Dominguez Coaches See ‘90’s Lemon as ‘91’s Lemonade : Men: Hopes are high this year for a playoff berth after last year’s disappointing finish.

Members of the Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s basketball team hope the disappointment of a fifth-place finish in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. last season will motivate them to better things this year.

The Toros had been expected to place high in the league and make postseason play. Instead, they ended with a 5-7 mark (16-11 overall) and failed to qualify for the postseason conference tournament.

The only positive note about last year’s disappointing season, according to coaches, is that it is serving as a motivator for Coach Dave Yanai’s 1991-92 club.

“I see more hunger in the guys’ eyes. Last year we were picked to finish so high, we took it for granted,” junior guard Ray Bennett said. “We really want to go to postseason play. We had a bad season, and we really want to prove we can do good.”

It appears that Dominguez Hills has the athletes to improve on last year’s performance. Yanai says this team will be difficult to keep up with.

“We’re quicker and we’re a better shooting club than we have been,” he said. “We also have a number of kids with good experience.”

Inevitably, however, Dominguez Hills feels the absence of two key players. The Toros lost point guard Robert Barksdale, a three-time All-CCAA selection, and swingman Brian Jones, the team’s top scorer (13 points a game).

Yanai says senior Josh Oppenheimer (6-foot-2) and freshman Chris Thompson (6-0) will fill the void at point guard. Oppenheimer has 2 1/2 seasons of Division I basketball under his belt. He started at the University of Rhode Island, then went on to Northern Arizona University. He won’t be eligible to play for the Toros until mid-December. Thompson, who didn’t play last year, averaged 10 points and four assists as a senior at Artesia High in 1989-90.

Bennett (6-0) will probably start at off guard, but El Camino College transfer Rick Robison (6-3), freshman Jason Bowman (6-2) and junior Vincent Washington (6-5) will also play a lot at that spot. Robison, a sophomore, was the South Bay’s top prep scorer at Torrance High in 1989. Bowman averaged 14 points and 9.7 assists at Inglewood High last year. He was the Bay League’s most valuable player and a second-team All-CIF selection. Washington averaged 5.9 points and 3.7 rebounds a game last year.

Swingmen Norman Francis and Segaro Bozart will also play a big role in the Toros’ three-guard offense. Francis, a 6-foot-5 junior, has played in all of Dominguez Hills’ games in the last two years. Bozart, a 6-4 senior, redshirted last year and averaged 7.1 points as a junior in 1989-90.

Yanai says Francis and senior Joseph Janney (6-7) will split time at center, and John Brown (6-3) will probably start at forward.

“We have a couple of young people that will eventually be very good for us,” Yanai said. “We also have eight kids that have experience in actual game situations.”

Defensively there will be no surprises. Dominguez Hills will apply the same fierce, man-to-man defense that all of Yanai’s teams have used in his 14 years at Carson.

The Toros open the season at home against the Latvian National team Nov. 16. Their preseason schedule includes a trip to Division I Pepperdine University, the top-rated team in the West Coast Conference. Dominguez Hills opens CCAA play Jan. 10 at UC Riverside.

“We’re really looking forward to this season, and we are very anxious to get started,” Washington said. “All the hard work will pay off. I can guarantee it.”