BIG WEST PREVIEW : UNLV Is in Different Zone, and Rivals Are Optimistic, to a Man

Jerry Tarkanian is almost embarrassed to admit it. The long-time proponent of free-wheeling, stream-of-consciousness basketball, the coach who would rather face an NCAA infractions committee than burden players with multiple defenses, will have his Nevada Las Vegas team playing a zone this season.

It used to be so simple for Tarkanian. He recruited superior athletes, taught them the finer points of man-to-man defense in October and let them run wild from November to March, and sometimes early April.

But with no returning starters from last season’s 34-1 NCAA tournament semifinalist and a 7-foot, 265-pound center who is talented but not nearly as mobile as previous Rebel postmen, Tarkanian will take a new tack this season.

“If we were going to be back at UNLV next year, we’d stick to man-to-man and make it work,” said Tarkanian, who announced last June that he would retire after the 1991-92 season. “By mid-February, we’d have it down.

“But we’re taking the coward’s way out. We’re playing zone. And you know what I’ve always said: The zone is un-American.”

Tarkanian said his concession to zone defense is an indication that UNLV won’t be as good as usual, but Big West Conference coaches aren’t convinced. The coaches and the media have picked the Rebels to win their 10th consecutive regular-season championship.

“It’s UNLV and then flip a coin,” Fresno State’s Gary Colson said.

But UNLV will not be favored to win the conference tournament, because the Rebels won’t be in it. After a long court battle, the NCAA is penalizing UNLV in a 1977 infractions case, banning the Rebels from postseason play and live television appearances this season.

Although UNLV’s absence will take some of the luster off the conference tournament, it should be reason for excitement in other Big West gyms.

For most of the last decade, coaches have conceded the automatic NCAA tournament berth to UNLV. Now, it will be up for grabs, and New Mexico State, UC Santa Barbara, Fresno State, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton and Pacific all have legitimate playoff hopes.

“League (regular season) means nothing. Whoever is healthy, has good chemistry going and is playing well in March can walk away with a plum and an NCAA tournament bid,” Colson said. “All these guys (conference coaches) think they can win it because Tark’s not going to be there.”

Here’s a look at the conference, in alphabetical order:

FRESNO STATE

1990-91 records: 14-16, 7-11

Conference finish: Sixth (tie)

Colson thought he was set at point guard with Doug Harris, a reserve last season, and junior college transfer Steve Rankin. But Harris, fearing that he would lose the starting job to Rankin, transferred to the University of San Diego. Then Rankin, academically ineligible at Fresno State, went to a Division II college, Armstrong State in Georgia.

So now Colson is left with a freshman point guard, DeAndre Austin from Artesia High. The Bulldogs also lost 6-foot-9 center Dimitri Lambrecht, who would have been a junior but returned to his native Belgium to play professionally.

But Fresno has plenty of outside firepower in senior wing Tod Bernard, who averaged 19.2 points last season; senior guard Wilbert Hooker (16.1) and junior guard Carl Ray Harris (14.7). Transfers Lee Mayberry, from Wyoming, and Brian Baumgartner, from Auburn, should ease the loss of Lambrecht. Each is 6-9.

CAL STATE FULLERTON

1990-91 records: 14-14, 7-11

Conference finish: Sixth (tie)

The Titans lost two key players when center Aaron Wilhite transferred to North Carolina Charlotte and point guard Wayne Williams, who was ruled academically ineligible, transferred to Cal State San Bernardino.

Fullerton won’t miss the temperamental Williams a bit. Junior Aaron Sunderland, a transfer from Connors State in Oklahoma, is a point guard who should give the Titans more speed and better defense, passing and shooting at the position.

Fullerton could miss Wilhite a lot. Senior forward Agee Ward, who averaged 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds a game last season, is the only front-court player with extensive experience.

The Titans do have several talented backcourt players, among them guard Joe Small, one of the conference’s best three-point shooters, plus Bruce Bowen and J.D. Green, who share the wing position.

CAL STATE LONG BEACH

1990-91 records: 11-17, 7-11

Conference finish: Sixth (tie)

With nine players back from a team that went 23-9 in 1989-90, the 49ers were a major disappointment last season, but second-year Coach Seth Greenberg expects improvement.

High-scoring Lucious Harris, who dabbled at point guard last season, will move back to shooting guard, and Bryon Russell, who was out of position at small forward, will move to power forward.

Frankie Edwards, 6-8 and 240, returns at forward and will be joined up front by Russell and Tony McGee, a junior from Mt. San Antonio. All are extremely physical defensive players and rebounders, but none is a prolific scorer.

Point guard Bobby Sears showed promise toward the end of last season, but if he falters, Greenberg can turn to sophomore Jeff Rogers, a Dominguez High School athlete who sat out last season under the terms of Proposition 48.

NEW MEXICO STATE

1990-91 records: 23-6, 15-3

Conference finish: Second

Tracey Ware, the Aggies’ No. 2 scorer and No. 3 rebounder last season, tore a knee ligament in a pickup game last spring and will sit out the season. That leaves senior guard William Benjamin, who led the Big West in three-point shooting percentage in 1990-91, as the only returning starter.

But Coach Neil McCarthy has a reputation for quickly transforming community college transfers into cohesive, competitive teams, and many expect him to do it again this season.

