Bouncing Back for Rustlers

Mark Johnson of Golden West College had been through a year of Orange Empire Conference basketball before this season.

But it was strictly in a bit part at Fullerton College during the 1989-90 season.

He left no real impression and is largely unremembered. At the time, he was 6 feet 4 and maybe 190 pounds. Even Johnson is quick to dismiss the season he spent at Fullerton as little more than a learning experience. It showed him he had to be stronger if he wanted to survive, let alone excel, as an inside player.

There was one incident in practice he remembers that benefited him greatly. He was guarding Fullerton’s all-conference forward Rashone Lewis, a 6-6, 220-pound transfer from Cal State Fullerton.

Johnson had stolen the ball from Lewis once and was getting ready to try again. This time, Lewis put a strong forearm to Johnson’s chin, moving him away with ease.

“It was all right there,” Johnson said. “I knew I had to be stronger to play well.”

Johnson decided to look elsewhere to continue to play, and left Fullerton after the season. He liked Golden West’s wide-open style and spent last season as a redshirt for the Rustlers.

He used the time in the typical ways--watching, learning and lifting.

Johnson also grew to 6-6 and added almost 25 pounds of muscle. It’s no surprise it has made a major change in his game.

“I was soft in high school (Cypress) and my first year of college,” he said. “My shot was even sort of a fall-away. Now, I love to bang inside and I take it right at the hoop. It’s a lot more fun.”

Johnson is having an outstanding season for Golden West (14-16, 5-5 in conference). The Rustlers are in a three-way tie for third place with Cypress and Riverside, a half-game out of second.

Johnson has become one of the most consistent players in the conference. He leads Golden West in scoring average at 18.7 and in rebounds at 9.4. He has been the team’s high scorer in 11 games, including a career-high 31-point performance Jan. 22 against Riverside.

“If you look at him, you can see that he is getting a lot out of what he has,” Golden West Coach Jim Greenfield said. “He has worked hard.”

See Across the Sea: Roger See, the Fullerton men’s basketball coach, is preparing to leave for a three-month teaching appointment in Cambridge, England.

See’s last game will be Wednesday when Fullerton travels to Rancho Santiago. He, his wife Susan and daughter Allison leave for England Thursday.

See will miss Fullerton’s final regular-season game Saturday at home against Riverside, and any postseason play if Fullerton gets an at-large berth when the 32-team Southern California Regional pairings are announced Feb. 24.

Assistants Gary Larson and Walt Simon will run the team in his absence.

See will be teaching the history of the United States and England to 24 students from Cypress and Fullerton colleges taking part in a semester abroad program.

Title Clash: While the men’s basketball title banner is safely in the hands of Rancho Santiago and Coach Dana Pagett, the women’s title won’t be decided until Friday night when Saddleback travels to Golden West.

Saddleback (25-4, 8-1 in conference) holds a half-game lead and is idle Wednesday when Golden West (23-5, 7-1) plays host to Cypress (6-19, 0-8).

Saddleback, coached by Jack Single, is ranked fourth in the state and second in Southern California. Golden West, coached by Dick Stricklin and his son Dave, is ranked fifth and third in the same polls.

Saddleback won the first meeting, 77-74, in late January. In that game, the Gauchos pressed well, preventing Golden West, the two-time defending state champion, from getting into its running game.

Sophomore guards Danielle Silva (18 points) and Stefanie Moorman (15) were Saddleback’s leading scorers in that game. Moorman leads the team in scoring at 15.2 and Silva is second at 15.1.

Golden West’s leading scorer is sophomore forward Jennifer Harney (17.1). She was held to five points in the loss.

Coaching Update: At Rancho Santiago, Myrond Brown will return to revive the dormant women’s basketball program and Alex Hernandez is back with the football program as the defensive backs coach.

Brown stepped down as coach after the 1990-91 season and was replaced by Deni Christensen. But the Dons failed to have enough players to compete, and folded before the start of the season.

Henderson was at Rancho Santiago from 1985-89 before he became the head coach at Rio Hondo College. His teams were 2-18 in two seasons and he resigned Jan. 15 amid speculation that the college would be dropping football. The college has since decided to keep the program.