Aztecs Fire Brandenburg, Name Jim Harrick Jr. : College basketball: Son of UCLA coach inherits team with 2-19 record and 14-game losing streak on interim basis.

Jim Brandenburg, who watched an already cracking San Diego State basketball program crumble this winter, was fired Tuesday as Aztec coach.

Fred Miller, San Diego State athletic director, made the announcement late Tuesday afternoon at a crowded news conference in Peterson Gym before several players and members of the Aztec athletic department. Miller named Jim Harrick Jr., who had been a part-time assistant coach under Brandenburg, as the interim coach.

Harrick, 27, the son of UCLA Coach Jim Harrick, will take the team to Laramie, Wyo., today for a Thursday game against Wyoming. He becomes the youngest Division I coach in the nation, replacing Niagara’s Jack Armstrong, who is 29.

San Diego State assistant coaches Jimmy Williams and Greg Graham, who were in their third seasons under Brandenburg, also were dismissed.

“It was time to go ahead and make a change,” Miller said. “It was time. . . .

“We’re 2-19. It was painful for Jim (Brandenburg), it was painful for our team and it was painful for our town. At that point comes the time to make a change.

“The program was in its fifth year, and it was not productive. I think that’s a fair shot. That’s the nature of our business. It’s harsh.”

Brandenburg, 56, who has a record of 267-200 for his career but was 52-87 at San Diego State, never had a losing season before coming to the Aztecs but has not had a winning season since. He was three-time Western Athletic Conference coach of the year while at Wyoming and Big Sky Conference coach of the year once at Montana.

He was told of the decision Monday night by Miller and John Wadas, an associate athletic director who works with the basketball program.

Brandenburg refused to comment when approached by a reporter Tuesday afternoon at the San Diego State basketball offices.

“Get out of my face,” he said. “Get out of my face.”

A two-sentence press release issued by the school said Brandenburg will be “reassigned to other duties within the department to be determined at a mutually acceptable date.”

Brandenburg broke the news to the team in a 10-minute meeting Tuesday afternoon before the news conference. Miller and Wadas talked with the players in a separate meeting, and Harrick had his own meeting with the team.

“It’s a tough position to take over,” Harrick said. “I’m deeply saddened by what’s gone on with Jim Brandenburg, but in the same breath, I’m very excited for the opportunity. . . . I don’t want to guarantee anything or promise anything, but I’ve asked our guys to play hard and I think they will.”

The Aztecs, who have seven games remaining, are closing in on the worst San Diego State start ever, 2-23 in the 1986-87 season. They are riding a 14-game losing streak, three short of tying the school record.

Brandenburg has two seasons remaining on his contract and receives a base salary of $70,266. Extras such as radio and television contracts increased that to well over $100,000 annually, although with Tuesday’s decision, the school will be responsible for only Brandenburg’s base salary over the next two years.