UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK : Walk-On Freshman Guard Making a Point of Delighting Mulligan, Fans

The strange-but-true saga of Ben Rishwain, walk-on guard and cult hero to the Bren Center fans, began a year ago in Stockton.

UC Irvine wanted Rishwain badly last season. And the feeling was mutual.

Rishwain, then a scrappy point guard at St. Mary’s High School in Stockton, had heard the recruiting spiel from nearby University of the Pacific and wasn’t all that impressed.

Irvine came calling and piqued Rishwain’s interest.

The trouble was, Irvine had just used its last available scholarship on Craig Marshall, a defensive whiz from Saddleback High.

Coach Bill Mulligan called Rishwain to break the bad news one day and got an interesting response. Rishwain was still interested. He actually wanted to walk on. In fact, he turned down a scholarship from the University of New Mexico to come to Irvine.

Why would an otherwise bright, 16-points-a-game scorer from a high school team that finished 33-1 want to give up an all-expenses-paid college education?

“I thought I’d have a good chance to play here,” Rishwain said. “I didn’t want to stay home. You want to get away when you go to college.”

Besides, Mulligan said he will give Rishwain a scholarship as soon as one becomes available next season.

“I love the kid,” Mulligan said.

That, in itself, is something unusual. In his 10 seasons at Irvine, Mulligan has blasted, bullied and benched his point guards more than once.

Mulligan saying something nice about a point guard?

It probably has something to do with Rishwain’s play. The moment he enters the game to spell starter Rod Palmer, Rishwain is a blur.

He hounds the opposing point guard, waving his hands wildly. It was his aggressive defensive play that resulted in a broken index finger on his left hand--his shooting hand--against Tennessee Chattanooga Dec. 2.

“I think I was reaching back and hit someone or something,” Rishwain said. “I didn’t know it was broken, but suddenly I was dribbling the ball and my finger felt like it was inside the ball. It felt weird. I knew something was wrong.”

He had surgery on his finger and missed five games, but returned Tuesday to score five points, make four steals and give the Anteaters a big boost in 17 minutes of play against Utah State.

The 1,686 fans, particularly those in the student section Tuesday, cheered his every move.

“I guess they like the way I play,” Rishwain said with a shrug and a smile.

The Anteaters (2-8 overall, 0-1 in Big West play) and their fans sorely missed his play the five games--four of them losses--he missed.

“He really started to come around when he got hurt,” Mulligan said. “He’s still a freshman. He still makes mistakes, but some of the older guys are making mistakes, too.

“He’s a winner. He’s a mature kid, an unbelievably mature kid.”

In four games, Rishwain has been rock-solid. He has made five of seven shots from the field and averaged three points a game in spot duty.

“I expected a big transition (to the college game),” said Rishwain, who is 5-feet-10. “I expected it to be different. But you realize what the differences are and you adjust. I just play like I always have.”

Which is to say Rishwain has played well.

The only time his inexperience showed was when a former UCI point guard dropped by the Bren Center during the Christmas break.

It seems Scott Brooks, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, stopped in to see Mulligan and work out. He wound up working over Rishwain in a scrimmage.

“I thought his confidence was shattered,” Mulligan said.

Rishwain just laughed and said, “I said to Mulligan, ‘He’s a pro and I’m a walk-on.’ ”

Rishwain is expecting a big homecoming when the Anteaters play Pacific Tuesday night at Stockton. How big, he’s not saying.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I told them all to buy tickets, though. I can’t get enough passes.”

Mulligan continues to be impressed by his freshmen--Rishwain, Marshall, Dylan Rigdon and Jeff Von Lutzow.

At one point Tuesday against Utah State, Mulligan had Rishwain, Marshall and Von Lutzow in the game at once.

“The four freshmen are playing pretty well right now,” Mulligan said. “You’re going to see a lot more of them.”

Von Lutzow, a 6-9 forward from Charter Oak High School in Covina, led the freshmen with eight points against Utah State.

In eight games, he’s averaging 7.5 points and shooting 54.5% from the field.

“Von Lutzow’s going to be a great player,” Mulligan said.

There’s no secret why Irvine is 2-8 this season. Poor shooting has been the Anteaters’ biggest problem. Going into tonight’s game against San Jose State (7:30 in the Bren Center), the Anteaters are shooting 43.7% from the field and 66.1% from the free-throw line.

“I don’t think our defense is getting us beat,” Mulligan said after Irvine shot less than 40% from the field for the second consecutive game. “It’s our offense. We can’t put the ball in the hole. We gotta make those free throws. It’s just . . . the ball’s gotta go in.”

Of the Anteaters’ missed free throws against Utah State, center Ricky Butler said, “There’s no excuse for missing free throws.”

The men’s and women’s swimming teams play host to the PICK Systems Invitational at 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Heritage Park in Irvine.

USC, the second-ranked men’s team in the nation, Cal State Long Beach, UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge are among those expected to compete.

The Irvine men are led by senior Brian Pajer, who recently qualified for his fourth National Collegiate Athletic Assn. meet in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke. The women are led by Debbie Babashoff, a distance freestyle swimmer.

Anteater Notes

Dean Andrea, the women’s basketball coach, was so upset with his team’s play in an 89-45 loss to the University of the Pacific Tuesday, he held an hourlong postgame practice in Crawford Hall. Irvine is 1-9, which ties the Anteaters’ worst start in history. The Anteaters also were 1-9 in the 1978-79 season. Irvine plays at UC Santa Barbara at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

The UCI Athletic Foundation will hold a tip-off celebration at 6 p.m. Jan. 11 in the Koll Room in the Bren Center to open its fund drive. The Anteaters’ NCAA champion water polo team will be honored. For reservations and tickets to that night’s game against Cal State Long Beach, call 856-5550. . . . Irvine will play host to a distance runners coaching clinic Jan. 13. The clinic is sponsored by The Athletics Congress. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. and costs $5. For more information, call (805) 756-1130.