In Post-Meek Era, San Pasqual Rebuilds With Hard Work : Basketball: Buck’s program is in a transition year after losing 11 seniors, including his 6-10 center.

San Pasqual Coach Tom Buck was addressing his basketball team after last year’s second-round loss to Tustin in the state tournament when the finality of the moment hit him.

“I kind of broke down,” Buck said. “I was talking to the 11 seniors and I realized that most of the kids had been together since the eighth grade and this was the last time they would all be together. It was a tough moment.”

But it was made tougher for Buck knowing that 6-foot-10 Erik Meek was one of those 11 seniors.

Buck knew his run was over for now, and maybe forever. He understood that San Pasqual was not a Poway, Torrey Pines or El Camino--talent would not just suddenly appear on his doorstep. No, Buck understood that he would have to return to being a normal high school coach with average talent.

No longer would his students ask him by how much the team was going to win or if they could get a ticket. He would no longer find five or six reporters waiting outside the locker room after every game waiting to hear his words of wisdom. Fans inside San Pasqual’s jam-packed gym would no longer scream for more dunks; instead, they would have to be happy with 20-foot jump shots and scrappy defense.

Meek, arguably one of the best high school basketball players in San Diego County history, was off to Duke, and Buck knew things would never be the same.

“I have not looked at other programs, but what he did for our basketball program in four years, I would think would be very hard to match for one person,” Buck said.

In 1986, the year before Meek arrived on San Pasqual’s campus, the Eagles were 2-22--the worst record in the county. The first season for Meek and Buck was not much of an improvement. The Eagles went only 4-18. But after Meek averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds a game that first year, Buck and every coach in the county knew San Pasqual was through with 4-18 seasons.

San Pasqual was 13-12 the next year, then 20-7 and 20-8 the following two seasons. Meek capped his career by being named Times player of the year and by leading San Pasqual to its first Section basketball title.

“I remember telling my assistants after the game, ‘No matter what happens the rest of the way, we won the CIF championship,’ ” Buck said. “Nobody can ever take that away from us.”

But Buck said was already getting reminded toward the end of last season of what the future might be like.

“An official said to me, ‘In another couple months, you’re going to have to learn how to coach again,’ ” he said.

But Buck said he almost expected those kinds of comments.

“I knew we were not going to get credit for winning,” he said. “I told my assistants, if we were going to worry about how much credit we got, we wouldn’t enjoy winning.”

Some of Buck’s peers agreed that the coach wasn’t given his due.

“I don’t think Tom was given nearly the credit he deserved for winning the CIF championship,” Rancho Bernardo Coach Chris Carter said. “He had a big star for four years and he had to get everyone else to blend into that environment.

“I’m not saying I wouldn’t have liked the opportunity to do that, but it wasn’t as easy as people make it look. He still had to win and he looked good doing it. Now that Meek is gone, I think Tom has something to prove.”

San Pasqual has taken its lumps, 6-10 overall and 3-2 in the Avocado League, but it hasn’t regressed as much as some predicted. With only one starter returning, guard David Durst, and 6-2 Shane Carlson replacing Meek in the middle, Buck knew he would have to lower his expectations considerably.

“The smallest things used to upset me last year,” Buck said. “But this year, I overlook a lot.”

Junior guard Ernie Silva, the team’s second leading scorer at 13 points a game, has noticed.

“He’s a lot calmer this year,” Silva said. “He used to go crazy on the sidelines last year.”

With no threat in the middle, Buck has gone to more of an up-tempo game. He has also tried a spread offense that allows his smaller players to take advantage of their quickness. Sometimes it works, sometimes it bombs. Nothing worked against second-place El Camino Wednesday night, and the Eagles were routed at home, 72-36.

Rancho Bernardo, tied for second with El Camino at 4-1, trounced San Pasqual by 32 last week. The Eagles play first-place Carlsbad (11-6, 5-0) on Wednesday.

It hasn’t been easy, but Buck has grown to accept that his center is not going to bail him out anymore by scoring 30 points and grabbing 14 rebounds every night.

“When things went bad, Erik was always there for us,” Buck said. “Things come so much harder for Shane. He averages nine points and 10 rebounds, and every rebound he gets is exciting to him.”

Durst said nothing was more exciting to Buck than San Pasqual’s first victory of the season, a 54-45 victory over La Quinta in the third game.

“Coach said after the game, ‘Don’t take this wrong, I loved winning the CIF game, but this first victory means just about as much or more than winning the CIF,’ ” Durst said. “We’ve had to work so much harder this year. Our practices are three times harder. The way we have to win now is to leave everything on the floor. Coach says, ‘Don’t go back in the showers and with any energy left.’ ”

Durst has probably felt the loss of Meek more than anyone other than Buck. Durst broke San Pasqual’s season record for three-pointers largely because of Meek. With three and sometimes four players packed around Meek in the lane, Durst usually had time to set up and shoot. But this year, teams are playing San Pasqual man-to-man and Durst almost always has a hand in his face.

“Things have come so much harder for him,” Buck said. “It took him a while to adjust. It’s been harder on him than anybody else. He doesn’t have the confidence of knowing that if he misses, the big guy is going to get the ball.”

Durst is San Pasqual’s leading scorer at 15 points a game, but his points have come more often off the dribble than jumpers. This summer, Durst got a sneak preview of what this year might be like without Meek to lean on.

“We had six or seven guys showing up at games and I was trying to score 30 points a game,” Durst said. “I always thought it was easy because Meek was scoring 28, 30 points and I found out it was real hard. I said, ‘If this year’s going to be like this, it’s going to be real hard.’ ”

But Durst said the team has missed more than Meek’s presence on the court.

“He was our vocal leader,” Durst said. “He was the guy who would pull everybody together. I’ve tried to do that, but some nights it’s just not there. We miss him on those nights”

But not everybody misses him. El Camino Coach Ray Johnson faced Meek 11 times in four seasons.

“I just got tired of seeing him,” Johnson said. “It seemed like he was there 10 years. We played him so much, I thought he was on my team.”

Johnson said there were plenty of coaches celebrating Meek’s departure.

“I believe there’s a lot of people that were aching to get back at them,” Johnson said. “But there’s a lot of people who have been disappointed.”

Said Silva: “A lot people thought they were just going to come in here thinking they’re going to wipe the floor with us. But we come out here and really play hard and don’t give up.”

So life goes on without Erik Meek. And Durst said, in some respects, it’s better.

“It’s been really neat,” he said. “There’s not all the hype that there was last year. But it’s been more fun. Someone different is stepping up every night.”