Northridge Basketball Season Peppered With Positives Despite Losing Record

His contract is up, and only a day earlier in the season finale his team had suffered its most lopsided loss of a losing campaign. Even so, Wednesday was a good day for Pete Cassidy, Cal State Northridge men’s basketball coach.

Cassidy, who guided the Matadors to a record of 10-17 in his 22nd season as coach, received a vote of confidence from Bob Hiegert, Northridge’s athletic director.

“I thought he did an excellent job, especially in light of the problems there were before the season,” Hiegert said.

Those “problems” included the loss of three key front-court recruits for reasons ranging from injury to academic ineligibility. The Matadors also were struck by the departure of Percy Fisher, a three-year letterman who quit the team ostensibly to concentrate on academics.

With only three exceptions--a 24-point loss at Cal, a 25-point loss at Southern Utah and a 31-point loss Tuesday at the University of San Diego--Northridge was competitive against taller and more talented teams.

The Matadors stayed even with UCLA until dropping a seven-point decision in the final minutes, and they slowed Missouri’s potent offense to a crawl in an 11-point loss.

“Through tenacity, there were some games we won we weren’t expected to, and several others became battles,” Cassidy said. “The effort was there for the most part. That part I liked a lot. As far as execution, we still have a lot of room for improvement.”

Among the three seniors, only James Morris, a 5-foot-8 guard, was a starter. Cassidy said he will concentrate his recruiting efforts on finding front-line size and a player who can score from the wing position.

An 81-78 upset of Cal State Long Beach on Saturday should help impress prospects. Several Northridge recruits attended that game, though Cassidy said he doubted the Matadors’ inspiring performance will have a decisive impact on anyone’s college choice.

“Kids today are sophisticated,” Cassidy said. “They don’t just jump on the bandwagon like that. But I am hoping that maybe it helped us become more of an option.”

Cassidy immediately turned his attention to recruiting Wednesday after returning to Northridge from San Diego. He said he is not concerned with his contract situation, even in light of the recent firings of such successful coaches as Cal’s Lou Campanelli and Nevada’s Len Stevens.

“You look at those guys and it’s natural for someone to look at me, with 10 wins, and think, ‘He’s probably in trouble,’ ” Cassidy said. “But I like to think our people here know what is going on in the real world and realize a little of what we’re up against.”

Hiegert said he will begin an evaluation process with Cassidy in mid-March and probably will forward a recommendation in April on the coach’s future to Ron Kopita, vice president for student affairs.

In past years, Cassidy, football Coach Bob Burt, baseball Coach Bill Kernen, swimming Coach Pete Accardy, track and field Coach Don Strametz and softball Coach Gary Torgeson have had their multi-year contracts extended on a yearly basis.

However, knowing that a new school president and vice president would be in place this academic year, athletic officials have not extended any coach’s contract during the past year, Hiegert said.