USIU’s Zarecky Trying to Stay Ahead of Game : Men’s basketball: Coach running to solve problems of Gulls not-so-soaring past.

Coach Gary Zarecky doesn’t need to make a list of things to remind himself how concerned he is about his U.S. International men’s basketball team. He’s worried about every facet of the Soaring Gulls’ game--offense, defense, transition--and nearly every position on the court--point guard, forward, center.

Zarecky, who left a nice little job as coach at Sweetwater High in 1985 to try and pump life into a program on the Division I critical list, can lose his breath just talking about it. The morning after USIU’s 104-101 exhibition loss to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Zarecky sounded like he had just stepped off a treadmill--puffing hard but going nowhere.

The source of his anxiety, however, is the prospect that he could spend the next 3 1/2 months running in place with a team that has finished 11-17, 10-18, 11-17 and 12-16 the past four seasons.

For the first time since he has taken the reins, this is Zarecky’s team. He has recruited all the players, all of whom, he said, were touted as Division I caliber in high school. And the Oklahomas, Arkansases, Georgetowns, Nevada Las Vegases, Kansases and Syracuses have been dropped from the schedule.

Yet, Zarecky, 52-88 in five years, is no less concerned about the Gulls’ chances of putting together a winning season for the first time since 1980-1981.

For starters, USIU must win a few road games. The Gulls were 0-11 on the road last year, 2-13 the year before. Seventeen of USIU’s 29 games this season are on the road, starting with the Coors Light Classic at Fresno State Saturday.

“I don’t know how many different arenas around the country are called pits,” Zarecky said. “But it’s true. They’re pits.”

Whether it’s getting stung by questionable officiating or shocked by fan abuse, Zarecky said this is the year the Gulls, who averaged 97.8 points a game last year but allowed 102, have to block out all the negatives.

“It’s a major adjustment factor, playing on the road,” Zarecky said. “These players in the Southern California area don’t see rabid, loyal, purist fans like you see in some parts of the country. All of a sudden you walk into an environment where they attack you, really attack you, verbally. It’s kind of a shock.

“It was a shock to me (the first time). They’re brutal on opposing coaches. But it’s part of the game to them. They think we, as men, can take it. Fresno has got those type of fans. Fresno fans are rabid.”

USIU will face the Bulldogs, 10-19 last year and 1-1 in exhibitions thus far under new Coach Gary Colson, in Selland Arena Friday at 8 p.m. Depending on the outcome, the Gulls will draw either Pepperdine or Montana State Saturday. The Coors Light Classic is the first of three out-of-town tournaments USIU has entered. Zarecky hopes to come away with at least three victories among then.

“For the first time in four years, we’re probably going to go into most gyms and arenas equal in talent, which is great progress for us,” Zarecky said. “But that still puts you in a hole on the road. The environments are against you.

“We’ve got more depth. We’ve got some big people, some quick people. But at Division I, all teams are like that. Is it going to be enough?”

The only sure thing for USIU appears to be 6-foot-6 senior guard Kevin Bradshaw, who led all scorers with 36 points Tuesday and was second in the nation in scoring last season with a 31.3 average. Bradshaw, who transfered after two seasons at Bethune-Cookman, seemed to relish the Gulls’ run-and-gun style. He set school records for most points in a game (54 against Loyola Marymount) and season (875).

The 1990-91 Gulls have picked up five new players--three freshman guards who have shown they can score, and two power forwards. But Zarecky remains concerned about the consistency of his big men and whether someone will step up and produce at point guard.

Juniors Willie Davis (Morse High) and Al Banks, a strong penetrator, now alternate at the point. But Zarecky said any one of five players could win the spot, including the three freshmen he calls his “young guns”: three-point specialist Steve Whitehead (6-5, 200), Arizona product Marc Tuite (6-5) and Monte Vista alum Jeff Polinsky (6-3).

Even 6-7 Mitch Brown, a junior who missed the 1989-90 season with a knee injury, could take the position with his unusual quickness and mobility. Brown sparked USIU with 19 points off the bench Tuesday.

The forwards are junior college transfers O.J. Bonner (6-7, 215) and Uzoma Obiekea (6-7, 245 sophomore from Oguta, Nigeria). After missing three weeks of practice because of injuries to his leg and hip, Bonner had seven points and five rebounds in 12 minutes as a reserve Tuesday. Obiekea managed six rebounds and just two points in 19 minutes as a starter.

But perhaps the most important figure in the starting lineup is senior center Mike Sterner. Zarecky said the 6-11 Sterner has yet reach the potential he saw when he was recruited from of Mitchell, S.D. Sterner is coming off a season in which he averaged only 4.8 points and 6.6 rebounds. Against the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Sterner had 13 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots in 35 minutes.

“I’ve never seen his attitude like it is now,” Zarecky said. “He wants to go out a winner.”

USIU BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

DATE OPPONENT TIME Nov. 23 at Coors Light Classic 8 p.m. Nov. 24 at Coors Light Classic TBA Nov. 27 Northeastern 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at CCV Classic TBA Dec. 1 at CCV Classic TBA Dec. 4 at Northeastern Ill. 7:30 p.m. Dec. 8 Chico State 7:30 p.m. Dec. 10 Fairleigh Dickinson 7:30 p.m. Dec. 12 Montana 7:30 p.m. Dec. 15 at Drake 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19 at California 7:30 p.m. Dec. 21 at US Air Classic TBA Dec. 22 at US Air Classic TBA Dec. 27 New Orleans 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29 Baylor 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 Northwestern State 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5 at Loyola Marymount 7:30 p.m. Jan. 12 at Winthrop 7:30 p.m. Jan. 14 at Florida Int. 8 p.m. Jan. 24 Cal State Los Angeles 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26 Northeastern Illinois 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at CS Northridge 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2 at Eastern Wash. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 14 Cal State Northridge 7:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at Mo.-Kansas City 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 Sacramento State 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 San Diego State 7:30 p.m. March 4 Missouri-Kansas City 7:30 p.m.

Home games at Golden Hall

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