Dual Coaches and Lots of Potential : Christian Heritage Could Be the County’s Big Winner

Disregard these facts:

--This is only the third season for the Christian Heritage men’s basketball program.

--Jim Huckaby, coach for the first 2 seasons, has retired and left the job to not one man but two.

--Christian Heritage will play a home-and-home series with defending NAIA national champion Grand Canyon College of Phoenix, Ariz.

Then consider these:

--Christian Heritage has one of the most experienced teams in NAIA District III, which includes schools in California and Oregon.

--Christian Heritage has one of the district’s top players in sophomore guard Mark Kraatz and a former John Wooden disciple and professional player--Swen Nater--as one of its coaches.

What it means is Nater and co-coach Ray Slagle have the best small college team in San Diego, and by season’s end might have the winningest team in San Diego college basketball.

“We’ve got a lot of potential,” said Nater, who will coach defense.

Kraatz, who led the district with 8.3 assists per game last season, was named honorable mention All-American by the National Christian College Athletic Assn. and All-NAIA District III. Kraatz is a transfer from Illinois State, where he averaged just under 9 assists per game as a freshman.

Dave Kirksey, a 6-8 senior center, led the district in field-goal percentage (.673) during the regular season, made 22 of 28 field goal attempts in two postseason games and was the team’s leading rebounder, fourth in the district.

Brad Soucie (6-6, junior forward) is a transfer from Eastern Michigan who will be eligible Dec. 31. Soucie played 2 seasons at Eastern Michigan and set an NCAA Division I record by making eight 3-point shots in an NCAA tournament loss to Pittsburgh last spring. Brother Bill, a 6-5 senior forward, also is on the team.

Kraatz and the Soucies played for Slagle on the 1984-85 Michigan Class D high school state champions, Inter-City Baptist of Allen Park.

UC SAN DIEGO

1987-88 Record: 17-9

NCAA Division III independent

Tom Marshall’s teams the past 2 years have gone 18-8 and 17-9 against solid competition but failed to receive a bid to the 32-team Division III tournament.

This season, the tournament will include 40 teams, but Marshall’s team is the youngest he has had in a while--three seniors (one starter), one junior, six sophomores and four freshmen.

In its first 2 games, UCSD lost by 2 and 4 points.

Point guard Dan Troy, the lone senior starter, will team with junior Greg Kund in the back court. Kund was averaged 19 points and was named to the All-Claremont Tournament team last weekend. Gordon McNeill, a 6-8 sophomore, is the center. He already has surpassed the 73 minutes playing time he had last year.

“We’re going to be very good in the future,” Marshall said. “We’re going to spend most of this year learning and improving game to game.”

POINT LOMA NAZARENE

1987-88 Records: 10-19, 4-10 in conference.

1987-88 Conference Finish: 7th in Golden State Athletic Conference.

First-year coach Ted Anderson must have thought he walked into a high school practice when he began in the fall.

The tallest player on the floor was 6-4.

Anderson, an assistant for 2 years under Ben Foster (now the athletic director), takes over a team whose front line is on the injured list.

Missing are all-Golden State Athletic Conference center Mike Flores (6-10) and the team’s leading scorer in 1987-88, 6-6 forward Steve Riddle. Both are out for the season with knee injuries.

“All we have is forwards and guards,” Anderson said. “This does not look like a typical Point Loma Nazarene team.”

Top players are Chula Vista High graduate Mark Ryan, a 6-4 senior; 6-0 senior point guard Shawn Stroud and 6-4 senior Kevin Barbarick.