A Youth Movement at Cal Poly Pomona : Basketball preview: Kevin Patterson, 32, who was an assistant to Dave Bollwinkel for five seasons, takes over as Bronco coach.

As a basketball player and young assistant coach, Kevin Patterson probably heard the refrain from elder mentors at least a thousand times.

Be prepared.

The advice served Patterson well in September when Dave Bollwinkel, the men’s basketball coach at NCAA Division II Cal Poly Pomona, left to become an assistant at Division I Dayton University the day before classes began at Pomona.

Pomona administrators wasted no time turning to Patterson, 32, who had been an assistant under Bollwinkel for five seasons. And Patterson, a former all-league player at San Dimas High, had no time to waste in preparing the Broncos for their season.

Early indications are that Patterson has made a smooth transition to the head coaching position, although his status is officially described as interim. Last weekend, Pomona opened the season by winning its own tournament.

The Broncos travel to San Diego State Dec. 4 as part of their nonconference schedule in preparation for California Collegiate Athletic Assn. play.

“I wouldn’t have been ready to take over, especially that suddenly, if Coach Bollwinkel had not allowed me to take more and more responsibility each year for recruiting, budgeting, scheduling and other things like that,” Patterson said. “I use my own situation as an example with my players, especially those on the fringe of the playing group. You have to be ready at any time.”

Patterson, who was a varsity assistant at Diamond Bar High before he came to Pomona as a graduate assistant in 1987, said the Broncos will stay with the up-tempo style that has characterized the team the past few years.

Patterson is hoping that experienced players such as senior guard D.J. Norman will mix well with newcomers such as junior forward Curtis Bell, and that the Broncos will improve upon last season’s 15-13 record and 7-7 finish in the CCAA.

Other returning players include junior point guard Eric Jones, who was the most valuable player of the Pomona tournament, 6-8 senior John Overback and 6-7 senior Russ May. Bell, a 6-7 transfer from Santa Rosa Community College, is joined by other newcomers such as 6-7 junior Matt Mitchell and 6-3 junior Tim Cage.

“We’ll play nine to 11 guys,” Patterson said. “We’re going to sustain some minor injuries, hopefully no major ones, so our depth is going to be a key.”

At Azusa Pacific, second-year Coach Bill Odell has a team that is favored to win the Golden State Athletic Conference and the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletic’s District 3.

The Cougars were a surprising 17-14 and a District 3 quarterfinalist last season, but they won’t be sneaking up on anyone this season. Azusa Pacific defeated ninth-ranked Hawaii Pacific in its opener and then defeated Cal State Stanislaus. The Cougars play the Master’s College on Saturday.

Azusa Pacific has four returning starters and six new players. Senior guard Earick Peters was selected to the all-district team last season after he averaged 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Cougars. Junior guard Scott Day averaged 16 points and five assists and led the nation by making 93 of 100 free throws.

Dele Aribigbola, a senior front-court player from Nigeria, averaged 14.5 points and 7.7 rebounds last season, and senior forward David Walker averaged 12 points.

Ronnie Winbush, a 6-8 junior transfer from Cal State Long Beach, is Azusa Pacific’s top newcomer. Other transfers include 6-8 Bob Terry (Fullerton CC), 6-8 Paul White (Cerritos) and 6-1 Derryck Thornton (Liberty University).

Claremont College Coach David Wells began his 19th season hoping to find a combination of players that could make up for the loss of Chris Greene, a 6-6 Division III All-American who averaged 23 points a game last season.

Without Greene and Dominic Nappi, who led the team in rebounding, the Stags might be hard-pressed to improve upon last season’s 16-9 and 9-5 record in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Ryan McKee, a senior guard who graduated from Pasadena Poly High, averaged 13.8 points last season. He scored 16 points in the Stags’ season-opening victory over Swarthmore and had 11 in a defeat to Williams at a tournament in Philadelphia.

Chris Fosse, a junior forward, averaged 9.4 points and four rebounds last season for Claremont, which also features 6-7 junior Ethan Morgan and 6-7 Dave Kocen.

Pomona Pitzer, under sixth-year Coach Charlie Katsiaficas, opened its season by winning the Menlo tournament last weekend. Phil Kelly, a transfer from West Valley Community College in Northern California, scored 21 points in a victory over Menlo and 17 against UC Santa Cruz.

Junior forward Bill Cover averaged 15 points last season and senior forward Brian Christensen averaged 10. Mike Budenholzer is back for his final year of eligibility after missing last season because he was studying overseas. Budenholzer averaged 11.5 points a game in 1990-91.