News Scrapbook 1986-1988

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. D. 127,454) r~ I

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C-8 1• TIIE~TRIBUNE San Diego, Wednesday, February 18, 1987 Toreros holding court among WCAC teams with 10-game winning streak t;_c:;-~

recently from sophomore guard Doug Spradley, who had 34 points in the team's home wins last week against Loyola Marymount and Pep- perdine.

"If Thompson doesn't want to get a rebound again I would be real happy," he said. Sophomore guard Jim McPhee is the Bulldogs' leading scorer with 16.5

of six per game behind the efforts of 6-foot-8 senior center Dale Haaland and &-10 senior forward Mike Cham- pion. Fitzgerald wouldn't mind a lit- tle help from the Toreros, however.

points a game and has established himself as one of the conference's best players. Haaland is also in dou- ble figures with 10.8 points a game. Gonzaga has received additional help

lost or been outrebounded since." The Toreros have won a school- record 10 straight games since the meeting was adjourned. Nine of the victories were in WCAC play, where USD has defeated every team in the conference - except Gonzaga. The first-place Toreros (10-1, 20-4) get another shot at the second-place Bulldogs (8-3, 17-7 when the teams meet tomorrow night at 7:30 at the USO Sports Center. The Toreros improved their record at the Sports Center to 23-1 the past two seasons with a 54-42 Win against St. Mary's last Saturday night. Four USO starters - Thompson. forwards Nils Madden and Mark Manor and guard Paul Leonard - have aver- aged in double figures during the Toreros' 10-game winning streak. USO is now ranked 47th in the nation, according to power rankings pub- lished by USA Today. A victory against Gonzaga would clinch the WCAC regular-season championship for the Toreros. As conference champion, USD would be assured of hosting the conference's eighth-place team in the first round of the WCAC Tournament Feb. 28. Loyola Marymount is in last place with a 2-9 record. At 4-7, Pepperdine and USF are two games in front of the Lions with three to play. But before the Toreros look to the tournament, they must look to to- morrow. In addition to getting beat on the boards in their first meeting with the Bulldogs, USD had its poor- est shooting night and scored its fewest pomts of the season. "When you hold a team to 46 points, you're usually going to win," Gonzaga coach Dan Fitzgerald said. "We felt we played very well and I think the>' don't think they played well. We feel we do match up well with them. We have some size, and we did a good job on the boards against them. During the year you have a couple bad games and I think that was just one of them for USD.'' Krallman agreed, saying: "They ran their game plan and we didn't stop them. They ran their flex of- fense very well, they were very tough on the boards and their defense shut us down. We just didn't do well at all." According to Fitzgerald, the Toreros did about as well in Spokane as the Bulldogs did when they came to San Diego last season and were beaten 74-50. "It was the closest thing to the Alamo ever in San Diego," Fitzger- ald said. "We just didn't play. It was kind of a carbon copy of what they did up here." Things have been different for Gonzaga this season. The Bulldogs· have beaten every team in the con- ference at least once. Gonzaga is out- rebounding opponents by an average

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San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cli:. D. 127,454) h'tCEIYEO LAT£ FEB 1 91987 ..Allen's P. C. B

hr. 1888 *Canepa-.---------------------- Goptinued From E-1 the NCAAs. The rub is that the tournament winner ay be a team that went 12-14. But what of the little guys? Of USO, say? But what really makes a program are the play- ers and the coach, and in those categories USD is flush. The starting five of Scott Thompson, Nils Madden, Paul Leonard, Danny Means and Mark Manor is solid.

isn't the ACC, the Big Ten, the SEC or the Pac-10, for that matter. USF is the only "name" basket- ball school in the WCAC, and even now that insti- tution is rebuilding after scandal hit its program. Not many people hack East have heard of Gonza- ga or St. Mary's or Loyola Marymount. Heck, the majority of the folks in Southern California proba- bly couldn't tell you where those schools are locat- ed. But that doesn't mean the WCAC isn't a fine basketball conference. Egan, who came here three years ago after 13 years as head coach at Air Force, now has served in the WAC and WCAC, so he knows this only too well. "It's a very good basketball conference," Hank says of the WCAC. "What it doesn't have is expo- sure, because it doesn't play football. It's not on TV. But it's got good players and good coaching - especially coaching. "I think, from top to bottom, it's a conference that's a lot more competitive than the WAC. It doesn't have the spread the WAC has. There are no teams at the bottom of our conference like a San Diego State or Hawaii. Every game is tough." What Egan has accomplished at Alcala Park can be seen in his record. When Jim Brovelli took off for USF three years ago, he left Egan a nucle- us, and Hank didn't mess it up. In three seasons, he has compiled a 55-24 record (19-9 a year ago), and the Toreros have become the power in these parts. "I've been around long enough to know things go in cycles," Egan says. "Two years ago, San Diego State won the WAC Tournament and went to the NCAA playoffs. That was an experienced ballclub. They've lost a lot of people and now they're trying to put things back together. "The hardest thing is to keep things on top all the time. A lot of factors go into that, including a commitment from the school and the administra- tion. Alot of things affect a__J)rogra111."

