UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : Anteaters Having Bad-Dream Season

Great expectations have turned into little nightmares for Rod Baker. The UC Irvine coach has watched--mostly in quiet desperation--as the Anteaters have evolved into a team that’s just good enough to lose the close ones.

Most Big West coaches thought it would be the other way around. Irvine had good athletes and experience, they said, and the Anteaters were sixth in the preseason coaches’ poll.

Some coaches still haven’t lost the faith. Pacific Coach Bob Thomason calls Irvine “the best five-win team in the country.”

As labels go, that one doesn’t have an especially nice ring to it.

Irvine, 5-13, is 2-8 and ahead of only Cal State Fullerton (2-9) in the Big West. Irvine has lost twice in overtime and a couple more by a basket, but there isn’t a column in the standing for valiant efforts.

Baker’s teams won a total of 13 games in his first two seasons, but it was supposed to be different this time around. And when the Anteaters surprised Iowa, a team that had just lost to Duke by only three points, they were 3-4 and brimming with confidence.

“When we beat Iowa, we thought we had taken it to another level,” center DeForrest Boyer said. “We thought we could maintain that level the whole season, but almost the opposite has happened.

“It’s been disappointing and it’s been frustrating. But I will say this, so far, it’s mainly made us mad to the point where we want to go out and play even harder the next time.”

For his part, Baker has no simple answers or grand plans.

“I’d like to be amusing, have some kind of quip,” he said, “but it comes down to making the plays when it counts. We’re at that point where making a play or two makes the difference.”

Maybe the wheels haven’t fallen off yet, but can Baker find a lug wrench before next month’s Big West tournament?

With more than half the conference season over, let’s consider some of the possible reasons for the Anteaters’ fall from a chance at grace . . .

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Oh Fudge: The Anteaters are living, but too often eventually dying, with the play of senior point guard Lloyd Mumford. Mumford is sometimes spectacular, but too often on the outskirts of control. Nobody--and unfortunately this includes his teammates--knows what will happen next.

“He’s by far the best guard I’ve ever played against,” Santa Barbara junior Clayton Madden said. “Before the game, he came up and told me it was going to be his night and I felt like I really had to step up or be embarrassed.”

Mumford, who had scored 31 points two days before against Long Beach State, made five of 12 field goals and 12 of 15 free throws to score 22 points. But he missed a short shot at the end of regulation that would have won the game.

“At certain points, it seems like everyone is waiting for someone else to step up and do the scoring and Lloyd is usually the guy,” Boyer said.

Mumford hasn’t been the guy during the last two games, however. He managed a total of eight points, making only two of 12 field goals.

“If we get another (bad game) from him, I might be more concerned,” Baker said. “After Long Beach, teams have probably stepped up and said, ‘We can’t let him in the lane.’ His foot hurts and his thumb hurts, but I’m not making any excuses. He sucked this weekend.”

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Help not wanted: A few tips on how Mumford could help his team win:

--Stop throwing no-look bullet passes to post players who are running full speed and might not catch the ball if they were standing still and knew it was coming.

--Use his quickness to create scoring opportunities for teammates. If you drive and then pass it to Chris Brown--who made a school-record 10 three-pointers against Pacific Saturday--Brown would have a lot more open shots.

--And don’t try to do it alone. Those spinning, acrobatic drives are fun to watch, but, so far, they haven’t translated into many wins.

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Throw furniture: Baker has cut loose with one postgame tirade this year, but he usually remains reserved and cool. Maybe too cool.

After back-to-back overtime losses, he said, “It’s a lot easier to put a positive spin on things when you play well and things just don’t work out,” and “As long as they don’t quit, I have no reason to be discouraged.”

Asked again Monday if he was discouraged by two more losses, he said, “No, but I’ll be glad when that’s not a viable question anymore.”

Is this too close to saying you’re satisfied with well-played losses?

Is this sending the right message?

Baker’s reaction to his team’s sixth consecutive loss?

“I ate a whole pizza . . . in anger,” he said.

Anteater Notes

The women’s volleyball team signed middle blockers Diana Juth, 6-2 from Chino Ayala High, and Amy Pimental, 6-1 from Bret Harte High, to letters of intent, Coach Mike Puritz announced Tuesday.