USIU Team Caught In Storm : Reactions: Men’s basketball team must play on amid reports of financial troubles at the school.

U.S. International University’s men’s basketball team is scheduled to practice today at its usual time, 2 p.m., and place, a warehouse in Poway. Coach Gary Zarecky said he expects all 11 of his players to be there. The Gulls will loosen up and run through the usual drills in preparation for the next three games, all at home, on the 1990-91 schedule.

But because of the sudden, grim possibility that USIU might not play the 1991 part of its season, this practice will likely turn into a prayer session. And Zarecky, who has built a reputation as motivator, will have to out-do himself.

USIU had struggled through a dismal 1-10 start amid rumors that the school was broke. Friday, less than three hours before the Gulls were to open the US Air Tournament against Murray State, the players were called into an unscheduled meeting in their hotel in Dayton, Ohio, and told the rumors were fact.

Earlier that day, the university filed for bankruptcy. The players were stunned. They didn’t need a lecture about what it meant. As part of what school officials called an “economic reorganization,” athletic sports programs at USIU are expected to undergo substantial cuts and could be eliminated completely. That includes the focal point of the school’s 12-sport Division I program: men’s basketball.

“There was a lot of tears in the locker room (before USIU’s 103-55 loss to Murray State), because they were afraid,” Zarecky said Monday. “These are young men; they’re down.”

On Friday, USIU’s board of trustees, after reviewing proposals from administrators, will render a decision on the future of all extracurricular programs--with particular focus on athletics and arts.

Zarecky and his players have been assured of a few things: They will play their scheduled home games against New Orleans on Thursday and Baylor on Saturday, and no matter what happens, scholarships will be honored through the school year. What they fear most is that the season could end 13 games short, along with the college careers of three players, including one of the nation’s premier scorers, guard Kevin Bradshaw.

“Devastating” was one word Zarecky used to describe the team’s experience over the weekend. The other was “overwhelming.” In the 48-point loss to Murray State, the Gulls’ worst of the season, USIU had its lowest-scoring half (17 points) and game (55) in Zarecky’s five-plus years as coach. The following night, the Gulls were beaten, 98-56, by Stephen F. Austin, Zarecky’s 100th college loss.

Beleaguered, the team boarded a commerical flight bound for home, and it was delayed for 2 1/2 hours on the runway at Dayton International Airport. By the time they arrived in San Diego 14 hours later, it was early Sunday morning, and some of the players discovered their luggage had been misrouted. It was still missing on Christmas Eve.

At 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Bradshaw, whose season has been partly dedicated to getting attention from the NBA, got married.

What will happen next is unknown, except that the Gulls will be heavy underdogs in both of their upcoming games at home, where the attendance averaged in the low 200s this season.

USIU Athletic Director Al Palmiotto said he presented “several proposals” last week that will be reviewed by the university’s interim president, Kenneth McLennan, who will make his recommendation to the trustees Friday. Palmiotto would not reveal details except to say that costs would be cut.

He said the school would suffer if athletics are lost.

Zarecky, 53-100 at USIU, said he already operates with “the smallest Division I basketball budget in the country” and has helped keep the program alive through his own fund-raising. The Gulls had their best season under Zarecky in 1989-90, finishing 12-16, ninth best among the nation’s Division I independents. Before this season, Zarecky said he believed USIU was ready for its first winning season since it was 13-12 in 1980-81.

Zarecky also said he has not been paid in two months and that there was a previous payless period of three months. And he said he was as shaken as his players after TV reporters in Dayton dubbed the USIU “a team without a school” and the Gulls were deluged with “Hi, mom, send money” references.

“I’ve been motivated for six years at USIU by all the adversity and negativisms and sneering,” he said. “I’ve been motivated to prove people wrong. Now things are happening that are out of my control.

“Things were happening on campus from the classroom and from the other students that were just completely getting my players out of focus. In my own case, the uncertaintly of not knowing what was going on for the last four or five months really affected my coaching.

“And when you throw in the fact I haven’t been paid, it’s made it tough on my family. I’m not sure I’m going to have a job. And I’ve never been out of work. I’m not afraid of it. It’s just an unpleasantry, and it couldn’t have hit at a worse time. You’re talking Christmas time.”

Zarecky said clear lines have been drawn on campus between pro- and anti-sports factions.

“Everybody’s fighting for their lives right now,” he said. “There’s a lot of guns on the academic side being aimed at athletics. And on the other side of campus, you’ve got people who know that you’re not going to have a viable undergraduate university if you don’t offer . . . athletics.”

Today, when Zarecky walks into that warehouse and faces his players, he knows he can’t wear his emotions on the sleeve of his warmup jacket. In these troubled, shark-infested waters, he must remain afloat.

“I want to put this phone down, walk away from my desk and think, ‘God, you know, I’m a winner,’ ” he said. “I want to sound up, because that’s the way I have to be.”