Two Titan Basketball Reserves to Transfer to UC Riverside

Chris Ceballos and Rodney Smith, little-used reserves on the Cal State Fullerton basketball team last season, are transferring to UC Riverside, Titan Coach George McQuarn said Thursday.

Ceballos and Smith were used mostly in mop-up roles in 1986-87, when Fullerton finished 17-13 and reached the National Invitation Tournament.

Ceballos, a sophomore guard out of Dominguez High School, appeared in 10 games and totaled 37 minutes. Smith, a transfer from Northeastern A&M; Junior College in Miami, Okla., played in eight games as a backup forward. Neither player was expected to play much next season.

“It looks like they’re both going to UCR,” McQuarn said. “They’re real concerned about playing. I think they feel they’ll have a better opportunity to play at the Division II level. They’re both good kids. There are no hard feelings . . . no animosity.”

McQuarn said he is continuing his search for a junior college point guard. He and his staff were pursuing El Camino College guard Otis Livingston, but McQuarn said Thursday that Livingston visited the University of Kansas this week and is expected to sign there. In April, the Titans lost Todd Duncan of Midland College in Garland, Tex., to Texas Tech. Duncan was McQuarn’s top choice in the point guard search.

“We haven’t had a whole lot of luck,” McQuarn said. “Supply is very low; therefore, demand is very high. As a result, kids are holding off and waiting to see if something they think is better comes along.”