The impact newcomers are Sam Crawford, a 5-8 point guard from Westchester High and Moorpark College; Eric Traylor, a 6-7 forward who was a first-team junior college All-American at Westark in Arkansas; Cliff Reed, a 6-5 forward from Dixie in Utah, and Mark Thompson, a 6-2 guard from New Mexico College who was named 1988 Philadelphia suburban player of the year.

SAN JOSE STATE

1990-91 records: 7-20, 5-13

Conference finish: Tenth

Two starters, Michael St. Julien and Charles Terrell, and a key reserve, Philip Crump, were dropped from the team in the off-season. Three probable starters--guards Lossie Mitchell and Ivory Joe Hunter and forward Darren Greene--haven’t practiced yet because of injuries.

The Spartans probably will start a freshman, guard Alphonso DeLaNuez of Ramona High; three sophomores--forwards Andrew Gardiner and Jason Allen and center Mike Brotherton--and a junior, guard Terry Cannon, who led the team with a 12.6-point average last season.

“It’s one of those years,” Spartan Coach Stan Morrison said. “And I thought last year was bad.”

Anything higher than last place would be a major accomplishment.

UC IRVINE

1990-91 records: 11-19, 6-12

Conference finish: Ninth

The Anteaters allowed a school-record average of 92 points a game last season, but new Coach Rod Baker, a former Seton Hall assistant who replaced Bill Mulligan, will emphasize tight defense.

This team will need to do so. With the departure of its top three scorers--seniors Jeff Herdman and Ricky Butler and sophomore Dylan Rigdon, who transferred to Arizona--Irvine lost 48 points a game.

The Anteaters’ strength is on the perimeter, where Baker has two quick guards in returning starters Gerald McDonald, a senior, and Craig Marshall, a junior. The rotation will get stronger when Keith Stewart, a junior who has played at Marquette and Purdue, becomes eligible in the fifth game.

Rebounding and interior defense may be a problem for a weak front line, whose most experienced player is Jeff Von Lutzow, a talented but slender 6-9 forward who started 18 of 30 games last season.

UC SANTA BARBARA

1990-91 records: 14-15, 8-10

Conference finish: Fourth (tie)

Big West shooting guards will be relieved to learn that Paul Johnson, one of the conference’s best perimeter defenders, will probably be a redshirt this season because of a torn rotator cuff.

But even without Johnson, the Gauchos should challenge for an NCAA tournament bid. Senior forward Lucius Davis, who averaged 16 points, is back, and junior point guard Ray Kelly, who was inconsistent but showed flashes of brilliance last season, should be steadier.

The Gauchos have two solid shooting guards in Ray Stewart and Idris Jones, a consistent small forward in Michael Meyer and a big center in 6-11 Sam Robson, whom Coach Jerry Pimm says is in great shape compared to last season.

Without 6-9 center Gary Gray, who averaged 16 points and seven rebounds in 1990-91, Santa Barbara probably will run more than it has.

NEVADA LAS VEGAS

1990-91 records: 34-1, 18-0

Conference finish: First

The Rebels have the conference’s only dominant big man in Elmore Spencer, a 7-footer who should swat away many shots and may shatter a backboard or two. And Evric Gray, a powerful 6-7 forward who can score from inside and out, will move from reserve to starter.

Three community college transfers will fill out the starting lineup--point guard Dedan Thomas and shooting guard J.R. Rider from Antelope Valley and wing player Dexter Boney from Hagerstown, Md.

All were stars in junior college. Rider averaged 33.6 points last season, Boney 31.6 in 1989-90 and Thomas 12.4 points and 9.5 assists in 1989-90. If they continue their success at the Division I level, UNLV should remain in the national rankings.

“These are the same guys we put in last year when we were 45 up, and by the end of the game we’d be 25 up,” Tarkanian said. “Everybody’s new. We have some ability, but they’re totally inexperienced.”

PACIFIC

1990-91 records: 14-16, 9-9

Conference finish: Third

The Tigers will be a quicker, more guard-oriented team now that Don Lyttle, the 6-10 center who could post up and shoot three-pointers, has played out his eligibility.

Dell Demps, a 6-4 senior guard who led Pacific in scoring with an 18.8-point average but was slowed by a knee injury last season, had surgery in April and is in excellent shape. Walsh Jordan, a superb defensive player who will be asked to score more, takes over at point guard.

Rounding out the three-guard lineup will be Tony Amundsen, who averaged 22.5 points at Chabot last season and was named Northern California community college player of the year.

A small front-court rotation of Glenn Griffin, 6-8; Randy Lavender, 6-4, and Robert Richardson, 6-6, could have problems handling opposing big men.

UTAH STATE

1990-91 records: 11-17, 8-10

Conference finish: Fourth (tie)

The Aggies can stack up with any Big West team in the backcourt. Kendall Youngblood, a 6-4 senior wing player who averaged 18.8 points and 6.5 rebounds, can penetrate and pass, shoot from the outside or post up smaller guards.

Junior guard Jay Goodman is a good three-point shooter, and new point guard Malloy Nesmith, of the South Bronx and Jacksonville, Tex., can create offense with his quickness and passing ability.

But Utah State will have problems inside. The Aggies have the muscle in freshman Nathan Wickizer, 7-feet and 245, and junior Carlito DaSilva, 6-8 and 250, but it’s untested. Bryon Ruffner, a 6-6 forward and conference freshman of the year last season, would have helped, but he is on a Mormon mission.