Season Displayed Talent, Courage, Funny Moments

The 1988-89 South Bay college season provided notable events and individuals, some worthy of awards:

The Best Defense is a Good Offense Award--Loyola Marymount set the all-time NCAA basketball scoring mark, averaging 112.5 points. The Lions probably allowed the most points ever as well, giving up 107.3 per game. Whew!

Best Decision--Hank Gathers’ passing up the pro draft to finish his eligibility at Loyola. Barring injury, he figures to expand his perimeter game and enhance his standing with the scouts.

The 40-40-40 Club--Loyola and Gonzaga managed to one-up Jose Canseco when three players reached the 40 mark in the same game--Loyola’s Gathers and Bo Kimble and the Zags’ Doug Spradley. It was an NCAA record. Coach Paul Westhead commented, “I tell (recruits), ‘Play at Loyola, you’ll score 40 points. Either for us or against us.’ ”

Best Trip--Loyola at Nevada-Reno, Dec. 30. Not only did the Lions play perhaps their most impressive road game, defeating Reno, 130-125, and not only did Gathers tie the Lions school record with 49 points (plus 26 rebounds), he even won at the slot machines.

Worst Trip--The Cal State Dominguez Hills basketball team, traveling to the Puget Sound Tournament in Tacoma on Dec. 29, missed its flight out of LAX, then missed its Tacoma connection out of San Jose. At that point, the team split up and found separate flights. Six players and Coach Dave Yanai got to the arena in time for pregame warm-ups. The other six players arrived at game time. For all their trouble, they lost to Central Washington.

No Respect Award--Cal State Dominguez Hills center Anthony Blackmon was named California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Player of the Year and was selected to the all-region first team. But he was snubbed for Division II All-American honors in favor of UC Riverside’s Maurice Pullum.

Best Double Play--Dominguez Hills soccer Coach Marine Cano led the women’s team to a No. 12 national ranking while directing the men’s team to a tie for the CCAA title in a race that wasn’t decided until the final game. With all that time on his hands, he also scouted high schools and junior colleges all the way to San Diego.

Distinguished Alumni Award--Rick Adelman, Loyola class of 1968, was named coach of the Portland Trail Blazers in mid-season and led the Blazers to a National Basketball Assn. playoff berth, earning a vote of confidence from the players.

E for Effort Award--Loyola senior basketball player Enoch Simmons shattered the middle knuckle of the third finger of his left hand in the opening minutes of Loyola’s WCAC Tournament title game against Santa Clara but still played 35 minutes and hit a key basket near the end of the game. The injury required surgery.

Best Serve and Volleys--The hirings of Mike Normand at Loyola Marymount and Nancy Fortner at Dominguez Hills may bring a measure of stability to their volleyball programs. If nothing else, they add two proven winners to the local coaching ranks.

Player of the Year--This was one you could take to the bank. Loyola’s Hank (the Bank) Gathers joined pro star Xavier McDaniel as the only basketball players to lead the NCAA in scoring (32.7) and rebounding (13.7) in the same season and joined the likes of Pete Maravich and Oscar Robertson as the 14th Division I player to break 1,000 points in a season. He scored 30 or more points 23 times in 31 games and had a low of 22. He reached double figures in rebounds in all but five games.

Coach of the Year--Loyola’s Paul Westhead in basketball and Chris Smith in baseball and Cal State Dominguez Hills’ Marine Cano in soccer and Dave Yanai in basketball lived up to expectations with excellent seasons, and Loyola’s Todd Corman led the women’s basketball team to its best season. But in her first season, Dominguez Hills softball Coach Janis Ruetz went way beyond what anyone envisioned in leading her team to its best season ever at 35-22-2--in the nation’s toughest Division II conference--and a berth in the NCAA regional.

Rookie of the Year--Loyola baseball player Joe Ciccarella turned down a reported $100,000 bonus from the Phillies in favor of a scholarship. The first baseman-outfielder was named the West Coast Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. He hit .328 with 35 runs batted in and had three doubles in the NCAA regional.

Hall of Shame Candidates--The West Coast Athletic Conference and ESPN-TV for starting the championship game of its basketball tournament at 8:45 p.m., and UC Santa Barbara for starting its televised game with Loyola at 9:10 p.m . . . The California Collegiate Athletic Assn. for playing its basketball tournament at Bakersfield when first-place UC Riverside was supposed to be the host and Cal State Dominguez Hills was next in line . . . The Loyola men’s basketball schedulers for playing U.S. International University--twice . . . El Camino College for not changing basketball Coach Ron McClurkin’s status from interim to full time . . . Harbor College for dropping its September football game with El Camino College, walking out on a contract . . . The Loyola Marymount administration for not returning some of its hard-won NCAA tournament funds to the athletic program.

Three Cheers for--Bo Kimble, Jeff Fryer, Tom Peabody, Per Stumer, Robert Barksdale, Derrick Clark, Kristen Bruich, Miah Bradbury, Travis Tarchione, Rick Allen, Lynor Johnson, Willie Ayala, Devon Akita, Denise Biller, Maria Romero, Leslie Wohlford, Seham Khalaf, Sio Saipaia, Rick Davis, Kris Anderson and all the other athletes and coaches who brought excitement to the 1988-89 college season.

College Notes:

Former Loyola basketball player and assistant coach Mike Dunlap has been named head coach at Cal Lutheran effective this week. Dunlap, who lives in Manhattan Beach, has been on George Raveling’s staff, at Iowa in 1985, then at USC since 1986. Dunlap, an Alaska high school star who was a reserve guard at Loyola in 1980, is working on a doctorate in higher education. He was selected from about 90 candidates, according to Cal Lutheran . . . Loyola catcher Miah Bradbury finished a strong junior season with a .398 batting average and .468 on-base percentage and was named to the Baseball America third team. He topped the Lions in hits (94) and set a school season record for doubles (31). Senior Rick Allen led in homers (11) and runs batted in (60) as well as stolen bases (22). Senior outfielder Robert Cannon had a .488 on-base percentage . . . Dominguez Hills sophomore golfer Enrico Montano placed 27th individually as the Toros finished 12th at the Division II nationals. Montano shot a 72-hole total of 310, followed by Ray Fawcett at 314 (45th) and Jeff Manare and Bob Hayes at 319 (60th). All return next year . . . Toros women’s basketball Coach Van Girard has signed Dionne Vanlandingham, a 6-foot center out of Long Beach Poly High, and Denise Slater, a 5-9 guard from Crenshaw High, bringing his recruiting class to four . . . Mark McWherter was named both the outstanding player and most inspirational player for the Hawaii baseball team. In leading the Rainbows to a 40-win season and NCAA regional appearance, the El Segundo graduate led the team in batting (.375), hits (87), total bases (137) and doubles (21) and tied the school record with 77 RBIs.