News Scrapbook 1988

Los Angeles,CA (Los Angeles Co.) Times (San Diego Ed.) (Cir. D. 50,010) (Cir. S. 55,573) NOV 2 4 1988

San Diego, Calif. Southern Cross (Cir. W. 27,500) NOV 24 1988

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/ I rish and Greek exhibit displayed at USD_,n£ "ALCALA PARK - T~ibition Ireland and the Hellinic Tradition" ·JI b: on display through Dec. 1.5 at Cop7~y Library on the U!;liversity of San Diego campus. Sponsored by Embassy of Ireland and the Gcnnadius Library, the exhibit shows that the present pannership betwee.ri Greece and Ireland is paralleled b hi st orical, intellectual and cultural links. y A~~ng the topics illustrated are Irish Christian antiquities, Greek myths in med1ev1 Irish literature and Irish heroic storytelling. Thedisplayisfreeandopen to the public. For informauon, call Copley Library, 260-4826, or John Nunes, 26o. 468 S2]

ure What to Expect From the Youngest Team in the WCAC

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captain. He was honorable mention All-WCAC, averaging 12.1 points and 3 assists per game as a point guard. He also led USO in 3-point shooting (43.6%) and free.throw accur~cy (81%), prompting Egan to switch Means back to his more natural shooting guard position. .Two years ago, Means teamed wi th Paul Leonard In the back court. This year, Means and senior Efrem Leonard (Paul's brother) will work together. Leonard (6-1 180) started 9 games last year' averaging 10.7 points per gam~ after _transfering from Mt. San Antonio Community College. Junior Craig Cottrell (6•5, 200) Is the only other upperclassman. Cottrell averaged 4.9 Points and 2.7 rebounds, starting nine games as a sophomore. In USD's 97.90 exhibi- tion loss 2 weeks ago to Athletes in Action, Cottrell started and led the Toreros with 20 points In 26 min- utes. Means scored 18 and Leonard 16. USO played well against AIA, showing tremendous quickness and having a 46-33 rebounding edge despite a size disadvantage. Freshman forward Kelvin Woods (6-5, 210) had 13 rebounds and 9 points m 24 minutes. Sopho- more forward Randy Thompson (6-6, 195) had 12 points, 7rebounds and some good passes among hia 5 assists. Sophomore center Dondl Bell (6-9, 230) scored 8 points and blocked 3 shots. Freshman guard Wayman Strickland (6·2, 170) le

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San Diego CA (San Diego Co.) San D1eg_o Union (Cir. D. 217 089) (Cir. S. 341,840) NOV 27 1988

~ l/~,i 1 1 P. C. B ".. • • • • ·tJNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: "Ml• chel~S. Prints and Draw- ings," etchings, woodcuts and draw- ings of the human figure by Burgess, through Dec. 15 in Founders Gallery. 260-4600. Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. "Ireland and the Hel• lenic Tradition," historical obJects Il- lustrating the Influence of Greece on Irish culture, through Dec. 15 In the Copley Library. 260-4826. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 am. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. o<~

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team. m 1986-87, when they won the WCAC regular season title and qualified for the NCAA tourna- menL Means scored 18 Points in

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/ usD's Egan sees opener - and schedule - as challenge By Kirk Kenney / son schedule. The Toreros don't have TribuneSportswriter -:::elSJ a marquee name on the playbill. Thanksgiving is cut and dried as They do have seven teams who either far as USD's Han!s,_.. Egan is con- went to the NCAA Toul"llament or guard Scott Layer, who averaged 6.3 points last season, is the only return- ing starter from last year's 21-10 team.

• • • USIU opens the season tonight at 7:30 against Air Force at Golden Hall. The Gulls defeated Air Force 57-54 when the teams first met in 1980, but have since lost seven straight times to the Falcons. USIU's starting lineup includes two local players, former Serra High star Steve Smith and former Monte Vista High star Demetrius Laffitte. Off-guard Raymond Dudley is the only returning starter for Air Force. Dudley averaged 17.8 points a game

D still young, key recruits ·n pire optimism By Ma k Zeigler t fr \I rlter b

cerned.

New Mexico returns four starters from a team that was 22-14 and made an appearance in the NIT. Sen- ior forward Charlie Thomas is the player to watch. Last year's WAC newcomer of the year has scored 51 points and collected 17 rebounds in two games. The top eight players, in• eluding all five starters, return for Loyola. That could be good or bad. The Greyhounds were 8-22 last sea-

NIT last season.

"Thanksgiving means it's time for basketball season," said Egan, who ketball coach at USD. "You eat tur- The Toreros can be found in the trenches tonight when they open the season against Lehigh in the New Mexico Tournament. Tournament Lost New Mexico opens against Loy- ola (Md.). Tonight's winners meet to- morrow in the championship game. The losers play for third place. For USD, there's nowhere to go but up. Life begins in The Pit. Egan begins his fifth ason as men's bas- key, then go to war."

