLA.