Drawing on Reserves : Two Former Starters Star as Role Models for Younger 49ers

Their college days are at last running out, although not quite as they had hoped. Starters for much of their basketball careers, Rudolph Harvey Jr. and Darrell Faulkner are adjusting to being reserves for Cal State Long Beach while preparing for the real world.

Harvey, who dunks the ball spectacularly and envisions a life as a TV scriptwriter, came to Long Beach from Fresno in 1985.

Faulkner, a studious and musical Memphis native who spent three years at the University of South Alabama before leaving with the hope of perhaps running into Quincy Jones, is in his second season with the 49ers.

While their court time has decreased, neither fifth-year senior complains. Both are contributing on a team that has had its best start (9-2) in 16 years. Last week, Harvey scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in a 66-60 victory over Cal State Fresno, and Faulkner had a steal, assist and basket in a five-minute stint that sparked an 81-75 win over University of the Pacific.

Their value extends to being role models for their young teammates.

“They have great character, and that always comes through,” Coach Joe Harrington said.

Harvey, a 6-foot-5 forward, started 17 games last year and his 8.6-point average was the best of his career. He had anticipated starting this season, even with the arrival of young, bigger forwards, such as Kevin Cutler and Frankie Edwards.

“I thought this would be my year to shine,” Harvey said. “Maybe it will be by coming off the bench.”

“He has handled the situation,” said Seth Greenberg, associate head coach. “All of a sudden he sees all these young guys getting opportunities ahead of him. He’s never bowed his head. He’s hung in and worked hard.”

His field-goal shooting percentage is 78 (25 of 32), eye-catching even though he never shoots from outside.

“I know my limitations,” said Harvey, who was recruited by former 49ers Coach Ron Palmer at a time when the team was losing 20 games a season. “If somebody’s crowding me, I’m not going to force a bad shot. I do my best work in the paint (free-throw lane) because I can jump.”

Harvey is known for the heights he reached when leaping for rebounds or lob passes, which he converts into two-handed dunks that excite the fans.

“I was 5-10 and dunking in the 10th grade (at Fresno’s Edison High School),” he said. “They saw me as a crowd-pleaser. Everybody wanted me to dunk, and that still goes on today. I have a great assortment of dunks. In a game you normally get to do just power dunks, but I would like to get a 360 (degrees) in before the season is over.”

Becoming the father of a daughter two years ago has matured the 22-year-old Harvey, his coaches say.

“He’s grown up, “ Greenberg said. “He realizes his athletic career will come to an end soon and he’s redefined his priorities.”

Told that he is respected by his teammates as a player and a person, Harvey, who never lets a day pass without saying something funny, laughed. “I think they look at me as a clown,” he said. “I’m mature in a way, but I don’t want to get old too fast. I like having fun.”

After college, Harvey may try to play in the Continental Basketball Assn. or in Europe. “I’d like to keep playing but I’d also like to start a career,” he said.

He hopes to write for television, inspired by scriptwriting classes he took last semester and a professor who told him he has a creative mind.

Always known as Rudy, he is listed this season in the game programs as Rudolph Harvey Jr.

“Since elementary school I shied away from that name,” he explained. “People teased me . . . like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This year I wanted to give my father some respect. He had to live with it, why not me?”

Faulkner, a 6-1 guard, has played in only five games this season, averaging about 10 minutes. He started 21 games a year ago.

“I’m not saying I enjoy it,” he said in a voice that still bears the stamp of the South. “But it’s life and you have to deal with it. I’m not going to lose my energy focusing on negative things. I practice hard and prepare for the games. I just go in and try to do something positive.”

Faulkner, 23, understands his role, which makes him a coach’s dream.

“He looks at himself as a wily old veteran finishing up his career,” said Greenberg, who, as an assistant coach at the University of Miami (Fla.), recruited Faulkner. “He has the experience and the attitude. He puts the team in front of himself.”

As matter-of-factly as Harvey says he can jump, Faulkner says he can shoot. He is hitting 52% from the field.

“As soon as I get in a game, I hear the other coaches say, ‘Watch 15,’ ” Faulkner said. “I feel like I’m in the park. I’ve never been intimidated playing. I enjoy playing too much to be nervous. The only time I remember being nervous was when I was in the 10th grade. I choked shooting a free throw.”

Faulkner, who came to Long Beach because he was dissatisfied with his role on the court at South Alabama, is the least athletic of the 49ers.

“I can’t jump,” he said. “I look at (freshmen) Lucious Harris and Byron Russell, they never seem to be down,” he said. “They’re jumping around and dunking all the time. I’m very enthusiastic, but I don’t express myself like that. I haven’t dunked since the 10th grade.”

Although quiet, Faulkner is admired by his teammates as much as Tyrone Mitchell, the vocal star point guard.

“I look up to him,” said 19-year-old Frankie Edwards. “He reminds me of my family. He doesn’t say much, but he shows he cares. I love him.”

It is in the classroom where Faulkner does most of his scoring. Last semester, his grade point average was a perfect 4, and his overall GPA is 3.3. “I like knocking down a long jumper, but an A lasts a lot longer,” he said.

The last of nine children--he has four brothers and four sisters--Faulkner graduated fifth in a class of 440 at Hamilton High School in Memphis. “Quite a few years of perfect attendance,” he recalled, crediting the insistent nature of his mother, Eunice.

A black studies major, Faulkner approaches schoolwork with a seriousness that usually is unexpected in athletes. During final examinations in December, he missed the team’s flight to Austin, Tex., for a game with the University of Texas because he overslept after studying late for a test in abnormal psychology.

“I didn’t know what stress was until I took that class,” he said.

Multifaceted, Faulkner seems to overflow with ideas and ambitions. “There’s always something I’m striving for,” he said. “If you don’t, you might as well be dead.”

He expects to attend law school when he graduates. He is writing a novel whose hero is the sports attorney he hopes to become. And music remains a passion.

“I grew up in church so I was always around music,” he said. He has played the piano since Reginald Hunt, who lived on his street, first taught him how to play Lionel Richie’s “Easy.”

He also plays the saxophone, sings and has written more than 50 songs. “One reason I came out here was because maybe I’d bump into Quincy Jones,” he said.

Despite his diverse interests, it will, as with Harvey, be hard to let go of basketball, and Faulkner does not intend to. He smiled, thinking how he will regain his starting role as an intramural star at law school.

“Average about 40,” he said.