"It's not one of those schedules where you have somebody big and you don't have anybody else," said Egan. "It's a schedule that has a lot of good, solid games. It's the caliber of competition that we're going to "We're going to be tested, and that's good for us. I want to get it to where we can be a good ballclub sometime in the near future, and I don't think an easy schedule will do Egan plans to start sophomore that." see in the conference.

• Staff writer Mark Zeigler picks Loyola Marymount, St. Mary's to rule the league-D-8 • USD position preview D 0 have a mce ba kelball team with sky'--the-hm1t potential. nother reason Egan can ay - with confidence, too thmgs like, "We're turning this thmg around," or, We've got the skids put on things' IS his team's work ethic, which 1s con ·1derablc. After all practice 1s at 6-30 a.m daily, be- cause of a team vote Al a preseason banquet, Egan compared 1t to Michelangelo and ho\\ the 1stine Chapel wasn't just anoth r paint job. "I like the work ethic of this ball- club more than I did last year," he said. '' I go to practice now and I ee a good, sohd effort given. I see 1t starting to grow. ·It makes me feel better about how thmgs are conung along.' Moving along 1s how you'll see the Toreros play. No longer will they wait for the center to trudge downcourt and join the offense. They will. in basketball jargon, push 1t. That is a function of the team's makeup. It is athletic. It is also short. Past USD teams, especially when 7-foot Scott Thompson roamed the paint, were so tall that defensive rebounding wasn't a problem Now the Toreros will keep the oppos1tlon off the boards by keeping them on their heels. Another change will be the of• fense, in which all three fronthne positions are virtually intcr- changeabl Agam, that is a bypro-

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Keith Colvin at center. Junior Craig wouldn't have U AAYv91!!et.m ...,- ,....,Cottrell and either freshman Kelvin ,,_., -, .._, -- • - Woods or sophomore Randy Thomp- :1:> :1:)11\U:IS 18 ~n will be the starting forwards. IJ. SN ...-A Dior Danny Mea~ returns to off. VI ard, where he started as a fresh- •••••,•••••••••••• an and sophomore. The point guard •• ;-.::.:: will be sophomore Kelvin Means or ";:',-:,,: I I,' reshman Wayman Strickland. ~:LgsLEs = 96 ~!,;y..,od Lehigh~adeittothef1rstro-~ndof I woM '°' 1 :>0dsui aiql!O\\d

The leadership of guard Danny Means (above) and the shot- blocking abirty of sophomore center Dondi Bell should help the ·roreros improve on their 11- 17 record of last season.

---- r·---· ijso: Egan says New Mexico has fine .~mosphere for opener c 1 :?fj.fc~ sophomore. We had mostly seniors ont nu that year, and I was carried a lot by fense; they will press you so_me• the older players. The underclass- times," Egan said. "They're a ltttle men this year will have to weather younger• a little different team than things themselves." last year, but a pretty solid ballclub all around." The Toreros lost their lone exhibi- USD, 11-17 last year, has the look tion 97-90, ·to Athletes in Action on of a team of the future, with only two No;. 7. But there was some encour- seniors and one junior. But Egan and agement from 6-5 junior forward senior guard Danny Means, who hll:5 Craig Cottrell and sophomore front- started 58 straight games, are opt!• liners Dondi Bell (6-9) and Keith Col- mistic this will be an enjoyable sea- vin (6--8). son.

Damien High) plays bigger than his 6-5, thanks to a 210-pound body. Carlo, Carrillo (Southgate Bosco Tech) is a tine shooter for 6-6 who should see more time against zone than man defenses CENTERS Jim Pelton graduated, leaving the pivot to sophomores Dondi Bell and Keith Colvin Bell didn't begin playing basketba until late ,n his h1gh•school career, and last season you could see his Improvement daily. He is 6-9, 230 pounds. with long arms and a quick jump. which should translate into a shot- blocking terror. Colvin (6·8. 220), who started five games last season, bulked up over the summer and developed a midrange jumper Egan will put Bell and Colvin on the floor together when the Toreros run up against a lofty opponent. THE COACH Hank Egan 218-228 in 17 seasons al the college level. 70-43 in tour seasons at USO, 46· 1 t the USO Sports Center ... WCAC coach of the year in '86-87. an honor he shared the previous season with Pepperdine's Jim Harrick .. Con5 dered among the country's prem,er teachers of defense. In 1986·81 the Toreros led the nation in field-goal pen:entage allowed (.401) .• Rarely doos a player leave Egan's tutelage not well-schooled in basketball fundamentals . . Spent 13 seasons before USO at the Air Force Academy ... Three-time basketball letterman at Navy, where he earned a B.S. m engineering • Married, with two children . . A line goller (in the off- season). were f reed to do. We didn't have the luxury to play them anywhere else because of our personnel. We solved that problem by going o and recruiting what we needed." We had some spof.s to fill, but those are being fiJJed now. Most every preseason poll pic~s the Toreros to finish seventh agam. It's hard to disagree when the WCAC is filled with teams whose starters shave. But those veterans on those other clubs wtll graduate soon. And Egan's freshmen and sophomores will grow up. And when everyone else is re• building, Egan won't be.

