Group of Titan Basketball Players Seeks Sneed’s Dismissal : Fullerton: As many as eight are unhappy, but interim athletic director says he won’t investigate allegations against coach until speaking with them.

A group of Cal State Fullerton basketball players apparently has organized a mutiny against Coach John Sneed, but interim Athletic Director Steve DiTolla said he won’t start a full-scale investigation into allegations against the coach until he speaks with the disgruntled players.

As many as eight players, unhappy about several incidents that occurred during their 14-14 season, reportedly are seeking the dismissal of Sneed, the third-year coach.

“A lot of people are fed up and feel we need changes,” Titan junior forward J.D. Green said. “If firing the coach is one of those changes, it needs to be done.”

Fullerton point guard Wayne Williams said the players will ask to meet with DiTolla and, perhaps, school President Milton A. Gordon, but they had not specifically requested meetings with administrators as of Tuesday.

“Obviously, tensions are running high on the team, but at this point we support John Sneed--he’s our coach,” DiTolla said. “We’re certainly concerned about the height this has reached, and hopefully the players will come talk to me. At that point, I’ll determine whether to conduct an investigation.”

DiTolla met Tuesday morning with Sneed but declined to discuss their conversation. Sneed, in the second year of a three-year contract, was out of his office Tuesday afternoon and did not return calls Tuesday night. Gordon was attending meetings in Long Beach and was unavailable for comment.

Included in the group seeking Sneed’s ouster are Greg Vernon and Michael Bloodworth, who were suspended from the team after being arrested in connection with the theft of a student’s car and the illegal use of credit cards two weeks ago; Ron Caldwell, who has been suspended four times in two seasons by Sneed, and Williams, who has had several feuds with Sneed and left the team for a short time last summer.

Joe Small, the Titans’ leading scorer, said he had resolved personal problems with Sneed and didn’t specifically want the coach dismissed, but added, “I’ll stand by the team. Whatever they decide, I’ll be next to them.”

At least one player, sophomore forward Bruce Bowen, said he won’t join the anti-Sneed movement, and junior forward Kevin Ahsmuhs has not attended player-only meetings Monday and Tuesday.

“It’s not that I’m backing Sneed, but if players were more coachable, none of these things would have happened,” said Bowen, who started 23 games. “I don’t feel this is right. I’m not going to be an accomplice to someone losing his job.”

Last Friday Williams and Small questioned Sneed’s disciplinary methods, personnel decisions and second-half strategy after a 74-67 loss to Pacific in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament.

Center Aaron Wilhite and Green didn’t start because they missed curfew Thursday night, but Wilhite played 37 minutes and Green, one of the team’s best players late in the season, played only eight minutes.

According to a published report, several players said Sneed’s discipline patterns were inconsistent, saying some players got away with certain things during the season and some didn’t.

Caldwell said four starters deliberately missed practice before a Jan. 31 game at Utah State but were not disciplined. Caldwell, however, didn’t make that trip because he had been suspended from the team two weeks earlier.

Players also were reportedly unhappy when, the day before a Jan. 14 game at San Jose State, Sneed issued each player their statistics per minute and criticized some for their lack of production. The Titans were 10-4 entering that game but lost 10 of their final 14 games.

“Somewhere in the middle of the season, players started losing respect for Sneed,” Green said. “Once that happens, it’s hard to play for a coach.”

Players were also reportedly unhappy about an incident during the Dec. 20 Portland game, in which Sneed allegedly told assistant coach Bob Hofman to “shut the . . . up,” when the assistant offered a strategy suggestion during a timeout.

But Hofman, who resigned Saturday, said the incident was insignificant and had no bearing on his decision to quit.

“Every coach and assistant have emotional times during timeouts, but there was no animosity between us after that,” Hofman said. “It was no big deal.”

Bowen said problems arose because there were too many selfish players on the team. “Even when we were 10-3, people were mad after games because they weren’t scoring enough,” he said.

As for Sneed’s discipline patterns, Bowen believes the coach was more than fair with a lot of players.

“In some cases, he tolerated a lot more than other coaches would,” Bowen said. “Sneed could be bad at times, but what coach isn’t at times? When you start questioning a coach, that’s wrong.”

The situation at Fullerton is similar to what happened at San Jose State two years ago. About eight players who demanded Coach Bill Berry’s ouster midway through the 1988-89 season were kicked off the team, and the Spartans finished the season using mostly walk-on players. Berry was fired after the season and replaced by Stan Morrison.

No matter how the Fullerton situation is resolved, Bowen said the program has suffered irreparable damage.

“If Sneed is here next year, there’s going to be a bunch of trouble for those who tried to get him out,” Bowen said. “If he’s gone, a new coach is going to see a lot of rebellious players.

“Either way, it’s a no-win situation. They think if they get a new coach, it will be all peaches and cream. But you can’t run away from your problems.”