Bouncing Back : After Two Losing Seasons, 49ers Are in Second Place and Trying Harder to Get Along

They have won three straight league games and are in second place, which must seem almost like basketball heaven to the Cal State Long Beach 49ers in light of their hellish recent past.

The 49ers’ record the last two seasons was 11-45 and they were permanently lodged in the basement of the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. They never even won two straight league games.

But now they are 8-8 overall and have one more victory than they had all last season. They are 3-1 in the league and trail only undefeated Nevada Las Vegas, the No. 1 team in the nation, which isn’t to say they should be mentioned yet in the same breath with Las Vegas.

The season and the team are still young, and the shooting rarely rises above horrendous, so there is no guarantee that a fall may not be forthcoming. But heaven may not have to wait much longer for the vastly improved 49ers, now that an early-January blowup between the players and Coach Ron Palmer apparently has cooled.

“This team is capable of winning 15 to 17 games,” Palmer said.

Critical 4-Game Stretch

Saturday, the 49ers defeated University of the Pacific, 59-50, to complete the most important stretch of four PCAA games they have had since Palmer took over in 1984. They won the last three, but the one they lost--at San Jose State on Jan. 3--may turn out to be their most significant night of the season.

That was the league opener and after the 49ers botched it badly, frustrations were evident in Palmer and the players.

CSULB had lost five of six games going into the San Jose game, tarnishing a preseason that had glittered with victories over Bradley, Houston and Pepperdine. The 49ers also had played well in a 2-point loss at UCLA and an 86-72 defeat by Georgetown.

On the plane to San Jose, as the players played cards and listened to rap music, Palmer thought they were overconfident--San Jose State had lost to Cal State Hayward . “There’s no way we should feel that way coming off the two years we had,” Palmer said.

But junior guard Morlon Wiley knew the team was neither confident nor happy, mainly because of Palmer’s rapid shuffling of players in his effort to find an effective combination. If someone made a mistake or took an ill-advised shot, he would almost immediately find himself on the bench. Eleven players were playing each game. No one felt stable.

“We had lost the desire,” Wiley said last week.

Anger Grew Throughout Loss

The 49ers played pathetically at San Jose. They made 31% of their shots. Palmer continued to run players in and out. The players griped. Palmer’s anger grew throughout the 73-56 loss.

In the dressing room after the game, the normally low-key Palmer erupted at the way the 49ers had selected their shots. Some of the players complained just as loudly about not getting their fair share of shots.

After a half-hour, the players filed out and Palmer explained, “We’ve got a few internal problems we have to deal with.”

The meeting resumed, more calmly, in Palmer’s hotel suite.

“We let everything out,” said junior center DeAnthony Langston. “People hadn’t been expressing themselves. He (Palmer) made everyone talk. People opened up. We said we’d start playing together.”

When the 49ers arrived in Utah the next day, Wiley said the players were relaxed again, laughing and joking. Desire had returned.

“Once you start losing, you lose confidence in yourself and your teammates,” Wiley explained. “When you’re losing, everybody starts pointing fingers. Some of the players (on the bench) were hoping the others would mess up. We were second-guessing the coach.”

“Tonight is a very important game,” Palmer said on Monday afternoon, Jan. 5, as he sat in a motel room. Outside, snow made the mountain town of Logan, Utah, seem even more desolate. A loss to Utah State would mean a disastrous 0-2 league start.

“For the first time, I was ticked off,” he said of the San Jose game. “I think I will have a different face the rest of the year. I don’t think I’ll be a happy person. Even when we play well, I’m going to be mad. Maybe that’s what it takes.

“(That) was as poorly a played game as we’ve had the last two years. We have definitely taken steps so that will never occur again.”

Palmer said he would concentrate on playing eight players instead of 11.

“We will not shoot 31%,” he said, adding that there would be no more shots fired wildly.

He said he would make sure no opponent is taken for granted.

‘Perform or Don’t Play’

And he said his message to his team was, “Perform or don’t play.”

He said he understood why his players had been unhappy.

“It’s difficult for a kid to sit on the bench and watch someone not performing well,” Palmer said. “When we’re losing, we tend to grate on each other. We worry about who’s starting, and fight each other.”

Palmer expected the 49ers to bounce back. He talked of winning five games in a row.

So the 49ers went out against Utah State and did not shoot 31% in the first half. They shot 27% and trailed, 38-28.

But sophomore forward Andre Purry scored 15 points to lead the 49ers on a comeback that produced a 94-91 overtime win.

“Thoroughly, a team victory,” Palmer said after nine players had contributed.

For the first time in his three seasons, Palmer has more than a few good players.

“The strength of this team is that everybody is fairly close in ability,” he said.

There is not an outstanding scorer. Wiley and Langston lead the 49ers with averages of 12.9 and 11.4, respectively.

“This year we’re capable of putting the ball in the basket,” Palmer said. But the 49ers are making only 41% of their field goal attempts, worse than last year’s 43%.

An aggressive defense, led by Rigo Moore, a 6-foot-3 junior transfer from Washington State, has been impressive.

“It’s been good enough to win most games if we’d shoot a better percentage,” Palmer said.

Rebounding Has Improved

Rebounding also has improved over last season. The 6-10 Langston and the 6-8, 255-pound John Hatten, who alternate at center, are combining for nearly 13 rebounds a game, and Mel Braxton, a transfer from New Mexico State and the only senior, is averaging six.

Although Wiley is shooting only 37%, he is a knowledgeable, leader-type player whom Palmer regards as one of the area’s finest guards. Wiley shares the back court with junior Billy Walker, who runs the 49ers’ fast break.

The most important player may be the 6-5 Purry, who can rebound, play defense and inspire the team with spectacular dunk shots. “When Andre plays well, we play well,” Palmer said. “When Andre struggles, we struggle.”

Tony Ronzone, a feisty guard who will shoot from almost anywhere, made four straight three-point shots (from beyond 20 feet) against Georgetown, but has been inconsistent. “He can win a game and he can also lose one,” Palmer said.

The 49ers followed their Utah State victory with a 67-60 win last Thursday over Fresno State, a team they had not beaten in three years. They made only 5 of 18 field goal attempts in the second half, but made 16 of 20 free throws in the last 10 minutes, displaying a coolness under pressure that was absent last season.

Then, on Saturday against Pacific, they still could not find the basket in the first half.

“Get a shooter in there,” yelled a fan.

But the 49ers improved from 33% to 56% in the second half because, said Palmer, they passed the ball better and as a result got better shots.

Since the San Jose State game, Palmer has tried to distribute the playing time among eight players, and his substituting has not been as frequent.

Coach Still Can Be Intolerant

But he still can be intolerant. He took Langston out of the Pacific game with only a minute elapsed in the game.

Langston finally got the idea that he was supposed to be more aggressive, and Palmer rewarded him with 12 minutes of playing time in the second half. Langston responded with 11 points.

After a week of shooting drills, Long Beach resumes its home stand with games against New Mexico State Saturday night and UC Irvine on Monday night.

If the 49ers win those, they will be 5-1, as Palmer had hoped, and can challenge for first place next Thursday night in Las Vegas.