GUARDS About the only place the Tore,os boast both depth and experience •~ off• • guard. Senior Danny Means. the leading returning scorer (12.1 ppg}, returns to off.guard. at which he started on the 24- 6 team of '86-87. He Is a line shooter and defender. and now he can concentrate more on those and less on running the offense. Also t shootmg guard is the team's only othe senior Efrem Leonard (10.7 ppg). He ,s Mr Instant Offense. The point will be occupied by two freshmen and a sophomore. Fans will see an all-Means backcourt when sophomore Kelvin, Danny's brojher, runs the show. Freshman Gylan l)ottin (Santa Ana Saddleback High) played forward in high school; he , after all, 6- foot-5 But USO assistant coach Mike Legarza. the recruItIng guru. recognized a prnnt-guard mentality In Dottin, and Dottin has made the transition smoothly. Another freshman point Is Wayman Strickland, the San Francisco player of the year from Riordan High. FORWARDS Junior Craig Cottrell (4.9 ppg) returns to small forward after a season at off- guard (beeause Means was at the point). In Egan's retooled offense, th,s posItI0~ will have more forward and fewer guard responsibilities unlike last season. Sophomore Randy Thomp1on, who has grown to 6-7, is perhaps the team's most underrated player and can play both forward spots. Egan raves about Thompson's knowledge and execution of "the nuances of the game." Two

Kelvin Woods, a 6-5 freshman for• ward, debuted with nine points and 13 rebounds against AIA and is to start tonight. Egan also sees promise in freshman guards Wayman Strick- land and Gylan Dottin. Dottin, 6--5, will start at point guard. Egan is aware that freshmen at the major-college level are not known for dependability and consist- ency. "With upperclassmen, there are three kinds of players," Egan said. "There are players that make things happen, players that have things ha~- pen to them, and players that don t know what the hell's happening. Freshmen are in category four: all of the above." Means said the 1988·89 Toreros are potentially more explosive offensive- ly than last year (68-point average) and potentially stingy on defense. Undoubtedly that would please Egan, but he'll be looking for a few other things in the preleague sched- ule as well. "You look for growth, for them to learn how to compete, and for some coming together as a ballclub," Egan said. "You hope they learn to play under pressure at somebody else's place. That's why I think it's good to be opening at The Pit."

"I'm excited about the start of this season," Means said. "The thought of winning when nobody t~inks you ~an is exciting, and I def1mtely thmk we'll be a winning team." Means, 6-2 and 185 pounds, was an important role player on the 1986-87 WCAC regular-season champion. He averaged eight points and 2.4 re- bounds and generally guarded the opposition's best guard. He scored a team-high 18 points in the first-round loss to Auburn in the NCAA Tourna- ment. Means improved his scoring (to 12.l) and rebounding (to 2.8) last year but was less than pleased with the season. "I set a lot of goals for myself last year, and I reached about three of them," Means said. "It was a let- down. I think I put too much of a burden on myself. Trying to do too many things, I kind of got away from the things I did as a sophomore - play defense and hit the open shot." Means and guard Efrem Leonard, the Toreros' other senior, will be looked upon for leadership. "I hope to (lead) through things the younger players can see," Means said. "I'm not the rah-rah type, that's just not me ... This is a ~oung team, but we have some experience, some seasoned sophomores. Their situation is different from mine when I was a

freshmen also could be factors at forw•r1. Kelvin Wood• (Pomona

D: Egan f tlls some spots ·th a fine recruiting class Continued from D-1

sync. They kept changing defenses, and we had trouble sorting them out." In the second half, Lehigh had trouble shooting, and the Toreros played much better. USD ou~cor~d the Engineers, 12•4, m the ftrst six minutes for a 36--34 lead. The teams exchanged the lead until USD went ahead on a three-point shot by Gylan Dottin with 6:54 left. A 17•3 run put the game away.

USD is in a familiar position in this tournament. In 1985, it beat Long Beach State in the first round and lost in the championship game to New Mexico, 61•46. Though there were fewer than 1,000 in the arena when the Toreros tipped off against Lehigh yesterday, there were more than 17,000 for the UNM-Loyola game. And that many should be on

duct of the team's contents: Only three players are 6--8 or taller, and none is more than a sophomore. The leadership will come from the team's three elder statesmen: junior Craig Cottrell, and seniors Danny Means and Efrem Leonard. Means and Cottrell will play posi• lions that are at once old and new. Means moves back to off-guard after a year at the point. Cottrell, 6-5, returns to small forward after a year at off-l(uard. "They were both victims of coaching decisions," Egan ex- plained. "It was something we

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hand tonight.

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