Reggie Miller Isn’t at Full Strength for DePaul

Reggie Miller, the junior forward who represents the bulk of the Bruin offense, will not be at full strength even if he is able to play when UCLA meets DePaul at Pauley Pavilion at noon today.

As of Friday evening, UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard had not decided whether Miller, who jammed his left thumb in practice Thursday when he hit it either on the basket or on the backboard, would be ready to play. Miller did not participate in full practice Friday, but he did do some shooting.

Miller seemed to think that he would be ready to go today, but Hazzard wanted to “wait and see.” Hazzard said: “I would anticipate that he would play simply because he is such a great competitor.”

Miller leads the Pacific 10 and is ranked No. 4 in the country in scoring with an average of 25.9 points a game and is coming off a 35-point game.

Chances for a postseason tournament bid are at stake today for both UCLA and DePaul.

UCLA is going into the game with an overall record of 13-11 and with four games remaining. Hazzard has told his team that he would not consider a bid to defend their 1985 NIT title unless they have a record better than .500.

It is not at all likely that UCLA will be considered for an NCAA tournament bid. The Bruins are currently fourth in the Pac-10 with a record of 8-7.

A big victory on regional network (NBC) television would go a long way in helping UCLA salvage this season.

DePaul is in the same position, with a record of 15-11. As an independent, DePaul’s only chance for a tournament bid is to finish strong against UCLA today and against Marquette next Saturday.

So far, it’s been a tough season for DePaul and for its second-year coach, Joey Meyer. Things were looking so bleak a week ago that the Chicago Sun-Times sought out the school’s vice president to give Meyer the dreaded vote of confidence. But that was before DePaul’s upset of St. John’s.

Meyer took over last season after his father, Ray, retired. DePaul was 19-10 last season, losing to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Back from that team are several good big men. Dallas Comegys, a 6-9 junior, leads the team with an average of 14.5 points and 6 rebounds a game. And Kevin Holmes, a 6-8 senior, is averaging 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Both Comegys and Holmes will start against UCLA, but Meyer had not announced whether he would start 6-9 senior Marty Embry at center or move Comegys to center and use 6-5 senior Tony Jackson in a three-guard starting lineup.

DePaul has changed its starting lineup 11 times this season.

The regular starters at guard for DePaul are two freshmen--shooting guard Terence Green and point guard Rod Strickland.

Strickland, who is from the Bronx, is one of those most often mentioned along with UCLA’s Pooh Richardson as one of the most impressive freshman point guards in the country.

Hazzard said: “Strickland is a good player, a New York-style player. He likes the open court and he likes to make the play. He likes to drive to the basket. He’s impressive.

“There’s a showdown coming between Pooh and Strickland. He’s an outstanding point guard. It should be interesting.”

But, considering the weakness that his team has in the middle, Hazzard was more concerned about those big guys. He said: “They are a big, strong, physical team. . . . We’re going to have to rebound better than we have been. Rebounding is a tough, dirty business and we need to get better at it. We’ve rebounded well in spots, but we haven’t been consistent. We have the tendency to look at the ball sometimes and not go after it.”

Even if Embry does not start, he would be expected to play a lot, along with 6-11 senior Lemone Lampley, who averages 21 minutes a game.

Bruin Notes

Today’s game will be televised regionally by NBC and will be broadcast by KMPC (710). . . . DePaul, an independent team, is coming off a 70-59 loss at Notre Dame after an impressive 81-72 victory over St. John’s. . . . DePaul Coach Joey Meyer, who took over for his father, Ray, last season when Ray retired after 42 years, has two more years on his original four-year contract. . . . The series is tied at 6-6, but UCLA has lost the last two. Last year, at the Horizon, DePaul beat UCLA, 80-61, and the year before, in Pauley Pavilion, DePaul won, 84-68. . . . UCLA guard Pooh Richardson and Arizona forward Sean Elliott were named co-winners of the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Award. Also named to the all-freshman team were USC forward Tom Lewis, USC guard Bo Kimble and Stanford guard Todd Lichti. . . . Official statistics have been adjusted, giving Corey Gaines his rightful two points for a basket that was credited to Reggie Miller in the game with Stanford Monday. Miller had 35 points in that game, not 37. . . . DePaul guard Rod Strickland has set freshman records at DePaul with a total of 134 assists and 60 steals. The only rookies ever to score more than his 352 points were Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings.