USD Men's Basketball 1989-1990

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1989-1990 UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO OUTLOOK

Peruse the University of San Diego men's basketball roster, and you might notice the prevalence of two things: AZ 's and hyphens. This, plus a repu– table corps of returning lettermen, is why the Toreros will be good this season . It's been a long two years for Coach Hank Egan and his staff since the Scott Thompson-led Toreros finished 24-6, won the conference and were invited to the NCAA Tournament. In 1987-88, they finished 11-17. Last season , 8-20. " Last year was probably the tough– est I've ever had coaching ," admits Egan , in his sixth season at USO. "We were so close in so many games, but we couldn't ever get over the hump. In all my years of coaching, I don't know if I've ever had so much newness." A brief historical lesson: The '86-87 team was top-heavy with seniors (in– cluding four of five starters). A sub– sequent NCAA rule change regarding academic requirements for community college transfers made it difficult for Egan to fill the void with anything but true freshmen. And youth did not equal victories. But all that is about to change. Egan has experience, AZ's and hyphens. AZ, of course, is the abbreviation for Ari– zona. Five of the team's nine new faces this season hail from the state, and four played at Mesa Community College (in suburban Phoenix) sometime during their career. The hyphens appear next to multi– ple-position players, as in G-F (guard– forward) or F-C (forward-center) . More than ever, Egan's players are athletic and versatile. More than one player can handle the ball, more than one can shoot, more than one can rebound , more than one can play defense. Most can do all of the above. "We have more players who can do a lot of things," Egan says. "I intend to set up a system based not on their position but on their personal capa– bilities." And that will mean running and pressing. Running and pressing? The Toreros? Yes. The '86-87 team, led by the

Even subtle changes in a team's philosophy take time to implement and develop, and Egan has had nothing but new faces the past two years. Last season, in fact, ten of the Toreros were either freshmen or sophomores. But those freshmen and sopho– mores are sophomores and juniors now. In addition , two of the transfers, 6-8 senior John Jerome and 6-4 junior Anthony Thomas, sat out last season and practiced with the team. So to them only the uniforms will be new, not Egan's system. Just three lettermen were lost. Guards Danny Means and Efrem Leonard ran out of eligibility, and junior guard Kelvin Means, Danny's younger brother, transferred to Fresno State to play Division I football. Eight lettermen are back-including three starters from a year ago-senior forward Craig Cottrell , junior center Dondi Bell and sophomore guard Gylan Dottin, the conference's co– freshman of the year. And there are other solid returnees that started at some point last season : Wayman Strickland , Keith Colvin , Kelvin Woods and Randy Thompson. To this, add the Mesa connection : Jerome, Thomas, guard Pat Holbert and forward-center Shawn Hamilton . Holbert and Hamilton , both juniors, were teammates at Mesa last season. Thomas broke the single-season scor– ing record there the year before, and Jerome was a JC All-American there before transferring to Arizona State in 1987. The Mesa connection is no coin– cidence. The academics meet the NCAA's new transfer requirements, Egan admires Coach Tom Bennett's program, and USO has successfully recruited other Mesa players. "When you come right down to it," Egan says, "the single best sell at a school is the players themselves. If the kids like it, they'll sell it. Pete Murphy (1984-86) and Mark Manor (1985-87) both went to Mesa, then came here and had good experiences." In addition , Egan has a freshman class that he rates "equally good " as

7-foot Thompson, was based on size and power. It played position defense that rarely extended beyond midcourt. It employed a walk-it-up, almost plod– ding halfcourt offense that pounded the ball inside. "Since we could rely on that, we never had to worry about run– ning," Egan says. The increased athleticism and versa– tility afford Egan the luxury of extend– ing the defense. Extending the defense, in turn , induces the running game. The Toreros won't run and press with the reckless abandon of conference-mate Loyola Marymount, but at times the heads of fans will swivel like at a tennis match.