Toreros Use Uncertainty as an Edge : College basketball: Rest of the conference not sure what to make of USD.

It may not exactly be a love-in 1990s style, but peace and harmony reign over the University of San Diego men’s basketball team.

It doesn’t mean life is completely rosy for the Toreros. Smallish even by West Coast Conference standards--where there’s only one true center in the eight-team league--the Toreros had the biggest turnover in the veteran-rich WCC and are picked in preseason polls to place no higher than fourth. But in contrast to last season, when they were expected to win the conference title and finished a distant third, the Toreros are having fun again.

“We’re a different club than last year. I don’t think people know exactly where to put us,” USD Coach Hank Egan said. “I think we’ve got chemistry. We play well together--the intangibles, all the things you can’t coach.

“Chemistry means when you go home from practice and you’re not gonna kick the dog. I like (this team’s makeup) better than last year’s. We’re missing some strength but some of the coaching problems have gone away, and some other problems have disappeared.”

Among the biggest changes is Wayman Strickland’s shift from a three-year stint as point guard to his natural position as shooting guard, with last season’s backup, Jeff Probst, moving to the point. Strickland set a conference record for three-point accuracy last season, but the team’s lack of ballhandlers dictated that he play the point.

Now, Strickland is the team’s first outside option, and the move means the Toreros may run more as well.

“He thinks he’s died and gone to heaven,” Egan said with a laugh. “He’s had to play the point, which is not his strength and not in his makeup. He thinks he’s open when he’s on the bus. Putting Wayman at off-guard has made his life much better--and mine.”

“I’m looking to score every time I get the ball,” Strickland said. “Before, I had to look to set up the other guys. I’m still doing that but for the team to be successful I have to hit my jump shot. It should be a real interesting year.”

Strickland returns to the lineup along with all-conference forward Kelvin Woods, who has developed three-point range but may be USD’s most consistent power player at 6 feet 6 and 235 pounds. He led the Toreros in scoring last season at 13.6 points per game. Strickland averaged 10.6 points.

Another returning starter, Michael Brown, has been switched to backup point guard after playing mostly off-guard as a junior. Neal Meyer, a 6-3 sophomore who saw only spot duty in seven games as a freshman, backs up Strickland.

That means much of the burden, and mystery, of the team rests with three redshirts, all of whom had experience in a Torero uniform before sitting out last season: sophomore center Brooks Barnhard, sophomore guard Joe Temple and junior small forward Gylan Dottin.

With those three on the bench, The Toreros were 17-12 last season, 8-6 in the West Coast Conference.

“Having the redshirts eases the loss of six seniors,” Egan said. “We’ll be very flexible, our guys through about eight (deep) can all play the game a little bit.”

Woods said the redshirts “easily replace the two starters we lost. I think our talent is just as good if not better than last year. I think we’ll be better than last year.”

Barnhard, who had back surgery last year, is healthy and provides the biggest body--6-9 and 220 pounds. Dottin, a 6-5 left-hander who was WCC freshman of the year in 1988-89, will start at small forward. A streaky scorer and the team’s best defender, Dottin is also being counted on to rebound.

Temple, perhaps the team’s most athletic player, will see action at big guard and small forward and can be an explosive package at a sculpted 6-4, 210 pounds--if he’s in control. “If that light goes on he’ll be dynamite,” Egan said. “If he can get it done (at guard) we’ve got an outstanding player. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever coached.”

The Toreros are short on power players, and Egan will rotate players and try to keep opponents guessing in an attempt to offset bigger teams such as Santa Clara, which has 7-foot-1 Ron Reis back at center and 6-9 transfer Pete Eisenrich at forward.

“We’re missing some ‘pure’ people--we don’t have a pure center or a pure power forward,” Egan said. “So we have a lot of ‘slash’ guys (guard/forward, forward/center). We can’t cover a good center or a good power forward one-on-one.”

Newcomer Chris Grant, a community college transfer from Northern California, will be Egan’s man in the middle at 6-8, 225 pounds, with Barnhard and 6-8 senior Reed Watson providing more strength in the middle.

The Toreros’ opener, against San Diego State’s tall front line Friday at the Sports Arena, will provide an early contrast in styles.

“We’re gonna hurt a little bit off the boards,” Egan said. “What we have to do is move everybody everywhere, move a lot of people at different spots. I think we’ll be like some of the old (New York) Knick teams--hit the open man, move the ball, set some screens.

“Last year people said we had the most talent and should win the conference. I said I wasn’t sure. This year they’re picking us near the bottom and once again I’m not so sure. We’re a different kind of club. I don’t think people know exactly where to put us.”

Woods said, “I don’t understand why people are underestimating us. I think we’ll be better than everybody picks us to be.”