Well, thE!_IJ_filhQ[America may not be so lucky. Hank Egan, who coaches the Toreros and coaches them extremely well, has an interesting month ahead. His team is 20-4 and needs one more wjn in its three remaining West Coast Athletic Conference games (beginning here tonight at 7:30 ts. Gonzaga) to claim the title outright. Last y ar, that would have been great. That yrould have given USO an automatic NCAA ride. But this year, the WCAC has added a postseason tc!Urnament, the final two games of which are to be played next month in the University of San i-ancisco's gym. Good luck. "The WCAC hoped to accomplish three things," Egan says. "One, it wanted to make money. Two, exposure. Maybe TV would be interested. Three, by having a tournamen~ maybe it could get two teams in the NCAA Tournament instead of one. '"I don't think the odds uf any of those three thjngs happening are very good." .Being a basketball coach, Egan is not the eter- al optimist. He's telling his players they are going to have to win the WCAC Tournament to m;ike it to the NCAAs. If it sounds crazy, blame it 011 our tournament inventor. · "I can't say for sure we wouldn't go if we won tile conference and then lost the tournament," E_gan says, "but I don't like our chances. Sure, there's always a chance you can go, hut the odds ~ren't in our favor. "It's hard for me. But I've got this particular tl)ing (the WCAC Tournament) in front of me and rve got to deal with it. I can't get sidetracked and Say that it's good or bad. I've got to go after it." , •The problem, of course, is exposure. The WCAC

And then there is Hank Egan. In case you are unaware, Egan is widely recognized in the coach- ing fraternity as one of the masters of his craft. Hank's teams are fundamentally sound and they play outstanding defense. Naismith would enjoy watching USD play. And now, Egan has a bunch of players who have ears. They pay attention. Hank enjoys being around these fellows. "You know, John Cunningham, our baseball coach, played basketball under Phil Woolpert at San Francisco and came down here with Wool- pert," Egan says. "John's really knowledgeable. He came by for a talk after the St. Mary's game, which was really a struggle (54-42 USD), and John told me this team is the most fun to watch because it operates at all times as a team. "There are no selfish players on this team. At the Air Force Academy, we had a lot of good people together, but I've never had a group put together like this." And with success comes rumors that this may be Hank's last season at USO. "I don't know where those rumors come from," Egan says. "Of course, there was a rumor it was going to be my last year at the Air Force Academy, too, and it was." Hank seems more concerned about the days ahead than future emplf,yment. But I have ·a feel- ing that if his team ·ontinues to win, it is going to the NCAAs, even if it doesn't win its conference fling. And justice will be served. Much to the chagrin, I'm sure, of the guy who invented these tourna- menLis..,--

'Something had to be done. After that game, we decided we needed a meeting' - Steve Krallman

Athletic Conference, USO found it- self just l-1 following road games games against Portland and Gonza- g Portland took USO into overtime b fore the Toreros could secure a 61- 5 win in their conference opener. Two nights later, Gonzaga dominat- USD virtually everywhere on the court, including the boards where the Bulldogs held a 3&-23 advantage. 'Something had to be done. After that game, we decided we needed a meeting" !>3 Toreros senior for- rd Steve rallman, who presided over the proceedings with senior guard Eric Musselman. "We dis- cussed what our roles should be on the team and everything like that. We just tried to make it understood what everybody expected of each other. "I guess this was the time when the team really came together. The evidence is there. There's no doubt about it. The meeting was great. It cjeared everything up. We haven't

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El Cajon, CA (San Diego Co.) Daily Californian (Cir. D. 100,271)

FEB 201987

FEB 2 O 1987

El Cajon, CA (San Diego Co.) Dally Californian (Cir. D. 100,271)

Toreros get revenge -

and a title

Jl.llera's Afos

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Est. 1888

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Figure A. Hoffman

from staff and wire reports

After Gonzaga pulled within 42-41 with 8:28 to play, USD went on a 9-1 spurt over the next six minutes to extend its school-record win streak to l l contests. Danny Means scored 11 points for the Toreros which improved their mark to 11-1 in the WCAC' 21-4 overall. ' Jim McPhee scored 12 points and Dale Haaland added 11 for Gonzaga, which fell to 8-4 in con,., ference, 17-8 overall. , . USD hit on 53.3 percent of its shots from the field • while holding Gonzaga to a meer 37.5 percent. ' The Toreros play host to the University of Portland on Saturday, starting at 7:30 p.m. J

Only once since has the Universit)ult San Diego lost a basketball game. On a cold January night ht ~f?Okane, Wash., the Toreros dropped a 58-46 dec1s1on to Gonzaga University. On Thursday, USD got its revenge: Backed by a 12-point scoring effort from Scott Thompson and Mark Manor, the Toreros clinched the West Coast Athletic Conference regular-season title, downing the second-place Bulldogs 61-48 at the USD Sports Center. . The triumph assured coach Hank Egan's club a first-round home game and the top seed in the WCAC post-season tournament.

