Community College Notebook : Carr Shifts Gears at Saddleback, Makes Best of Temporary Situation

Ernie Carr went to Saddleback College last fall under difficult circumstances. He was to serve as the Gauchos’ basketball coach, but for just one season.

Carr replaced Bill Brummel, who is taking a year off to be an observer under Coach Bob Knight at Indiana University. Brummel plans to return next season.

Carr’s interim position provided him with plenty of obstacles. He was new to the area, and though he was taking over a program that had been very successful the previous two seasons, only one player--Bradd Heckman, a reserve last season--was returning.

Carr was also stepping into the Orange Empire Conference, regarded as one of the best in Southern California.

But Carr brought with him an impressive background. He was an assistant at UCLA last season under Walt Hazzard, but left after Hazzard was fired. Carr had been the head coach at Dominguez High School for 12 seasons. His teams won 4 San Gabriel League titles, were runners-up 4 times and had a record of 195-102.

“I thought about a lot of things before coming here,” Carr said. “But I wasn’t scared. I’m too far along in my coaching career for that. I’m always wary, concerned and worried about the other team, but it all comes down to hard work and preparation anywhere.”

After leaving UCLA, Carr said he thought he wanted to take some time off from coaching and work solely at Dominguez, where he remains the athletic director. But Brummel, who coached at Dominguez before Carr, asked him if he would be interested in a temporary job.

“After I thought about it for a month,” Carr said, “I decided I wanted to do something in coaching, and this job seemed right.”

The news of Carr coming to Saddleback triggered the arrival of several talented players from the Los Angeles area, including guard Sean Keyes from Washington Prep. Keyes leads Saddleback in scoring at 21 points per game. Carr also got area standouts Jeff Springfield (Mission Viejo), Tyrone Meixsell (Dana Hills) and Lesean London (Tustin).

Still, Carr has been forced to work with a team of 12 freshmen and 1 sophomore, so at times things have been tough.

Saddleback is 9-11 overall and 2-2 in the Orange Empire Conference. The Gauchos scored the upset of the conference season so far on Jan. 7, when they defeated conference-favorite Riverside, 53-48, at Saddleback.

“He’s in a difficult situation but he’s doing a great job,” said Keith Caulkins, Saddleback’s dean of health, physical education recreation and athletics. “He’s a good coach and it shows.”

Lasting impressions: When Cypress routed Rio Hondo, 96-59, in a nonconference basketball game last season, it made a lasting impression on then-Rio Hondo freshman guard Mike Varos.

Varos was so impressed with the sportsmanship displayed by Cypress that he transferred there last fall.

“Cypress was beating us by 40 and they didn’t say anything,” Varos said. “That’s why I came here. It seemed like a class program. All I want to do is win games for Coach (Don) Johnson.”

Varos did his best to achieve his goal last Wednesday when Cypress defeated Fullerton, 61-60. Varos played the final 6 minutes of the first half with 3 fouls and Fullerton led at halftime, 43-34.

He picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes left in the game, sat out a minute then played the rest of the way.

He made a short jumper with 3 seconds left to give Cypress a 61-59 lead and finished with 21 points, 11 in the second half.

“He’s become the soul of this team right now,” Johnson said after the game. “We have to have him on the court to win.”

Women’s showdown: The first of two games that will likely determine the winner of the Orange Empire Conference women’s basketball championship takes place Friday at Golden West.

Fullerton (18-1 overall, 2-0 in conference play) plays at Golden West (8-14, 2-0) at 7:30 p.m. Fullerton, the top-ranked team in the state, is picked to win the conference. Golden West’s overall record may not look great, but the Rustlers were forced to forfeit 11 victories early this season for using an ineligible player. Fullerton and Golden West meet a second time on Feb. 15 at Fullerton.

On Wednesday, Fullerton plays at Orange Coast (8-13, 0-2) and Golden West is at Rancho Santiago (7-13, 1-2). Both games start at 7:30 p.m.

Football signings: It’s that time of the year when community college football players are making up their minds about where to play next season. Fullerton has announced 7 players that have signed, Saddleback 9 and Golden West 8.

Fullerton: defensive lineman Pat Mason (Arizona State), defensive backs James Rollins (Michigan State) and Craig Glatzhofer (San Jose State), center Brian Woods (San Jose State), wide receiver Tim Imperiali (Utah), offensive tackle Brad Heidelberg (Idaho State) and tight end Shane Wiley (Austin Peay).

Saddleback: Wide receiver Scott Miller (UCLA), offensive linemen Ben Morgan (California), Shannon Illingworth (Las Vegas) and Greg Gerardi (Tennessee University), running backs Aly Diaz and Darrin Sweazy (University of the Pacific), defensive lineman Mike West (Cal State Long Beach), linebacker Gary Renteria (Miami of Ohio) and defensive back Lenny McIntyre (Austin Peay).

Golden West: linebackers Todd Conway (Austin Peay), Larry Stuppy (Rice), Mike Cover (Arkansas) and Pat Knowles (Pacific), tight end Dan Westmoreland (Mississippi), quarterback Joe Napolia (Miami of Ohio), offensive lineman Kevin Fairman (Eastern Michigan) and center Joe Biritz (Las Vegas).

Community College Notes

The Cypress men’s basketball team continues to be the best free-throw shooting team in the conference. Cypress has made 81% (116 of 144) of its shots in the last 8 games and is shooting 75% (284 of 381) for the season. . . . Despite the disbanding of the Cypress women’s basketball team 2 weeks ago, sophomore forward Vicki Silva is still being recruited by Pepperdine and UC Irvine.

Orange Empire Conference

Men

Conf. Overall College W L W L Riverside 3 1 19 7 Orange Coast 2 1 17 5 Cypress 2 1 10 10 Rancho Santiago 2 2 12 8 Saddleback 2 2 9 11 Fullerton 1 2 16 5 Golden West 0 3 15 7

Women

Conf. Overall College W L W L Fullerton 2 0 18 1 * Golden West 2 0 8 14 Riverside 1 1 9 6 Rancho Santiago 1 2 7 13 Orange Coast 0 2 8 13

*Forfeited 11 victories for use of an ineligible player