New Regime, Same Results for the Aztecs : Basketball: Wyoming rolls to 92-66 victory over SDSU in debut of interim coach Jim Harrick Jr.

His telephone has been ringing off the hook, messages have been arriving both here and in the San Diego State basketball offices, and still . . .

Jim Harrick Jr. has never felt more alone in his life.

He walked onto the Arena-Auditorium court and took center stage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday as the newly appointed captain of the Titanic. A couple of hours later, San Diego State was routed by Wyoming, 92-66, in Harrick’s debut as the Aztec interim coach.

“It’s been very lonely,” Harrick said Thursday afternoon. “Everyone says, ‘Leave him alone; he needs his space.’ How can you say that?

“No way. I’m a guy who is always around people. Talk to me; don’t leave me alone. You never treated me like that before. I’m the same old guy.”

Or same young guy. At 27, he became the youngest Division I coach in the nation Tuesday and is working the rest of the season with only one assistant--volunteer coach Steve Harris.

They got off to a rough start. The Aztecs (2-20, 0-10), while losing their 15th consecutive game, were nervous early against Wyoming, getting down 11-1 and trailing by 20, 33-13, only 12 minutes into the game. In the second half, they never got closer than 15.

“Hey, if we come in here and get beat by 50, we get beat by 50,” Harrick said. “I’m here to try to make this a positive experience. I think our guys were too excited. I think they thought they would have a big turnaround, and you don’t make a turnaround like that in one day.”

With Nelson Stewart sick with the flu, SDSU didn’t have anyone to match up with Reggie Slater, who had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Wyoming (12-10, 4-6). SDSU was out-rebounded, 46-25, and was beaten back-door several times by Wyoming’s front line.

Terrence Hamilton led SDSU with 14 points, but the Harrick Era got off to a rocky start.

Lonely? In a lot of ways, yes. In other ways, no.

There was a bouquet of red and black balloons waiting for Harrick when the SDSU basketball team arrived at its hotel here Wednesday. A little good luck wish from Sandy Bressler, the agent for Jack Nicholson.

Yeah, that Jack Nicholson.

“(Bressler) is a long-time family friend and a big UCLA fan,” Harrick explained. “I called him back to thank him and he said, ‘If you need any help, let me know. I’ve got three guys here who could help you out--Magic Johnson, Norm Nixon and (former UCLA guard) Rod Foster.’ ”

Harrick laughed.

“I said, “That might be a little high-profile for me.’ I told him, ‘If you can do that, can you get Nicholson? We’ll get him a front-row seat--but only if he wears his shades.”’

Bressler laughed.

Harrick has received good luck telephone calls from Roger Reid, Brigham Young coach; Tom Asbury, Pepperdine coach; Rod Baker, UC Irvine coach; Mark Gottfried and Steve Lavin, who are assistants to Jim Harrick Sr. at UCLA . . . the list goes on.

“The response I’ve gotten from family and friends, the overwhelming support of love, it’s been incredibly uplifting,” Harrick said.

There has also been hurt. He said he feels badly about getting his opportunity under these circumstances. And he said he felt worse when he heard Wyoming Coach Benny Dee’s comments Wednesday night.

“I read where (Harrick) said, and I hope I get this right, that he was going to do it with sugar instead of vinegar,” Dees said. “You know, (Brandenburg) is gone. At least you could have enough class not to knock him.”

Said Harrick: “That hurt. I think Benny Dees is a great coach, and he obviously misunderstood my comments. I was really hurt.

“You don’t think words will ever hurt you until you get in the position I am in and one of your peers blasts you.”

One thing Harrick hasn’t been this week is tentative. The team’s black shoes, banished by Brandenburg in November, have returned. Harrick has written a letter to the Daily Aztec, the SDSU student newspaper, asking for the students’ support during the last three home games. He has had a student manager make flyers and post them up around campus, and he intends to borrow one of football coach Al Luginbill’s ideas and personally solicit support from each fraternity and sorority on campus.

He also has asked Fred Miller, SDSU athletic director, if the Aztecs could play their last three home games on campus in Peterson Gym, but Miller said they were committed to the San Diego Sports Arena. Contracts, you know.

And, Harrick has instituted a one-hour study hall every day the Aztecs are on the road. It has been at least three years since any Aztec has been seen carrying a textbook on the road.

“And no headphones or hats on the plane,” Harrick said. “They are to be reading, or at least have a book out.”

One of the first things he did after taking over was to make a few telephone calls himself. He wanted to get in touch with each player’s parents.

“I wanted to make sure the parents were stable and that they knew their kids will be taken care of,” Harrick said. “And that it would be in their best interests to stay at San Diego State.”

It has been a week Harrick will never forget--although it was a game he would like to forget.

“Walking into that press conference (Tuesday),” Harrick said, “Being as nervous as I’ve ever been before in my life, thinking, ‘This is not really happening . . .’ ”

“This is like a fairy tale.”