Young Aztecs Have the Coach Feeling Restless : College basketball: Brandenburg is forced to work quickly to make something out of inexperienced squad.

Apparently, it is great to be young and an Aztec.

A handful of freshman are grabbing attention on the football field. Marshall Faulk has gotten more attention as an SDSU newcomer since Raquel Welch’s first days on campus.

The youth trend continues in basketball. Look at the 1991-92 Aztec men’s basketball team and you will find 10 players who either are freshmen, redshirt freshmen or sophomores. There are only three seniors.

So as the SDSU men’s basketball team prepares for its opener next Friday against the University of San Diego, Coach Jim Brandenburg is trying to cram a few months of work into a short time period.

“Through my eyes, I see a lot of vague images out there,” Brandenburg said. “None of it has shaped into focus yet. There is no personality that has solidified--it’s more of an infantile developmental stage.

“I’ve got a lot of decisions to make. But I think our guys are making some progress.”

Brandenburg likes the team’s versatility--he thinks he can field a big, strong club; a team that has size and strength but is quick; or a small, quick team.

The Aztecs (13-16 last season, 6-10 in the Western Athletic Conference) are tall--10 players are 6-feet-7 or bigger.

The Aztecs are green--of the seven returning players, none of them had played a full season of college basketball before last year.

The Aztecs also are hurting--Keith Balzer (postseason knee surgery) and Tony Clark (late-summer back surgery) still need time to heal. And they received a scare last week when Nelson Stewart’s ankle failed him again, but it turned out to be a minor injury.

In addition to tall, green players with aches and pains, the Aztecs have a not-so-tall newcomer from the Fashion Institute of Technology--so at least give them points for style.

A few more SDSU basketball fashion tips . . .

IN: KEITH BALZER’S LEGS

Knees, actually. They’re going to have to be monitored closely over the next few weeks.

Balzer, a 6-8 senior, is one of SDSU’s best returning players. Of the veterans, he is the leading scorer (10 points a game last year).

But . . . he had surgery on his right knee for tendinitis last April 6. Doctors told him there would be an eight-to-10-month recovery period.

The right knee remains sore, and another problem has cropped up. He periodically ices both knees after practices--his left knee is tender, he said, from compensating for his right.

“The only thing against me is time,” Balzer said. “There is no extra lifting, and no extra therapy I can do. I’m doing both already, but I can’t do anything extra. Only time. . . . “

The Aztecs definitely need Balzer, but there are questions as to how long he will last once the season opens. Although Brandenburg says it is unlikely, it is not out of the question that Balzer will redshirt this season.

“That has come up,” Balzer said. “We’ve talked about all of my possibilities. I think it would be stupid on my part not to discuss them.”

IN: VIRGIL SMITH’S SHAKE AND BAKE

Smith, a 6-1 junior, is the transfer from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and, judging from practices and SDSU’s opening exhibition game against Marathon Oil, he can play. He had eight assists in the Marathon Oil game, including several flashy, stylish passes that had those in the audience gasping.

“Smith and (off-guard Ray) Barefield are like two hungry wolves chasing a skinny jack-rabbit,” Brandenburg said.

Smith should give the Aztecs maturity--he turns 25 on Dec. 20. Still, playing Division I ball will be an adjustment.

OUT: DOW AND MASSEY

Marty Dow, a 7-1 center, and Arthur Massey, a versatile guard, were one-two in scoring last season. With Dow, who averaged 17 points a game, the Aztecs always knew they had someone to whom they could go inside. With Massey, who scored 14.6 points a game, SDSU knew it had someone it could depend on in critical situations.

IN: JOE McNAULL

McNaull, 6-11, will begin the season as Dow’s replacement. He has been frustrated at times because he played mostly power forward for the Aztecs last season and during the U.S. Olympic Festival last summer. Suddenly, he is learning a new position.

But he played well in the exhibition game--15 points and 15 rebounds--and is athletic enough for a guy his size to make the adjustment. Now what he needs to do is start eating--at 230 pounds, his biggest problem in the middle may be not having enough in his middle to put up with the physical demands of WAC play.

IN: THE NEW GUARD

With Massey’s departure, and with Chris McKinney and James Lewis leaving the program after last season, SDSU essentially is breaking in a new backcourt. Barefield is the only veteran.

Early indications are that Robert Ringo, a 6-2 freshman from Duncanville, Tex., is developing well--maybe more quickly than anyone--and that John Molle, a 6-5 freshman from Irvine, can shoot.

Also, Brandenburg may go with a combination that includes sophomore Terrence Hamilton at off-guard.

The biggest thing is to find someone who can consistently shoot from outside--the Aztecs shot only 45.9% last season, and no guard was over 42%.

OUT: BLACK SHOES

They’re ugly, a blight on the game, but they appeared during practice the first week in November. And when the Aztecs took the court for their exhibition game, several people who are familiar with Brandenburg did a double-take.

Black shoes? Isn’t that a little too 1990-ish?

Well, they lasted one exhibition game. By practice the following Monday, the traditional white shoes were back.

“I just preferred the white--it’s a different model of shoe,” Brandenburg said. “The color really had not much to do with it.”

Are the black shoes gone for good?

“Hope not,” Courtie Miller said.

Said Balzer: “The coaching staff knows it’s something we like. It was a quick, snap decision by the coaching staff (to forgo the black shoes). That’s cool--if something new doesn’t work, you go back to something old.”

In those black pairs of something new, the Aztecs lost their exhibition game, 97-74. So don’t count on them coming back. Ever.

