COLLEGE DIVISION BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Boyd Has High Hopes for Chapman

One of the few things unfamiliar to well-traveled basketball coach Bob Boyd is success in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn., the conference of his latest employer--Chapman College.

Last season, Boyd’s first at the college in Orange, Chapman finished in a tie for last place with Cal Poly Pomona. Last week, Boyd called Boise State Coach Bobby Dye, someone with great--although brief--success in the CCAA.

Dye had won two conference titles in as many seasons at Cal State Bakersfield in the early 1980s. Boyd asked him which CCAA schools were in the best position to excel in men’s basketball.

Boyd said Dye, who also coached at Cal State Fullerton for seven years during the 1970s, told him Bakersfield was in the best position because of facilities and community support. Dye also mentioned a few other promising schools.

“I don’t think he thought that Chapman is one of those better places to get it done from,” Boyd said. “But I think that the school here has given us the wherewithal--we now have 10 full scholarships for basketball--and I think the school has a right to expect that we are going to have a successful program in basketball.

“By that I mean we’re going to win our share, if not more than our share, of games.”

With preseason confidence befitting someone with 28 seasons of experience coaching college basketball at the Division I, Division II and Community College levels, Boyd promised last week that Chapman would be a better team. He also promised he would do a better job coaching the Panthers this season.

“I don’t know if I got our team prepared as well as I should have (last season),” Boyd said.

Boyd, who has coached at Seattle University, USC and Mississippi State as well as Riverside and Santa Ana colleges, has added key players, altered Chapman’s offense and boosted the players’ conditioning program. He also said a new video system will allow the coaching staff to better analyze the team.

“I’m having a great time,” Boyd said. “I think I’m trying harder then I’ve ever tried.”

Chapman and two other Orange County colleges--Christ College Irvine and Southern California College--open the season this weekend. Pacific Christian College in Fullerton started its season with five victories last week.

By the time the season ends, there are certain to be answers to a few questions, such as:

--Will Southern California College and Pacific Christian duplicate their successes in postseason competition?

--How successful will Christ College Irvine’s Greg Marshall be in his first season as a head coach?

--Will Boyd lead Chapman to its first NCAA playoff berth since 1984?

The following is a closer look at the teams:

CHAPMAN

1989-90 Record: 11-16, 3-11 in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.

Conference finish: Tied for last with Cal Poly Pomona.

Boyd is confident the Panthers will right themselves after their disappointing performance last season. Chapman will probably start three players who started a year ago--post players Rog Middleton and Frantz Reyes and guard Andre Hill--but Boyd believes newcomers in the other two spots and extra team depth will prove the difference.

Transfers Al Jackson and Zlatko Josic figure to start at point guard and forward, respectively.

Jackson last played organized basketball for West Valley College in the 1987-88 season, averaging 11 points and 4.5 assists and leading his team to its first state community college playoff berth in school history.

Josic, a 6-5, 230-pound forward, helped El Camino College to the semifinals of the state Community College tournament in 1989. He played in five games for Clemson last season before quitting the team because he was unhappy with his playing time.

Boyd said three other newcomers--Chuck McGavran, a guard from Newport Harbor, Orange Coast and Cal State Northridge; Alan Schlines, a 6-6 forward from Foothill High and Orange Coast, and Lesean London, a point guard from Saddleback College--will provide the help from the bench Chapman needed last year.

But the heart of the Panthers will still be Middleton, who led the team in scoring (20 points per game) and rebounding (10 per game). Middleton, a 6-4 junior from Tustin High, recently was cited by The Sporting News as one of the top 25 small college players in the nation. He should be even more effective with help inside.

Boyd said Reyes, a Cypress High graduate who was the team’s second-leading scorer (13 per game) and rebounder (eight per game) but had some motivational problems last season, has improved his attitude and conditioning.

With the addition of Jackson, Hill and Chris Martin, another guard who had extensive playing time last year, will be able to move to off-guard.

