COLLEGE BASKETBALL : NCAA POSTSEASON TOURNAMENTS : Lopez Measures Up : Men’s Midwest Regional: Pepperdine star’s small stature does not stop him having a big impact.

Tom Asbury, Pepperdine basketball coach, often wonders what kind of player Damin Lopez would be if he were a little bigger than 5 feet 9 and 150 pounds.

Then again, if Lopez were much taller, he probably wouldn’t be playing for the Waves.

“If he was a 6-3 kid, he’d probably be playing for Kentucky and I would have only seen him on television,” Asbury said. “I also know that if they hadn’t had a coaching change at Arizona State, he might be playing there.”

As a senior at Apollo High in Glendale, Ariz., in 1989, Lopez considered attending nearby Arizona State. Then the Sun Devils hired Bill Frieder, and Frieder’s style of play didn’t suit Lopez.

So he opted for Pepperdine, where he has prospered. After his first year as a redshirt, Lopez has helped lead the Waves to four consecutive postseason berths.

Lopez, 23, will make his third and final appearance in the NCAA tournament when the 14th-seeded Waves (19-10) play third-seeded Michigan (21-7) in the first round of the Midwest Regional today in the Kansas Coliseum.

Pepperdine is not expected to challenge the Wolverines, who have reached the NCAA championship game two consecutive seasons.

But Lopez isn’t giving up hope. Not after Pepperdine has come this far.

With four starters returning from a team that finished 23-8 and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament, the Waves had high hopes.

But the team struggled early in the season. Lopez said tragedies that beset Asbury and his family affected the Waves’ play. Asbury’s daughter, Stacey, died of complications from anorexia nervosa last September and Asbury’s father, Ed, died in November--two weeks before the season started.

“I know it definitely had an effect on myself at the beginning of the season with what coach Asbury was going through,” he said. “We just wanted to take care of business on the court so he wouldn’t have to worry about that, and it didn’t work out as well as we would have liked.”

Lopez, who averages 14.5 points and has been one of the team’s leading scorers the last two seasons, said he also put too much pressure on himself.

“I was a little down because I felt that part of the reason we weren’t doing well was that I wasn’t playing well,” he said.

The problem only grew worse for Lopez, who fell into a prolonged shooting slump at the start of West Coast Conference play.

Lopez and his backcourt partner, senior Bryan Parker, struggled to the point that Asbury benched them at Gonzaga on Feb. 10.

Although he played most of the game, Lopez acknowledges that he disagreed with his coach.

“He questioned our will to win and whether we cared about what was going on with the team,” Lopez said. “It bothered me because we all wanted to win and my attitude was the same as it always was. But it was his judgment call, and it worked out for the best.”

Although it was not the only factor in Pepperdine’s turnaround, Asbury’s ploy served its purpose. Since a loss to Portland on Feb. 12, the Waves have won seven in a row--the final three in the WCC tournament to earn an NCAA tournament bid.

Asbury said it is no coincidence that Lopez has found his shooting touch late in the season.

“There’s a strong correlation between Damin’s ability to shoot the ball well and our success,” he said. “We’re a lot better when he’s open and shooting it like he is. What it does is give us the proper inside and outside balance between him and a player like (forward) Dana Jones.”

Lopez also credits his improvement to more aggressive play.

“I started to penetrate a little more than I had in the past and I worked a lot harder in the weight room,” he said. “I think that gave me the stamina to go a little longer and harder.”

But it isn’t simply Lopez’s physical skills that have earned him teammates’ respect.

“He’s really the one who keeps everyone cool on the court,” Parker said. “My role is a lot more vocal and I like to get us hyped up. Damin’s the guy who makes sure we’re not playing out of control. He’s like a coach on the court.”

If he has the instincts of a coach, there is a good reason. His father, David, was a longtime coach at Apollo. He has since become coach at Phoenix St. Mary’s.

Asbury says Lopez could also become an outstanding coach.

“He grew up with the game, and he’s very aware about what’s happening on the court,” he said. “I truly believe that if he was a high school coach now, he’d already be as good as half the coaches in the country.”

Lopez is not sure if he wants to coach after he completes his college career. He wants to play pro basketball, although he realizes it is a longshot because of his size.

Still, that’s what he heard in high school.

“But all I want is a shot,” he said. “I feel if I get a shot, I can take it a long way.”

When Pepperdine plays Michigan today, Lopez will be the shortest player on the floor by at least five inches.

But don’t expect that to discourage him.

Size has not stopped him yet.