At Irvine Valley, Mulligan Wants Court to Call Home

Just the mention that Bill Mulligan had been pegged as the man to start the Irvine Valley men’s basketball program sent a shudder through the Orange Empire Conference coaches.

Publicly, several coaches wished Mulligan the best but there was also plenty of behind-the-scenes grumbling.

Rumors flew that Mulligan, who coached at Saddleback College from 1975-80 and then at UC Irvine until he retired after the 1990-91 season, would be stocked with several out-of-state players compliments of his Division I coaching friends.

But for Mulligan and his staff, which includes his son Brian, the reality has been much closer to home.

The fears of out-of-state superstars dominating the Lasers’ roster never came to pass; 11 of the 13 players on the team are from Orange County. The biggest obstacle thus far for Irvine Valley (11-9, 2-2 in conference) has been finding a place to practice.

While the other Orange County teams have on-campus gyms, Irvine Valley’s players can only walk by an on-campus construction site that is scheduled to be a completed facility next fall.

During September and October, Irvine Valley worked out at Laguna Hills High School, which is about 10 miles from the college.

But when Laguna Hills needed its gym for boys’ and girls’ basketball and wrestling, the Lasers began a nomadic existence.

Practice times and sites have varied. Some have started at 9 a.m., and some at 9 p.m. at Laguna Hills, Capistrano Valley and Mater Dei high schools, and even in a church gym or two.

“Luckily, we have nice kids,” Mulligan said. “They are always there and never late. We give them a (practice schedule), but sometimes you’ll show up and there will a wrestling match or something like that you didn’t know about . . . But I knew that would be part of it when I took the job.”

Irvine Valley played its “home opener” Jan. 6 at Capistrano Valley High School, but even that didn’t go as smoothly as expected. The 8 p.m. start was delayed almost a half hour because a lower-level game between Capistrano Valley and Estancia went long.

The only home games Irvine Valley has scheduled this season are seven Orange Empire Conference games--four at Laguna Hills and three at Capistrano Valley. But Riverside College might be the closest thing the Lasers have to a home court.

Irvine Valley has played in two tournaments and a conference game at Riverside--a total of seven games.

The focus of the Orange Empire Conference men’s race turns to Saddleback on Wednesday. The Gauchos (15-6) play host to Riverside (17-6) in a game that features two of the three teams tied for first with 3-1 records.

Rancho Santiago (14-7, 3-1) plays host to Golden West (9-12, 2-2), which won twice last week. Cypress (17-6, 2-2) plays Irvine Valley (11-9, 2-2) at Laguna Hills High and Orange Coast (4-14, 1-3) travels to Fullerton (11-11, 0-4), which is still seeking its first conference victory. All games are at 7 p.m.

Coaches have talked a great deal this season about the importance of winning at home, but so far there has been little of that.

Visitors hold an 11-5 advantage in the first 16 games.

The key game for the women this week will be on Friday at Golden West, where the Rustlers play host to Riverside.

Golden West (23-2, 3-0) and Riverside (17-6, 3-0) are expected to win Wednesday before Friday’s 7 p.m. game.

Golden West plays host to Rancho Santiago (4-13, 0-4), and Saddleback (4-11, 1-3) is at Riverside Wednesday. Fullerton (12-12, 2-2) is at Orange Coast (18-3, 2-1) Wednesday. All games are at 7 p.m.

Fullerton College has promoted Gina Bevec, 27, from assistant track and field coach to the school’s first head coach for women’s track and field, effective Wednesday.

Jim Keifer, men’s athletic director and track and field coach, had previously handled both programs.

Bevec, a Katella graduate, competed in shotput and discus for Fullerton, reaching the State finals in discus in 1985.

She is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton, earning a master’s from Azusa Pacific.

Community College Notes

Irvine Valley scored only 78 points in its victory over OCC Friday, but remained the top-scoring team in the Orange Empire Conference. The Lasers are averaging 98.5, Riverside (93.5) is second and Rancho Santiago (88.7) third. Saddleback is allowing 66.7 points, fewest in the conference. Cypress (69) is second. . . . Riverside’s Lou Williams (25-point average) and Irvine Valley’s Chris Kostoff (24) are the top two scorers.