Running on a Lack of Height : Loyola Marymount: Transfer of 6-10 Petruska to UCLA has Lions turning to speedy guards Lowery and Walker.

An entire season removed from Paul Westhead, Hank Gathers and the hoopla that surrounded the 1989-90 Loyola Marymount basketball season, Coach Jay Hillock finally feels he has a team he can call his own.

“I think the transition year is behind us,” said Hillock, beginning his second season as coach. “Any time you follow somebody that was as successful as Paul Westhead, it’s tough to do.”

Hillock’s first season in charge--he was Loyola’s top assistant for five years under Westhead--was met with resistance from some players who questioned his ability to coach the team’s trademark run-and-gun style.

“A lot of that was going on,” Hillock said. “But I think these kids will play hard and play together. I think some of the problems we went through, we won’t go through this year.”

The Lions can ill afford any more setbacks after the off-season transfer of 6-foot-10 center Richard Petruska to UCLA. Petruska, who led the Lions in rebounding and field goal percentage and ranked second with a 16.4 scoring average last season, leaves behind a team lacking in height.

As a result, Loyola is hoping to get by on speed as it seeks its fifth consecutive winning season. The Lions were 16-15 and finished second in the West Coast Conference last season, butwere upset by the University of San Francisco in the first round of the conference tournament, 101-93.

“Petruska’s departure makes us a lot shorter and a lot less physical,” Hillock said. “So we’re going to have to play faster. . . . Hopefully we can get everyone in an overtime game and wear them out.”

Senior guards Terrell Lowery and Tony Walker, Hillock says, “are as fast as any guards in the country.”

Lowery last season became the first player in NCAA history to finish among the country’s top five in both scoring and assist averages. He ranked fifth in scoring with a 28.5-point average and third in assists with 9.1 as a point guard.

Lowery has moved back to shooting guard with the return of Walker, who sat out last season while recovering from surgery on a broken wrist. Walker played with the injury two years ago, when he was the starting point guard on Loyola’s final-eight team and led the WCC in assists.

“He’s all the way back,” Hillock said of Walker. “He’s much better than two years ago because his hand doesn’t hurt him.”

Craig Holt, a senior who started all 31 games last year, and 6-6 sophomore Ross Richardson provide depth at guard, the team’s strongest position. Both are three-point threats. Richardson made 61 of 116 three-point shots, leading all freshmen and ranking fourth in the nation.

In the front court, Loyola starts 6-7 junior Brian McCloskey and 6-8 senior Chris Knight at forward and 6-8 junior Christian Scott at center. Scott, who started all but four games last year at forward, is Loyola’s top rebounder.

Hillock was disappointed with Loyola’s inside play Sunday in a 132-107 exhibition loss to the Lafayette Hustlers, an amateur team.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well (40 for 100) and we had a lot of turnovers (29),” he said. “We also found out that we were not in real good physical condition.”

For a team that prides itself on running, that wasn’t a good sign.

Loyola Marymount Roster

No. Player Pos Yr Hgt Wgt 3 Greg Walker G Jr. 5-11 180 10 Craig Holt G Sr. 6-3 175 12 Tony Walker G Sr. 6-1 175 14 John O’Connell F Sr. 6-7 220 20 Terrell Lowery G Sr. 6-3 175 21 Cobi McElroy G Fr. 6-1 175 22 Robin Kirksey F Fr. 6-5 190 23 Rahim Harris F So. 6-4 175 24 Wyking Jones F Sr. 6-7 200 31 Christian Scott F Jr. 6-8 210 32 Brian McCloskey F Jr. 6-8 210 34 Chris Knight C Sr. 6-9 205 42 Ross Richardson G So. 6-6 205

Coach: Jay Hillock.

Loyola Marymount Schedule

ALL TIMES PACIFIC

Date Opponent Time Nov. 22-23 L.A. Classic* 6:00 Nov. 25 Loyola of Maryland 7:30 Nov. 29 at Nevada Reno 7:30 Dec. 3 Pacific 7:30 Dec. 7 UC Santa Barbara 7:30 Dec. 13 Westmont College 7:30 Dec. 16 UC Irvine 7:30 Dec. 20 at UCLA 7:30 Dec. 30 Lehigh 7:30 Jan. 2 at Marist 5:00 Jan. 5 at DePaul 5:00 Jan. 11 at Pepperdine 7:30 Jan. 16 at Portland 7:30 Jan. 18 at Gonzaga 7:30 Jan. 24 St. Mary’s 7:30 Jan. 25 University of San Francisco 7:30 Jan. 31 at University of San Francisco 7:30 Feb. 1 at St. Mary’s 7:30 Feb. 7 University of San Diego 7:30 Feb. 8 Santa Clara 7:30 Feb. 13 at Santa Clara 7:30 Feb. 15 at University of San Diego 7:30 Feb. 18 at CS Northridge 7:00 Feb. 22 Pepperdine 7:30 Feb. 28 Gonzaga 7:30 Feb. 29 Portland 7:30 Mar. 7-9 WCC tournament at Portland TBA

* Loyola plays Morgan State and Connecticut State plays Washington State in first-day games.