COLLEGE BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Chapman Hopes Latest New Era Will Have Long, Successful Run : College Basketball: Former USC Coach Bob Boyd brings stability to program which had three coaches last season.

Things should be a little different for the Chapman College men’s basketball team this season. For one thing, the Panthers expect to have only one coach.

After a season of controversy, frustration and some success, Chapman embarks on a new era tonight when it faces Chico State at 7:30 in Hutton Sports Center.

The “Bob Boyd Era,” as it’s called around the athletic department, follows the “Kevin Wilson-Lindsay Strothers-Rich Prospero Era.”

The Panthers spent last season on the brink, with three head coaches. Wilson, who had announced that he would resign at the end of the season, was fired after one regular-season game and replaced by Strothers, an assistant coach for the women’s team.

A day later, Prospero, Wilson’s assistant, replaced Strothers after the players threatened to boycott.

Now comes Boyd, who has coached at USC, Seattle and Mississippi State. He replaces Prospero, who again is an assistant for the Panthers.

“There was so much turmoil last season that it was hard to play,” said Rog Middleton, the Panthers’ starting center a year ago. “This year, things are more stable. Everything is more positive.”

Despite all of the controversy, Chapman finished 17-12 last season and tied for third in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament. The Panthers fell one victory short of reaching the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division II playoffs, losing to UC Riverside in the final of the conference tournament.

To match that success, the Panthers must develop quickly this season.

Middleton, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound sophomore, is the only returning starter. He led the team in scoring (15-point average) and rebounding (6.4 average) after becoming eligible in January.

Middleton had 20 points and 10 rebounds in an exhibition against the East Melbourne National Team last week.

There are four other returning players, but only one figures to get much playing time, and he didn’t even finish with the team last season.

Kevin Stafford, a 6-3 forward/guard, averaged 8.3 points a game but was thrown off the team midway through the conference schedule for violating team rules. He figures in Boyd’s plans as a reserve this season.

“Kevin has matured and has been very positive this season,” Boyd said. “He will be one of the eight players we plan to rotate.”

The Panthers also have Darius Henderson, a 6-5 junior who sat out last season with a shoulder injury. He has fully recovered and will start at forward.

“Rog is our only starter back, but with Kevin and Darius, we have two talented players who have been involved in the program,” Boyd said.

However, the Panthers’ fortunes rest with a group of newcomers.

The biggest hole to fill is at point guard, where Bryan Richetto transfered to Ashland College in Ohio.

Chris Martin, a 6-2 junior, will step in to help. He averaged 14 points a game at Rancho Santiago last season and was an All-Orange Empire Conference selection.

“We don’t really have a point guard, it’s a two-guard offense,” Boyd said. “But when we push the ball up the court, we want the ball in Martin’s hands.”

The other guard spot will be shared by Von Shuler, a 6-4 transfer from Santa Monica City College, and Andre Hill, a 6-2 transfer from Chabot College. Shuler was an all-state selection last season and had a team-high 25 points against East Melbourne.

Frantz Reyes, a former Cypress High School standout, will start at center. However, at 6-5, he might have trouble against bigger centers.

“Once we jell, we’re going to be stronger and tougher than last season,” Middleton said. “We’ve had a lot of changes and it’s all been positive.”

For a change.