THE COLLEGES / MIKE HISERMAN : UCLA’s Harrick Scores Big Points With CSUN Basketball

Cal State Northridge had a basketball fund-raiser Sunday and guess who came to dinner?

None other than UCLA Coach Jim Harrick.

Harrick, a longtime friend of Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy, was the guest speaker.

It was, indeed, an odd situation. Northridge, after all, now plays within the same NCAA Division I classification (although surely not at the same level) as the Bruins.

Harrick said he had never been a speaker at another Division I team’s fund-raiser, but added that he didn’t find the situation all that unusual.

“People go to another Division I school’s clinics all the time,” he said. “I don’t think this is that much different. I remember (Louisiana State Coach) Dale Brown had John Wooden and I think Al McGuire (Marquette) went some places, although maybe not when he was coaching.”

The committee that organized the fund-raiser probably should have made a different choice of speaker, but Cassidy showed tremendous tact in inviting Harrick to make an appearance.

In a telephone conversation, Cassidy asked Harrick if he believed in free speech.

“Sure,” Harrick replied.

“Good,” Cassidy said. “Because you’re going to give one.”

New allegiances: Friends will become foes today at Glendale High where Pierce College will meet Glendale College in a Western State Conference football game.

Pierce Coach Bill Norton and assistants Dan Geyer and Phil Wijmer are former members of Glendale’s coaching staff, having left together after the 1988 season.

The trio used to be on the same staff as Glendale Coach John Cicuto, who was defensive coordinator for the Vaqueros before taking over as head coach in 1989.

Norton is quick to point out that he and his coaches all departed Glendale on good terms.

“We all know each other’s tendencies and habits and we know our philosophies as people, so it should be fun,” Norton said. “It’s more fun to play against your friends. You see them all the time, so you would like to be able to smile.”

Glendale needs something to smile about. The Vaqueros, champions of the WSC’s Northern Division last season, are 0-4. Pierce (3-1) is off to its best start since 1984.

Swift kick: Rachel Wackerman sent coaches and sports-information types scrambling for the record books Tuesday when she scored a goal for the Cal Lutheran women’s soccer team only 23 seconds into a match against Redlands.

Unfortunately, no record for fastest goal scored was found.

Wackerman is in pursuit of another standard, however--the NCAA mark for most goals in a career.

The record listed in the Intercollegiate Soccer Assn. of America guide is 110 by Beth Byrne, who played in 61 matches for Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., from 1985-88.

Wackerman, a sophomore, has 53 goals in 31 matches and is 10 goals shy of moving onto the career top-10 list.

Wackerman has 23 goals in 14 matches this season for the Kingsmen (11-3, 8-0 in conference play), who will play host to Pomona-Pitzer in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Assn. match, beginning at 10 this morning in Thousand Oaks.

Good-hands person: Chris Hite is proof positive that practice does not make perfect.

Hite, a former Hart High standout who plays for Santa Clara, is the Western Football Conference’s top receiver with 36 receptions for 572 yards and two touchdowns. This despite missing several hours of practice each week.

For Hite, who has fifth-year senior athletic eligibility but already has graduated from Santa Clara, studying an opponent’s secondary is secondary to studying law. “That’s why I have a headache right now,” Hite said by phone this week. “It gets to be a lot sometimes.”

Indeed, his schedule of classes together with football probably would be too much without the cooperation of Coach Terry Malley.

“I miss a lot of practice time, but because I have experience it’s not that much of a problem,” Hite said. “I’m there for the seven-on-seven drills and when we’re passing. When we’re not, a lot of times I leave to study or go to class.”

A typical day’s studies are completed about 1 a.m. But Hite is not a sleeper on the field.

Hite, No. 1 in your program and on the WFC receiving list, is as much a part of the Santa Clara offense as he was for Hart in 1986 when he rushed for 796 yards, had 88 catches for 1,179 yards and scored 18 touchdowns while helping the Indians to a Northwestern Conference championship.

“I really like getting the ball when it’s coming down to the wire,” Hite said. “I like to be the guy they go to.”

Numbers game: Some football statistics just don’t add up.

Northridge has the best turnover ratio in the Western Football Conference, having lost the ball eight times while its defense has forced 13 interceptions and two fumbles. Yet the Matadors are 2-3 going into tonight’s conference opener against Santa Clara at North Campus Stadium.

Then again, some statistics do add up. The numbers suggest that the Matadors have the WFC’s worst offense--by far.

Northridge is last in the conference in team rushing and passing. The Matadors average 77.4 yards rushing a game--more than 75 less per game than Portland State, which is fifth in the six-team WFC. Cal State Sacramento is the leader with a 253.2 average.

Through the air, Northridge is averaging 174.8 yards a game--almost 20 behind fifth-place Sacramento. Santa Clara leads with an average of 276.5 yards.

The Matadors also are last in scoring, averaging 12.2 points--about four touchdowns and a field goal per game behind pace-setting Sacramento, which averages 44 points.

Fortunately for Northridge, its defense has been able to save face: The WFC’s best allows an average of 280.6 yards and 16.4 points.