FEB 1 91987

Speak At USD

tioAal Party , the Yippies , · Mr. Hoffman was recently arrested with Mi~s Amy Carter , former President Carter's daughter , and 58 other people at a protest of CIA recruiting on the University of Massachusetts campus. " Mr. Hoffman is still question- ing the basic princi ples of American life. He believes in the redistribution of wealth and power and feels that people should come together to fight city hall and to battle social or environmental in justices ," said speakers' bureau spokesman Andrew Lurie. Mr. Hoffman is on the board of directors of Veritas, a rehabil ita- tion and drug therapy community His new book will deal with aspects of drug issues

The Uni Law School

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Jlflen 's P. C. B. Esr. 1888 ~caJ.News

presents Mr . Abbie Hoffman on Monday , March-9, at 7:30 p.m. al the Camino Theater in Alcala Park . This is a free public lecture . A breakfast with Hoffman is scheduled for Tuesday , March 10, at 8 a.m. in the faculty dining room , USO Student Center . The cost fo r the public is $4 .50 (students with I.D. $3.50 ). Reservations should be made by March 1 at 295-0180 . the Chicago Seven defendants in the 1969 trial that resulted from charges filed against antiwar demonstrators at the Democratic National . Convention, lived underground fro 1974 to 1980. The founder of the Youth lnterna- Mr. Hoffman, one of

Toreros try to clinch bask~II titl~ tonight The University_g!Sao Diego~ 11 team will try to "'.rap up the West Coast Athletic Confer~l egular-season cham~1onship tonight when it hosts Gonzaga Universit)'. at 7:30 at thceAUC 5 p.tf~orts Center A win would give the Toreros thelf second W _ 1 em the last four years and would guarantee them the top seed m the 10 league tournament that will open Feb. 28. The Toreros hav.e won straight games since losing to Gonzaga 58-46 on Jan. 10.

_,/'!_

Escondido, CA (San Diego Co.) Times Advocate (Cir. D. 32,685) · (Cir. S. 34,568)

Post5:ason tourney could torpedo Toreros-- J us~cE, I'd like lo meet the person who invented the confer- ence basketball tournament. He

fEB 201987

ketball is, at the very least, stupid. Teams play conference games all year. Then, in most cases, when the regular season is over, teams in said league must attend a conference ~0 ?rn~ment. The winner of that then is mv1ted to the NCAA's bash, even if it c?uldn't beat Double Dribble Tech durmg the regular season. . What about the team that played Its guts out all year to win that con- ference's regular-season title you ask. Tough. · ' Most of t~e time, it doesn't really affect_ the B_1g Boys. I mean, if North Carolma wms the ACC during the regular season and then loses the ACC tournament, it's still going to Please see CANEPA, E-10

..Allen's P. c. B

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may already be locked up, but if you know the number to his padded cell please drop me a line. ' He's probably the same guy who ke~ps trying_ to build better potato chips by addmg everything to them but tofu and watercre~. And that may be next. Some things are better left alone. . Anyway, people complain all the t~me about playoffs in our profes- s10nal games. The NHL allows just about every team that hasn't been hit by a cholera epidemic into its post- season. Same way in the NBA. The NFL invites 10 of its 28 teams to its

Continued from page C~fP dered helpless Gonzaga's offense. The WCAC's hottest-shooting team this year (50.4 percent), the Bulldogs finished the game just 18 ?f 48 t:rom the field (37.5 percent), mcludmg 0-for-8 from three-point range.

On the offensive end, mean- while, the Toreros began to move the ball inside, and Thompson re- sponded with two straight baskets to expand the lead to 49-42. From . that point on, USD's lead was nev- er less than seven points. "I mentioned it a couple times for Scott to go low and to get the ball to him," Egan said. "They were

just saving it, I guess." Thompson finished with 14 points, tying Manor for game-high honors. Means finished with 11 and Madden and Steve Krallman added eight apiece. McPhee, the WCAC's third- leading scorer with a 16.5 average, was held to 12 points on 4-for-10 shooting.

ick canepa

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party. Baseball is much more civi- lized, although it, too, has altered its format over the years. But what happens in college bas-