The Colleges : Exception to the Rule an Exceptional Scorer for CSUN Women

As a rule, Leslie Milke, coach of the Northridge women’s basketball team, does not take players who only have one year of eligibility remaining.

She made an exception 2 years ago.

Chris Cavalin, Milke believed, had not received a fair shake at Chapman College where she was recruited by a coach who lost his job, leaving her to play for someone else.

“We felt she was a good kid who kind of got a raw deal over there,” Milke said. “I felt bad for her. I thought she had a lot of talent and I hated to see it wasted.” Which is why when Cavalin called Milke and asked if she could transfer, the coach bent her rules.

In accordance with NCAA rules, the senior forward was forced to sit out last season to regain her eligibility.

Milke is convinced it was worth the wait.

Cavalin has led the Lady Matadors in scoring in 6 of 9 games. She has been the team’s top rebounder 7 times and is averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds a game.

Milke said that she expected as much, although such impressive numbers are not normally posted by a player coming off a redshirt year.

“You could tell she was hungry to play,” Milke said. “Last year in practice she played so hard and did such a good job. We talked a lot about how she wanted to make her last year a good one. She was chomping at the bit.”

Cavalin has helped Northridge to an 8-1 start. CSUN’s only loss came Nov. 22 against West Texas State, a top Division II team. The Lady Matadors shot only 26% in that game and still pushed the game to overtime before losing, 66-63.

Northridge’s next game is Dec. 29 at home against Western Washington.

Professional pinnacle: The Northridge baseball program will honor Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Rick Dempsey at a Pinnacle of Success awards dinner Feb. 5 at the Warner City Marriott.

The $100-a-plate dinner, co-sponsored by Pinnacle Estate Properties, Inc., will raise funds for the Northridge baseball program. Awards reflecting significant achievements by players who were raised in, or live in or near, the San Fernando Valley will be presented.

Dempsey, a graduate of Crespi High, is the first recipient of the Professional Player of the Year Award. Other awards will be presented to a minor-league, Cal State Northridge, junior college and high school player of the year as well as high school coach of the year.

Quest for quality: Marwan Ass’ad has been keeping busy since his Cal State Northridge soccer team placed second in the NCAA Division II championships at CSUN earlier this month.

Ass’ad, whose teams have won 5 consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. titles, is preparing the program for its move to Division I in 1990.

To that end, he has scheduled matches next season against UCLA, San Diego State, the University of San Diego, Cal State Los Angeles and Nevada Las Vegas.

Ass’ad also has been recruiting for a squad that featured 6 freshman starters last season.

“If we get three or four quality players, that would be great,” Ass’ad said. “But I think we can get 10.

“In the past, players have been able to come in and play a lot in their first year. It may not be like that anymore. I’m not a fan of that, but we may have to do that.”

Bruin pioneer: Freshman forward Don MacLean of UCLA is the first big man to start for the Bruins since center Stuart Gray in 1981-82. MacLean, The Times Ventura County Player of the Year last season and a high school All-American, attended Simi Valley High. Gray, who plays for the Indiana Pacers, attended Kennedy.

MacLean’s 26 points in UCLA’s 97-87 win over BYU 3 weeks ago were the most scored by a true freshman since guard Rod Foster scored 28 against Arizona in 1979-80.

MacLean has led the Bruins (5-1) in scoring 4 times this season and is averaging 19 points a game. Junior forward Trevor Wilson, a former Cleveland High standout, leads the team with a 20.5 average.

The Bruins opened Pacific-10 Conference play Wednesday with a 76-59 win over Cal at Pauley Pavilion.

DeLaittre will wait: While MacLean has been an impact player at UCLA, the career of another former Simi Valley standout has been put on hold.

Shawn DeLaittre, who was second behind MacLean in both scoring (21.6) and rebounding (8.8) for the Pioneers last season, is redshirting at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

DeLaittre, a 6-5 forward, is second on Simi Valley’s all-time scoring list with 1,604 points, behind MacLean’s 2,343.

Alumni search: Like Northridge, the State University of New York, Buffalo, has Division I aspirations. The school plans to move to Division I beginning in the 1991-92 school year, or 1 year after CSUN plans its move.

The schools will meet on the basketball court for the first time when Northridge plays host to Buffalo on Dec. 30. Buffalo is not making the trip just to play basketball, however. It is also using the visit to the West Coast to try to drum up alumni support.

The school is hosting an alumni reception at the Airtel Hotel on Jan. 1 at 3 p.m.

Information: 716-636-3178.

Scholarly choice: John Goslin, voted the top defensive lineman in the Western State Conference, says that he will play football for either San Jose State or Fresno State next season.

The 6-3, 260-pound Moorpark College tackle said that he will make his final decision after visiting Fresno State next month. Both teams play in the Big West Conference.

“Both schools have very good programs and offer what I need as far as education, good solid football programs and coaches who I can get along with and respect,” Goslin said.

Sweet home: For the Cal Lutheran women’s basketball team, there’s no place like home. The Regals are 2-0 at home, but 0-5 on the road.

Despite Cal Lutheran’s shaky start, junior forward Heidi Griffith has been a consistent scorer. She is averaging 19.5 points a game to lead the team.

Football update: Northridge has signed 6 junior college football players, but only 3 signings--those of defensive back Ed Mitchell, defensive tackle Jim Hiller and wide receiver Cornell Ward--have been made public by the school.

The others, Coach Bob Burt said, will be announced when the paper work is received by the school. “Right now it’s a “the-check-is-in-the-mail-type thing,” Burt said.

By the time spring drills begin CSUN should have about 20 new players--14 JC transfers and 6 high school recruits, Burt said.

Target of abuse: Occidental forward John Keister scored 28 points and was 10 of 10 from the free-throw line in a recent game against Menlo, but that didn’t seem to impress the opposing fans--or players.

The crowd taunted him by chanting, “42,” Keister’s jersey number, and the Menlo players jabbered about his “luck.”

In the fourth quarter, despite the boos, Keister nailed a clutch free throw and punctuated the basket by pointing at the raucous group.

“I don’t like to talk but I was saying, ‘Shut up!’ ” Keister said. “They were weenies.”

Even Occidental Coach Brian Newhall, usually tight-lipped about these matters was irked with the Menlo players.

“They thought they were going to crunch us and they were being jerks,” he said.

Quest for the best: Teams at North Dakota State form the most powerful and best supported Division II programs in the country.

Earlier this month, the Bison women’s volleyball team played host to the Division II championships and drew a crowd of 2,750 for its semifinal match against CSUN.

The crowd would have been significantly larger had the Bison football team not been playing for the national championship. Many of the 18,000 fans who attend home football games had traveled to Florence, Ala., the same weekend to watch the Bison win their third national title with a victory over Western Football Conference champion Portland State.

Cross-country runner Doug Hanson won this year’s individual championship and the wrestling team is the defending national champion.

Last season, the women’s basketball team was a national semifinalist. The women’s volleyball team finished the regular season ranked second in the nation behind national champion Portland State.

Earlier this month, Fargo citizens voted in favor of a half-cent sales tax that will support the construction of a $30 million domed stadium. The facility will be shared by North Dakota State and Moorehead State and also will be used for concerts and agricultural shows.

Staff writers Gary Klein, Mike Hiserman, Sam Farmer and Steve Elling contributed to this notebook.