THE COLLEGES / MIKE HISERMAN : St. Mary’s Coaching Choice a Twist of Fehte

Dave Fehte, a former Cal State Northridge assistant basketball coach, did not return a phone call this week. At St. Mary’s College, where Fehte became interim head coach 13 games into the past season, the athletic secretary said Thursday afternoon that Fehte had “left for the city.” She didn’t know when he might be back.

Rick Sutton, the school’s sports information director, said he did not know Fehte’s whereabouts. “Based on what happened this morning, I imagine he’ll be pretty hard to reach for a while, though,” he added. “He’s probably trying to lay low right now.”

St. Mary’s had introduced Ernie Kent, a Stanford assistant, as its new coach earlier in the day.

The phone call to Fehte wasn’t supposed to be a business call as much as it was one of congratulations. Fehte, a former Van Nuys junior high school teacher, had taken over a St. Mary’s team that was 4-9 and in disarray and brought it to within one win of qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

Fehte coached St. Mary’s for 17 games. The Gaels won nine, including two in the West Coast Conference postseason tournament in which St. Mary’s only loss came in the championship game to Pepperdine in overtime.

It was during that game that St. Mary’s fans made a statement of sorts. They waved flyers with Fehte’s picture--Fehte Faces they were called--to show support for their team and the man they hoped would become their coach on a permanent basis. And the Gael players? They wore their emotions on their sleeve, playing defense at a frenzied pace and hustling after every loose ball. They played like the whirlwind that had become Fehte’s life.

Only months before, he had been the second man down from Coach Pete Cassidy on the Northridge bench. When Rusty Smith, Cassidy’s top assistant, left to accept a similar post at Eastern Washington, Fehte wasn’t sure that he would be moved up to the top assistant’s post. So he left. He was hired by Paul Landreaux, who was starting his second season at St. Mary’s, a Catholic school in picturesque Moraga, Calif.

Fehte’s stint as a top assistant lasted all of 13 games. Landreaux resigned, citing personal problems and differences with St. Mary’s administration. The team, such as it was, looked to Fehte. “They were pretty much disoriented, but he got them focused real quick and believing in themselves,” Sutton said. “Paul went the disciplined route and we were 4-9. Dave gave them some freedom and we were 9-8.”

Under Fehte, the Gaels won and lost with equal flair. Only three of St. Mary’s final 17 games were decided by more than five points. Four went into overtime, two went into double overtime.

“The players were pretty solid in Dave’s favor,” Sutton said. “You know, some of the guys we had, they weren’t great players, but they played hard for him.”

Now they will be asked to do the same for Kent, Stanford’s top assistant the past two seasons. Kent said at a Thursday press conference that his plans were to talk to Fehte about the possibility of remaining on St. Mary’s staff.

Along those same lines, the sentiments of St. Mary’s fans were published in a Contra Costa Times reader survey the very same morning.

The question: Should St. Mary’s keep Dave Fehte on as head coach?

Eighty-five percent said yes.

Defense department: I made a prediction a few months ago that this season Northridge would defeat UCLA in a regular-season men’s volleyball match for the first time.

Since the Bruins dismantled the Matadors in four games earlier this season, perhaps that prediction should be qualified going into tonight’s rematch at 7:30 in the Northridge gym.

Fourth-ranked CSUN, 0-19 against UCLA in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. series, will not beat the fifth-ranked Bruins simply by outslugging them.

Northridge has players who can hit a volleyball with those of any college team on the planet, but the Matadors tend to play generously on defense.

UCLA has the biggest lineup in college volleyball (also larger than the one that starts for the Bruin basketball team), which means the Bruins are vulnerable to a quick-hitting attack. But to hit quickly, a team must block and pass, and Northridge did neither particularly well in the teams’ first meeting.

Thunderous hits, of which the Matadors are bound to deliver plenty, are always welcomed by a roaring crowd but what the partisans should be chanting tonight is, “Defense.”

Briefly: Basketball Coach Pete Cassidy was back on the Northridge campus this week and beginning to plan for next season. One thing he promises: No more Loyola Marymount-style basketball. “I tried an open game, but I don’t think I can coach it. It’s just not me,” Cassidy said. The Matadors will concentrate on shot selection and defense. “We will still fast break, but we need to learn the break is a weapon to be used with judgment,” Cassidy said. “Otherwise it works against you.”

Fresno State really knows how to promote its athletic programs and run a classy show. So much so that Bill Kernen, Northridge baseball coach, said his team will return home after this week’s Fresno tournament somewhat reluctantly. “This is a first-class deal,” he said. “Everyone goes out of their way to make sure you have what you need and things are done right.” On Thursday, Kernen expressed those sentiments at a meeting of about 200 Bulldog baseball supporters. Their response: They gave him a booster club application form.