“We thought our back-court play was probably our most inconsistent position last year,” Boyd said. “The additional players and the improvement of the ones that we have should really help us. We turned the ball over too many times last year.

“Defensively, we will be quite good and our transition to offense will be good because we will break the ball up the court rather successfully, I think.”

CHRIST COLLEGE IRVINE

1989-90 Record: 11-20, 3-9 in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Conference finish: Fifth in the conference.

Because of a late start recruiting and only two returning starters, Marshall plans to keep things slow for a while.

“I hope we’ll be more up-tempo in the coming years but now we are going to try to limit the possessions,” Marshall said.

Marshall said he emphasizes defense, keeping his team close in games against more talented teams.

That’s not to say that Marshall hasn’t any talent to work with. Last year, as Westmont’s top assistant coach, he scouted CCI and said the Eagles were building a competitive program.

Gone are Kevin Kurz, who averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game, and Albert Gay, who averaged 13 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Jamie McShan and 6-6 senior forward Keith Rogers are back.

Recruiting wasn’t easy for Marshall, who said one of his top prospects decided to go to the University of Florida. But two of the players he brought in--Ian Donnelly, a 6-6 forward from Cypress College, and Corey Smith, a guard from Glendora High School--should get significant playing time.

Aaron Clasen, a 6-2 guard, joined the team late after the Eagles’ soccer season ended, but Marshall is hoping he can help with the Eagles offensive production.

PACIFIC CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

1989-90 Record: 31-10, 10-0 in the California Coastal Conference, 10-0 in the Western Christian Athletic Conference.

Conference finish: First in each conference.

Pacific Christian, a 600-student school across the street from Cal State Fullerton, has developed into a Christian college basketball powerhouse in the four seasons Lee Erickson has been coach.

In his second season (1987-88), Erickson led Pacific Christian to its first winning men’s basketball season in more than a decade and into the semifinals of the National Christian College Athletic Assn. national tournament. The Royals have made the finals of that tournament the last two years, losing each time.

But with the loss of four of six players who averaged in double figures last season--including three-time All-American Brian Keiser, who averaged 21 points per game last year--Erickson is worried that the Royals will have some trouble this year.

“I think we probably created a monster by doing well and I think people have decided to catch us,” Erickson said. “I think instead of catching us, they might pass us up.”

With honorable mention All-American Mike Vincent, a 6-4 forward who averaged about 17 points per game last year, and guard Kenny Kao, who averaged 6.5 assists, returning, the Royals don’t figure to be hurting too badly. PCC is 5-0 after a week of play, having won easily in the Western Christian Athletic Conference’s preseason tournament over the weekend.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COLLEGE

1989-90 Record: 26-9, 9-3 in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

Conference finish: First in NAIA District 3, first in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

No team has won consecutive NAIA District 3 titles since Biola did it to start the 1980s. Southern California College Coach Bill Reynolds said his team will be hard pressed to be the next.

Without second-leading scorer Terry Scruggs, who averaged 18 points and five rebounds per game last season, and point guard John Mounce, who averaged 11 points per game, the Vanguards face replacing a big chunk of offense.

“I don’t think we have quite the firepower we’ve had in the past,” Reynolds said.

“We don’t have the quality of shooters that we have had. We may push the ball up the floor but we won’t be pulling up for the shots off the break as much.”

Returning are 6-7 senior center Jeff Bickmore, the Golden State Athletic Conference player of the year who averaged 19.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last year, and 6-3 junior forward Mike Henjum, who led the conference in three-point shooting percentage.

There’s a four-player competition for the starting point guard spot. The hopefuls:

--Elbert Davis, a key player off the bench last season who might be slowed by an ankle injury he suffered in a pickup game late last summer.

--Jason Quinn, who helped Mater Dei High School to the state championship last year, could be the first freshman in Reynolds’ memory to get significant playing time for the Vanguards.

--Brad Dorias, a 5-8 junior college transfer from Eastern Wyoming College.

--Ronald Scipio, a former Los Angeles City College player who was an assistant coach at Manual Arts High the last four years.