Von Lutzow Shapes Up, His Way : UC Irvine: Forward motivates himself to succeed instead of being chided into it by his coach.

Jeff Von Lutzow’s teammates comfort him, or try to. They tell him not to worry; they have seen this before. He is not the first player UC Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan has singled out for criticism or ridicule. Remember Wayne Engelstad? Nor do they imagine he will be the last.

“Players come up to me and they tell me it’s like a test Mulligan makes,” said Von Lutzow, a sophomore forward. “They help me out a lot, encourage me. They say he just wants to see how you react.”

So far, not so well.

The tactic is a Mulligan favorite, often reserved for the most talented players on the team, not the least talented.

Last year, Von Lutzow says, the squad sometimes split into teams for contests, with the losers punished by running sprints.

“The winners didn’t have to run,” Von Lutzow said. “Whether I won or lost, I had to run.”

As Mulligan describes it, there are players he rides and chides, trying to raise their ire until it turns back at him in a burst of I’ll-show-you success.

Instead, Von Lutzow who started 15 games as a freshman, is sitting the bench after losing his starting position the past two games.

“He hadn’t been performing very well,” Mulligan said. “We have great expectations for Jeff that he hasn’t fulfilled.”

Craig Marshall, another sophomore, has started in his place, and is expected to start again tonight when the Anteaters open their Big West Conference season against Utah State in Logan, Utah.

“I admit I’m upset,” Von Lutzow said. “I’m happy for Marshall, and at the same time, I know I should be out there.”

Von Lutzow has talent, anyone can see that.

“NBA talent,” Mulligan says.

You saw it last season, when Von Lutzow dunked over Nevada Las Vegas’ Larry Johnson.

He has ability, no question. He shot 56% from the field last season, best on the team.

This season, he has had his moments. He had six blocked shots against Bradley and four first-half dunks against Utah.

Then there are other statistics, such as zero rebounds against California, the last game he started.

“I don’t really know what to say,” Von Lutzow said. “(Mulligan) expects a lot out of me.

“I hope I can get back in the starting lineup. I know I can do it if I get my head straightened out and start concentrating. My head’s kind of taken out of the game when I sit there thinking if I mess up he’ll put somebody else in.”

It’s apparent that Mulligan’s tactic hasn’t worked ideally with Von Lutzow. Already Mulligan has tried to soften his approach, calling Von Lutzow one night to meet him, then showing him a newspaper article about all the players who had received the same treatment before him.

“It was about Tod Murphy and all those other guys,” Von Lutzow said. “Where are they at? The NBA.”

And Mulligan, who already has vowed to soften his public criticisms of his players, has paused to reconsider how he acts toward Von Lutzow.

“I had a lot of guys, I tried really abusing them and they performed,” Mulligan said. “I’m not sure that’s the way to deal with (Von Lutzow). I think positive reinforcement is probably the best way to deal with him. But sometimes he makes it very difficult to be positive.”

Part of Mulligan’s exasperation is over Von Lutzow’s weight--196 pounds on a 6-foot-9 frame.

“He just physically gets beat up in there,” Mulligan said.

Von Lutzow says that will change. On this road trip, he said, he has taken to going into the hotel health club to lift weights.

“I want to try to get up to 215, 220,” he said.

That will take time, but Von Lutzow says the time for change has come. He knows Mulligan has been right about some of his performances this season.

“At times yes, at times no,” Von Lutzow said. “At times I feel he’s wrong; other times it’s my fault I’m not out there.

“Wednesday night I’m envisioning a whole new season. I’m going to start coming through and not let Coach’s comments get to me.”