WEST COAST CONFERENCE PREVIEW : Few New Faces in a League of Experience

The West Coast Conference is observing its 40th year of basketball, and there are plenty of reasons for celebration.

Thirty-two of the 40 players who started most of the time last season are returning, including:

--All of the statistical leaders.

--Nine of the 10 players on the 1990-91 all-conference team.

--Eight of the top 10 and 20 of the top 25 scorers.

--Nine of the top 10 rebounders and three-point shooters.

--The six assist leaders and the 10 best free-throw shooters.

This should provide one of the closest races in years--and make it harder for Pepperdine to repeat as champion.

The Waves, with all five starters back, including WCC player of the year Doug Christie, are the consensus choice to win the conference title again.

There is also general agreement that Loyola Marymount will finish second, and most observers say that Santa Clara, which also has all of its starters back, will be third.

However, St. Mary’s, the third WCC team with all of last season’s starters returning, lost all three of its games against Pepperdine last season--but by only one point, by four points in double overtime, then by three points in overtime of the conference tournament final.

Only Portland, which usually finishes last and is the least-experienced team in the conference, appears to be out of contention.

A look at each WCC team, except for Pepperdine and Loyola:

GONZAGA

1990-91 record: 14-14, 5-9

Conference finish: Sixth

The Bulldogs were 11-4 at home overall last season, better than any other WCC team, but 3-10 on the road. Senior returning starters are 6-foot-6 all-conference off-guard Jarrod Davis, point guard Jamie Dudley and 6-7 forward Eric Brady. Davis was third in scoring in the conference with an average of 19.6 points and made 85.7% of his free throws. There is inexperience in the middle with 6-8 sophomore Jeff Brown, a redshirt transfer last year who played little at Washington, and 6-8 second-year freshman Lango Taylor.

PORTLAND

1990-91 record: 5-23, 3-11

Conference finish: Eighth

Portland has lost more than 20 games in three of the last four seasons. The Pilots led the conference in free-throw shooting at 74.8% last season but averaged 17.7 turnovers. Erik Spoelstra, who is starting for the fourth consecutive year at point guard, and 6-7 junior forward Matt Houle are the only returning starters. Ten players have no Division I experience--five junior college transfers, three redshirt freshmen and two freshmen.

ST. MARY’S

1990-91 record: 13-17, 7-7

Conference finish: Fourth (tie)

Senior point guard Allen Caveness averaged 6.6 assists and senior Eric Bamberger, a 6-10 All-WCC center, averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. Every fourth shot by the Gaels was a three-point attempt. St. Mary’s had 132 fewer rebounds than opponents.

SAN DIEGO

1990-91 record: 17-12, 8-6

Conference finish: Third

All-conference senior forward Kelvin Woods, who averaged 13.6 points and 5.4 rebounds, joins the starting backcourt from last season, seniors Wayman Strickland and Michael Brown. In WCC games, Strickland led the conference by making 57.7% of his three-point shots. Junior Gylan Dottin, a 6-5 swingman who was the 1989 WCC freshman of the year, returns after a redshirt season. The Toreros set a school record by averaging 82.3 points and led the conference in field goal accuracy at 50%, 40.3% on three-point shots.

SAN FRANCISCO

1990-91 record: 12-17, 4-10

Conference finish: Seventh

The Dons were hampered by injuries to key players last season but upset Loyola Marymount in the first round of the conference tournament. All-WCC senior forward Tim Owens, who scored a tournament-record 45 points in that game, leads USF. Owens will get help from 6-6 senior forward-center Darryl Johnson, who averaged 11.4 points and 9.5 rebounds despite sitting out six games because of an injury, and from sophomore point guard Orlando Smart, who set an NCAA freshman record with an average of 8.2 assists.

SANTA CLARA

1990-91 record: 16-13, 7-7

Conference finish: Fourth (tie)

Ron Reis, a 7-1, 285-pound senior center and All-WCC selection, led the conference in rebounding (11 per game) and in field goal accuracy (62.2%). Another all-conference player, senior forward Rhea Taylor, was the WCC’s fifth-best scorer with a 19-point average.