The Colleges : Summer League Provides Vehicle for Bolden to Make an Impression

Pat Bolden shuffled off the court at the Bakersfield Civic Arena four months ago knowing his season was over, and wondering if his basketball career was over as well.

Bolden and Cal State Northridge had fallen one point short against Bakersfield in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. post-season tournament.

The 6-5 forward finished his four years at CSUN with 1,081 points, fourth-best in school history.

As a senior he led the team in scoring at 16.4 points per game, and earned first-team all-conference honors in the process.

But was that going to impress professional basketball scouts? Probably not.

The CCAA could hardly be considered a basketball player factory, even by Division II standards. And Bolden, though able, wasn’t accustomed to playing an up-tempo game.

By the NBA’s thoroughbred standards, CSUN had a plow-horse offense. Bolden decided to keep practicing anyway. Now he’s on the verge of making it pay off.

The former L. A. Lutheran High standout will begin playing today for California, a free agent entry in the 16-team Summer Pro Basketball League at Loyola Marymount.

Bolden was one of 27 players selected to play in the league out of a tryout camp at St. Bernard High in Playa del Rey last week.

Teams in the league primarily consist of free agents and rookies trying to make NBA rosters. A handful of veteran players, which reportedly includes A. C. Green and Benoit Benjamin, also will compete.

“I’m playing pretty well right now. I’m back together,” said Bolden, who was hampered by a knee injury much of his senior season. “I’m happy with myself right now, and I’m ready to go out, give it a shot, and have some fun.”

The competition in the tryout camp, Bolden said, surpassed anything he had seen in college. “It’s definitely more fast-paced,” he said. “You can’t play zone. It’s always man-to-man. There’s no slowing down, and everybody on the court can really play.”

Bolden knows that earning an invitation to an NBA camp might be a long shot, but he’s hopeful his play might at least attract interest from scouts for professional teams in Europe or Australia.

“I was disappointed after that last game for Northridge,” he said. “But deep inside I knew I had a little more to give out. I’m going to see how far I can go.”

Breaking the ice: Recently-hired baseball Coach Bill Kernen of Northridge has signed his first player, Denny Vigo, an infielder from El Camino Real High.

Vigo, who batted .444 with 4 home runs and 29 runs batted in last season, will play third base at CSUN.

“I think he’s a legitimate offensive player, a right-handed power hitter,” Kernen said. “Right now the primary position I would use him in is at third base.

“Normally I like to get a primary and secondary position for each player in case someone goes down.”

Winging it: The Wichita Wings made Joey Kirk of Northridge the first college player taken Wednesday in the Major Indoor Soccer League dispersal draft.

Kirk had previously been drafted by the Minnesota franchise, but that team, along with Chicago and St. Louis, has folded.

Honor roll: Chris Groff of Cal Lutheran was an honorable mention selection on the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American golf team.

Groff, a first-team All-American in 1987, was the Kingsmen’s No. 1 player.

He was ranked No. 4 in the NAIA going into the national tournament, but was upset in the fourth round.

He finished the season with a 33-5 singles record.

Professional face-lift: Few could argue that the association between Cal Lutheran and the Dallas Cowboys has greatly benefited the Kingsmen football team. The vast majority of the training equipment and facilities the CLU team uses have been paid for by the Cowboys.

But that doesn’t mean the school’s athletic equipment and training staffs have to enjoy the professional team’s stay.

“They’re the only ones who get stuck a little bit,” said Bob Doering, Cal Lutheran athletic director. “It’s not a problem for the football team--they still get in three full weeks of practice before their first game.

“But it’s a pain for the equipment managers and trainers who have to change everything around in a matter of hours.”

Doering was referring to what will happen the night of Aug. 19. The Cowboys’ last practice is that afternoon. CLU’s first practice is at 11 a.m. the following morning.

In the hours between, the training and equipment rooms will undergo complete renovation.

“When the Cowboys move in, the trainers move everything out of the equipment room down to the last pencil, and they move their stuff in,” Doering said. “It’s the same in training. All that has to go back in overnight.”