IN: MARCUS BANKS’ KNEE

He is only a freshman, 6-9, 265 pounds of young, raw talent from San Antonio. He came to school a bit overweight. He’s a step slow.

His knee, though, is a step quick. On two consecutive days of practice, he sent Balzer and then Miller to the sidelines with thigh bruises.

OUT: FRONT-LINE STANDOUTS

There is talent there. What is needed is someone to take charge.

That could come from Miller (6-7, 6.8 points and 2.6 rebounds a game last season), who has bulked up. It could come from freshman Chris Davis (6-8, 245, from Manhattan Beach), who has had his moments in practice. Maybe Neal Pollard (7-0, 275, a redshirt freshman who was on a Mormon mission last year) will shake off the rust. And possibly, Stewart (6-7) will remain healthy this season.

If Balzer is healthy, he is the best bet to be SDSU’s front-line key guy.

Also, these guys need to make sure they can play physical enough to bang with other WAC teams.

IN, BUT MAYBE OUT: CLARK’S BACK

Because he transferred to SDSU last winter from the University of Arizona, Clark will not even become eligible until December.

But a more pressing question than that right now is the status of his back. Clark had surgery in August for a herniated disc, and his practice time has been limited. He has been participating in some contact drills, though.

“It’s the nagging little stuff now,” Clark said. “Things like a hip flexor, and the week before that an upper hamstring (pull) . . . all the little stuff that is all tied into the back.”

Clark potentially is SDSU’s best outside shooter, and his absence poses another problem for Brandenburg. SDSU will be a different team in November and early December than it will be later, when Clark returns.

Sign of good news for Clark: He is parking his Mercedes (courtesy of his Detroit Tigers’ signing bonus) in regular spaces now. A month ago, he was parking in the handicapped spaces.

OUT: PIG-TAILS

The game for eighth/ninth place, referred to as the “pig-tail game, has been voted out of the WAC tournament. Beginning this season, the ninth-place team will not qualify.

This is brought up only because SDSU has played in the game in two of the past four years--although the Aztecs finished tied for seventh last season.

IN: SIX POINTS FOR SUCCESS

Brandenburg’s six ways for SDSU to have a successful season:

“A team approach. We’ve got to play great defense. We’ve got to have a constant threat of the fast break. We need to be more aggressive than opponents, and out-rebound them. We have to have offensive execution. We have to have a good shooting percentage.

“If we do that, we’re going to have a good team.”

The Aztecs will be in trouble, Brandenburg said, if “we continue with a poor assist/turnover ratio as we have so far.”

It will not be easy. Youth lends itself to mistakes. Their schedule is difficult--UCLA (home), Richmond (home) Nevada Las Vegas (away) and Texas (away), along with WAC teams Brigham Young, New Mexico and Utah, participated in last season’s NCAA tournament.

“I guess the important thing is not where we are now,” Brandenburg said. “It’s how much we’re going to improve and where we need to be. . . .

“You don’t make a team by Nov. 22. Gosh, it’s going to take us a lot longer than that. In the month of December, we’ll (get) Tony Clark, so we’ll have to make some more adjustments then. I’ve done a lot of experimenting because I think it is imperative that we fit the system to the players we have. But that’s to the detriment of where we are now.”

SDSU Roster

No. Player Pos Yr Hgt Wgt 3 Robert Ringo G Fr 6-2 175 10 Virgil Smith G Jr 6-1 175 11 Ray Barefield G Jr 6-1 190 15 Bart Brandenburg G Fr 6-0 165 21 Courtie Miller F So 6-7 215 25 Nelson Stewart F Sr 6-7 225 31 Neal Pollard C Fr 7-0 275 32 Tony Clark G-F So 6-8 215 33 John Molle G Fr 6-5 210 34 Terrence Hamilton F So 6-6 205 40 Joe McNaull F-C So 6-10 230 42 Keith Balzer F Sr 6-8 225 45 Mark Pollard C Jr 6-11 230 53 Chris Davis F Fr 6-8 245 55 Marcus Banks C-F Fr 6-9 265

Coach: Jim Brandenburg.

SDSU Schedule

ALL TIMES PACIFIC

Date Opponent Time Nov. 18 Latvia National Team 8 Nov. 22 University of San Diego 7:30 Nov. 24 Richmond 7:30 Nov. 30 at UC Irvine 7:30 Dec. 6 at Texas Classic 6 and 8 Dec. 7 at Texas Classic 7 and 9 Dec. 14 UCLA 7:30 Dec. 20 Texaco Star Classic 6:30 and 8:30 Dec. 21 Texaco Star Classic 6:30 and 8:30 Dec. 28 at Southern Utah State 6:30 Dec. 30 at Nevada-Las Vegas 8:05 Jan. 2 Yale 7:30 Jan. 9 Wyoming 7:30 Jan. 11 Southern Utah State 7:30 Jan. 16 at New Mexico 6:30 Jan. 18 at Texas-El Paso 9 Jan. 23 Texas-El Paso 7:30 Jan. 25 New Mexico 5 Jan. 30 at Colorado State 6:35 Feb. 1 at Air Force 9 Feb. 6 Brigham Young 7:30 Feb. 8 Utah 7:30 Feb. 13 at Wyoming 6:35 Feb. 15 Hawaii 5 Feb. 20 Air Force 7:30 Feb. 22 Colorado State 5 Feb. 27 at Utah 6:30 Feb. 29 at Brigham Young 6:30 March 6 at Hawaii 9:05

WAC Tournament March 12-14 at Fort Collins, Colo.