Egan Not Sure What to Expect From the Youngest Team in the WCAC

Hank Egan, the University of San Diego basketball coach, will not make any predictions about this season’s team.

It is so young, Egan says, that he honestly doesn’t know how the players will perform during the demanding West Coast Athletic Conference season.

But everyone else, from the WCAC media to The Sporting News to Street & Smith, has made a prediction: The Toreros most often were picked to finish seventh in the 8-team WCAC. ESPN’s Dick Vitale was bold enough to pick USD sixth; Playboy has them last.

Because preseason polls are based on the previous year’s performance, returning players and key newcomers, the selections come as no surprise to Egan.

USD was 11-17 last season and finished seventh in the conference (3-11). Of the seven returning letterman, only one was a starter last season. Seven freshmen join five sophomores, a junior and two seniors to form the conference’s youngest team.

Adding to low expectations for USD is the strength of the conference. In 1987-88, the WCAC had its finest season, putting three teams into postseason play. Excluding USD, WCAC teams return 63% of their starting lineups, including seven first-team all-conference players.

St. Mary’s (19-9, 9-5) returns all five starters and is picked first in the WCAC media poll but second in the others. Loyola Marymount (28-4, 14-0), with a “7-second offense” that averaged 110 points per game, is picked second in the media poll but first in the others.

Then come Santa Clara (20-11, 9-5), Pepperdine (17-13,8-6), Gonzaga (16-12, 7-7) and San Francisco (13-15, 5-9). Only Portland (6-22, 1-13) is picked lower than USD by the WCAC media.

Despite all that, the Toreros and Egan are excited about the season, which begins with the University of New Mexico Tournament Saturday in Albuquerque. USD’s home opener is next Wednesday against Cal Lutheran at the USD Sports Center.

“I think we’ve improved ourselves athletically,” Egan said. “There’s no doubt we’re a young team. But this is the last year for excuses. I really mean that. We won’t be able to fall back on the inexperience excuses next year.

“But how good we’re going to be this year. We really don’t know.”

At the WCAC media luncheon 3 weeks ago, Egan added, “We really don’t know who the starting lineup will be. We don’t know who’s going to respond in game situations. Some kids are lousy practice players. Some kids are gamers. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

One player Egan knows well is senior guard Danny Means (6-feet 2-inches, 185 pounds). Means started all 30 games as a sophomore on the Toreros’ most successful team, in 1986-87, when they won the WCAC regular season title and qualified for the NCAA tournament. Means scored 18 points in USD’s 62-61 loss to Auburn in the first round.

Last season, Means was USD’s most valuable player and team captain. He was honorable mention All-WCAC, averaging 12.1 points and 3 assists per game as a point guard. He also led USD in 3-po1768846368accuracy (81%), prompting Egan to switch Means back to his more natural shooting guard position.

Two years ago, Means teamed with Paul Leonard in the back court. This year, Means and senior Efrem Leonard (Paul’s brother) will work together. Leonard (6-1, 180) started 9 games last year, averaging 10.7 points per game after transfering from Mt. San Antonio Community College.

Junior Craig Cottrell (6-5, 200) is the only other upperclassman. Cottrell averaged 4.9 points and 2.7 rebounds, starting nine games as a sophomore. In USD’s 97-90 exhibition loss 2 weeks ago to Athletes in Action, Cottrell started and led the Toreros with 20 points in 26 minutes. Means scored 18 and Leonard 16.

USD played well against AIA, showing tremendous quickness and having a 46-33 rebounding edge despite a size disadvantage.

Freshman forward Kelvin Woods (6-5, 210) had 13 rebounds and 9 points in 24 minutes. Sophomore forward Randy Thompson (6-6, 195) had 12 points, 7 rebounds and some good passes among his 5 assists. Sophomore center Dondi Bell (6-9, 230) scored 8 points and blocked 3 shots. Freshman guard Wayman Strickland (6-2, 170) led USD with 6 assists.