Cal Hands New Coach Easy Win Over CSUN

Although it is difficult to be positively positive, Todd Bozeman, California’s basketball coach since Monday, at the very least approached a record for repetitiousness as he answered questions before the Golden Bears’ nonconference game Wednesday against Cal State Northridge.

His immediate goals? Stay positive and create a positive atmosphere for the players, the 29-year-old former Golden Bear assistant said.

And what of Lou Campanelli, the man who had hired him as an assistant three years ago and whose place he was now taking? Had the Cal administration treated him fairly, firing him with 10 games left in the regular season?

A difficult situation, Bozeman conceded. But really, he would rather focus on the positive.

And so it went, in newspaper interviews and on radio talk shows, right up until game time.

At that point, the Cal players took over and provided Bozeman with nothing but more positive things to talk about. The Golden Bears easily dispatched Northridge, 92-68, before 6,578 in Harmon Arena.

Cal (11-7) snapped a three-game losing streak and everyone but Brian Hendrick got into the act. All 13 Golden Bear players in uniform scored.

Hendrick, Cal’s senior center, was in street clothes, resting a sore right Achilles’ heel.

He wasn’t needed. Cal forward Alfred Grigsby set the tone on the Golden Bears’ first time down the floor, tossing down a thunderous dunk. Only 7 minutes 20 seconds into the game, Cal had a 17-2 lead and Bozeman--this guy gets into the act quickly--had substituted in an entirely new lineup.

So what did the Cal players think of their new head man?

“He’s been really positive with everything that’s going on,” point guard Jason Kidd said. “He’s just been positive.”

Kidd wasn’t kidding.

As for Campanelli, who brought a struggling Cal program back to respectability in his seven-plus seasons, Kidd said he wasn’t too surprised, or upset, that he was gone.

“I felt we were in an airplane and it was on fire and we were about ready to crash and burn,” Kidd said.

Northridge (8-13), which lost for the 11th time in 13 road games, can relate.

“They’re big, and they’re good,” Northridge point guard Andre Chevalier said. “This is the first time this season I feel we’ve been outplayed to where we didn’t have a chance right from the start. They put it on us, and they put it on us early.

Cal tied a school record by blocking 11 of the Matadors’ shots. Stevie Johnson tied a Golden Bear individual record by swatting five in only 19 minutes.

“They took absolutely everything away from us,” Northridge Coach Pete Cassidy said. “They just dominated us.”

Northridge center Peter Micelli, who scored two points and made only one of nine field-goal attempts, called Cal the best team he had played against in three years. “They were definitely playing on emotion, and they didn’t let up for a minute,” he said.

Bozeman was pleased that his team was able to “stay focused” despite the distractions--including the resignation of seven-year assistant Jeff Wulbrun earlier in the day. “I was concerned for the guys before the game because it has been a tough week for them,” Bozeman said. “I was worried that all the emotion would wear them out.”

Akili Jones scored a personal-high 14 points to lead Cal. Johnson, Grigsby and Lamond Murray each had 10. Grigsby and Murray each had eight rebounds, leading a 49-28 Cal rebounding edge.