Boyer Learns Best Things in Life Aren’t Free Throws : Basketball: Center needs to work on shooting from the line. But he’s helping Saddleback College in other ways.

Saddleback College’s Dee Boyer was describing one of his slam dunks recently while walking to the campus gym.

Boyer, who stands 6 feet 10 and weighs 270 pounds, spoke as he moved to illustrate his point.

He described how he turned toward the basket, knocked over a smaller opponent who was called for a foul, and rammed the ball through the basket.

“People have told me that was one of my best dunks,” Boyer said.

Then he was asked the question he didn’t want to hear.

“Did you make the free throw?”

Boyer grinned again and mockingly said, “No comment,” as he ducked into the training room.

But the opportunity to hide was a rare one for Boyer, the center for Saddleback, which plays at Riverside at 7 tonight in an Orange Empire Conference basketball game.

But Boyer, who is from El Camino High School in Oceanside, learned early that he was going to be visible in Mission Viejo.

After he moved to the area in the summer of 1990, he decided to wander around a local mall.

“As soon as I walked in, this elderly lady grabbed her purse with two hands and walked the other way,” Boyer said. “I thought ‘Man, is that how it’s going to be around here?’ But that turned out to be the only case when something like that happened. Things are going well and people are nice . . . . People even know who I am from coming to the games.”

Boyer liked the area so much that he said it was a deciding factor when he signed to play for Rod Baker at UC Irvine next fall. But that’s the future.

Right now, he is working on improving himself this season. He is currently averaging 13 points and eight rebounds. He also has 36 blocked shots in 19 games.

But Boyer’s scoring average would be higher if he could do better than his current 41% (41 of 99) on free-throw attempts. He is much better from the field, where he is shooting 58%. Of course, most of those shots are from inside the key.

Boyer’s troubles at the free-throw line are something he acknowledges, as do his opponents.

“I was just rushing it up there early in the season,” Boyer said. “Now, I’ve slowed down and am concentrating more.”

In the Gauchos’ game Wednesday against Rancho Santiago, the Dons needed the ball back late and wanted to make sure Saddleback would pass it to Boyer.

So Rancho Santiago had Glenn Greene, all six feet and 165 pounds of him, cover Boyer, an opportunity Saddleback couldn’t pass up. Once the ball went into the low post, Greene fouled Boyer, sending him to the line. He made one of two and finished six of 12 in the game, as Saddleback hung on to win, 63-59.

But struggling with free throws is hardly new for Boyer. He made only 51% (63 for 124) as a freshman.

Besides free throws, Boyer has also spent time working to improve his on-court attitude, an aspect of his game he freely admits has gotten him into trouble at times with teammates, opponents and referees.

“He’s a super kid off the court,” Saddleback Coach Bill Brummel said. “But not everyone knows that because of what he does on the court sometimes, and that’s too bad.”

Boyer has had a reputation as a hothead since high school. Boyer didn’t play organized basketball until his sophomore season, but as a senior, he helped El Camino to a San Diego Section title.

Boyer signed a letter to attend Lamar University in Beaumont, Tex., but after a coaching change there, he said he didn’t feel right about going. Instead, he looked up the road and selected Saddleback.

As a freshman, he averaged 11 points and seven rebounds and had 95 blocks in 29 games. Boyer was an all-Orange Empire Conference pick as well.

He spent his summer going to basketball camps and it was at one in Bakersfield where he played very well and drew the increased attention of Irvine, as well as DePaul.

“He’s got a chance to get paid when this is all over and done with,” Irvine Coach Rod Baker said. “He’s a big kid with a soft touch. He can block shots and keep it inbounds. He rebounds the ball, and he likes rebounding the ball.”

After signing with UC Irvine last fall, Boyer and Saddleback got off to a horrible start. The Gauchos, picked as the conference favorite by many, lost their first four games.

The only starters back were Boyer and guard Ray Ankton, who were high school teammates and now room together.

The lowest point of the early season was a 102-57 drubbing against Cerritos in the second game. Saddleback came back to beat Cerritos, 75-73, a month after losing to the Falcons, currently the top-ranked team in the state.

Saddleback (11-8, 2-1 in conference) and Boyer have both improved in the past month. The Gauchos went on a six-game winning streak and have won eight of their past nine.

“The first four games, we weren’t playing together as a team,” Boyer said. “I had to adjust. . . . Since then, I’ve learned how the offense can benefit me and things are going much better.”