Glenn Quietly Making His Points at USC : College basketball: Trojan returns to Tucson, where, if a shot had fallen, he could have become a legend before his time.

Phil Glenn thought the shot was good as soon as he launched it. With USC trailing Arizona, 86-85, the Trojan guard took a three-point shot that went in, then rolled out with 11 seconds left in the Pacific 10 opener at Tucson last season.

Arizona guard Matt Othick got the rebound and was fouled, but he missed both free throws. Trojan guard Duane Cooper dribbled the length of the floor and tried a 10-foot jump shot, which was blocked by Ed Stokes to preserve the victory and the Wildcats’ home-court winning streak, now at 70 consecutive games--the longest ongoing streak in the nation.

“If Glenn’s shot had gone in, they would have named a street after him in Winston-Salem, North Carolina (where Glenn was born),” USC Coach George Raveling said.

Glenn, who returns to McKale Center when 23rd-ranked USC (8-2) opens its 1992 Pac-10 season against No. 6 Arizona (9-1) tonight, remembers the shot well.

“When it left my hands, it looked good, and I thought it was going in,” Glenn said. “When it went in the rim, I knew it was in--but it came out, unfortunately.”

A reserve in his first two seasons at USC, Glenn has moved into the starting lineup in the Trojans’ three-guard offense. He is averaging 9.8 points, USC’s third-leading scorer behind guard Harold Miner and Cooper.

Glenn said he had trouble adjusting to being a reserve after starting in high school.

“I was going into games for four or five minutes and coming back out,” Glenn said. “It was hard for me to adjust and get into a rhythm. My shooting was going down, and I was getting down on myself.

“I talked to my father a lot, and he told me to stick it out and be patient because my time would come. I learned a lot sitting on the bench, seeing what other guys did. But not playing was a big adjustment because I’d always been a starter.”

One of North Carolina’s top high school players, Glenn averaged 18 points and eight assists in leading Mount Tabor High to a 23-5 record in 1988.

After failing to meet USC’s admission requirements, Glenn played at New Hampton Prep in New Hampshire, where he averaged 23 points and eight assists in 1989.

Raveling, who signed Glenn to a letter of intent out of high school, had to re-recruit him because other schools had become interested.

After shooting only 22.7% as a freshman and 36.8% last season, Glenn’s shooting has improved to 47.2% since he became a starter.

“Phil’s biggest problem since he’s been here has been his head,” Raveling said. “And I don’t mean his head in terms of having a bad attitude, because he has anything but a bad attitude. But I think his self-esteem fluctuates back and forth. As he matures and feels secure as a starter, I think he’ll start to see himself in a more positive light, and I think it’ll be manifested in the way he plays.”

Glenn has surpassed Miner as USC’s best three-point shooter. Glenn made seven of 10 three-point shots in a 15-point victory over Robert Morris last month, scoring a personal-best 23 points. Of Glenn’s 34 field goals, 21 have been three-point shots. He has hit 46.7% of his three-point attempts this season.

“Phil reminds me a lot of (Chicago Bulls guard) B.J. Armstrong, whom I coached at Iowa,” Raveling said. “Phil’s quick and a good perimeter shooter. He’s very sound and at times goes unnoticed by the average fan. But he’s a solid player whose contributions can be quite significant.”

Glenn keeps his teammates loose off the court with his imitations of Miner. Glenn has copied many of Miner’s idiosyncrasies, such as rubbing his nose against objects and rubbing his fingers close together. Glenn also can duplicate many of Miner’s strange sounds.

“Harold gets mad, but I imitate him all the time,” Glenn said. “He makes crazy noises, and I go by him and I do it to let him know he’s kind of crazy.”

Still, Miner and Glenn have become good friends.

“I have seen this year a building of a relationship between Harold and Phil,” Raveling said. “I think Harold’s his best friend on the team.”