COLLEGE BASKETBALL: 1994-95 PREVIEW : UC IRVINE : These Guys Could Bring Baker Respect

“ Our flagship sport has not had a winning season recently. “

--UC Irvine Chancellor Laurel Wilkening

*

Rod Baker wants that winning season more than Laurel Wilkening can imagine. And maybe this team will be the one that brings the UC Irvine basketball coach respect on his own campus.

Forget that the Anteaters were a couple of baskets shy of winning the Big West tournament and a spot in the NCAA tournament last March during a 70-64 loss to New Mexico State.

They still finished the season 10-20 after an embarrassing 4-14, last-place conference finish, right?

But if you believe Baker and his peers--the Big West coaches picked Irvine for a tie for fifth in their preseason poll--Irvine’s recruiting class makes it an instant contender for the conference’s upper echelon.

“We want to win the conference championship and the tournament championship,” said Baker, 23-63 in three seasons at the school. “If you don’t want that, then you obviously don’t think you can do it.

“I’ve dealt so much with low expectations, I’m not ready to be afraid of high expectations yet.”

The Anteaters beat out California, Seton Hall and Arkansas to sign point guard Raimonds Miglinieks, a former Red Army conscript from Latvia who had 828 assists in two seasons at Riverside City College.

They managed to hang onto freshman Kevin Simmons after the 6-foot-8 center from Brooklyn had spent a year in a New York prep school.

They brought in Michael Tate, a two-time all-conference forward from Ventura College. And freshman guard Brian Keefe, a late signee from Winchester High in Massachusetts, has begun to look as if he will earn serious playing time.

Miglinieks, Simmons and Tate figure to start. Add senior Chris Brown, the top three-point shooter in the nation last season, and six other returning lettermen, and the Anteaters might have the guns and the depth to please the chancellor.

“I don’t know if we’re quite as athletic as we have been in the past,” Baker said. “But we have better basketball players, more versatile basketball players.”

Miglinieks is 23 and figures to be the steadying influence that will help the Anteaters avoid the turnovers that plagued them last season. He is built more like a hockey player than a basketball player (6-3, 200) but he makes the players around him better and still managed to average 18 points a game last season.

“When he comes down the court with the ball, it’s like he has three sets of eyes,” Brown said. “He sees everything . He’s the best passer I’ve ever seen.”

Tate, a 6-4 power forward who’s built like a boxer, is a stark contrast to most of the finesse players returning at the forward spot.

“We need to keep Michael healthy,” Baker said, smiling. “He brings a certain tone to the team.”

Don’t ask Simmons about that tone. He suffered a broken nose and had to have his front teeth wired to his gums after catching an elbow by Tate in practice.

Simmons, who averaged 21 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks a game at Brooklyn’s Tilden High, matured at Redemption Christian Academy last season. He has been remarkably poised during two exhibition games.

“It’ll take some time, but he’s got the skills,” Baker said.

The Anteaters have options this season that should translate into problems for opponents. Brown, an accurate three-point shooter, cannot be ignored. Inside, Simmons and Tate should develop into an offensive force. Returning forwards Mark Odsather, Khalid Channel, Shaun Battle, LaDay Smith and Elzie Love provide a mixture of good outside shooting and athleticism. And Miglinieks figures to get the ball to anybody who works into the open.

“We’re still trying to get a feel for each other on the court,” Brown said. “But that feeling is coming and when it gets here, it’s going to be trouble for a lot of teams.”

Irvine Facts and Figures 1994-95 ROSTER

No Player Pos Hgt Wgt Yr Hometown (HS/College) 00 Danny Fernandez G 6-4 185 Jr Torrance (Harbor JC) 3 Brian Keeke G 6-4 180 Fr Winchester, MA (Winchester) 5 *LaDay Smith F 6-7 225 Sr Altadena (U. of California) 10 *Shauhin Talesh G 5-11 165 Jr Granada Hills (Kennedy) 11 Raimonds Miglinieks G 6-3 200 Jr Riga Latvia (Riverside JC) 12 *Zuri Williams G 6-2 180 Sr Oakland (Bishop O’Dowd) 13 Kevin Scott G 6-3 180 So Lancaster (Paraclete) 20 *Elzie Love F 6-6 190 Sr Perris (Perris) 21 *Khalid Channel F 6-7 200 Sr Chino Hills (Don Lugo) 22 *Chris Brown G 6-3 180 Sr Muskogee, OK (Bakersfield) 30 Kevin Simmons F 6-8 230 Fr Brooklyn, NY (Redemption) 33 *Mark Odsather F 6-7 195 Sr Bellevue, WA (Bellevue JC) 34 *Dan Augulis C 6-10 210 So Leawood, KS (Shawnee Msn.) 40 *Shaun Battle F 6-6 220 Jr San Bernardino (Cajon) 55 Michael Tate F 6-4 225 Jr Los Angeles (Ventura JC)

*Lettermen returning (9) Assistants: Greg Vetrone, Maz Trakh, George Wunder. 1993-94 STATISTICS

Player G FGM-FGA Pct. FTM-FTA Pct. Ast Reb Pts Chris Brown 26 143-345 .415 45-58 .776 1.0 2.0 17.4 Lloyd Mumford 29 117-292 .401 138-169 .817 5.9 2.5 13.4 DeForrest Boyer 29 117-182 .643 75-167 .569 .5 6.4 11.4 Mark Odsather 30 85-225 .378 32-40 .800 1.0 3.4 8.3 Todd Whitehead 26 62-151 .411 45-70 .643 .7 1.7 7.5 Jermaine Avie 30 88-195 .451 25-46 .544 1.7 6.7 7.1 Khalid Channel 28 70-145 .483 40-62 .645 .1 2.6 6.6 LaDay Smith 26 30-64 .469 34-61 .557 .5 3.7 3.6 Shaun Battle 22 26-50 .520 20-37 .541 .1 2.3 3.3 Zuri Williams 28 23-75 .307 21-34 .618 3.0 1.4 2.6 Joe Hannon 27 23-47 .489 22-38 .579 .4 2.2 2.5 Khari Johnson 4 3-5 .600 3-8 .375 .3 1.0 2.3 Elzie Love 15 12-38 .316 7-19 .368 .7 1.2 2.1 Troy Lane 2 1-4 .250 1-2 .500 .5 .5 2.0 Dan Augulis 4 2-3 .667 0-0 .000 .3 1.8 1.0 Shauhin Talesh 7 1-5 .200 1-2 .500 .4 .4 .4 UC Irvine Totals 30 803-1826 .440 529-813 .651 14.6 36.8 79.0 Opponents 30 857-1837 .467 610-885 .689 16.3 40.0 83.0

Three-point goals: Brown 122-301; Mumford 16-67; Boyer 0-1; Odsather 47-124; Whitehead 27-66; Avie 11-25; Channel 4-19; Williams 5-14; Love 1-8; Lane 1-1. UC Irvine 234-626, 37.4 %; Opponents 165-426, 37.8%. 1994-95 SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time Nov. 30 at Okalahoma 5:00 Dec. 2-3 Hawkeye Classic 4:00 Dec. 10 at San Diego 7:00 Dec. 17 at Arizona St. 6:00 Dec. 20 Oregon St. 7:30 Dec. 23 St. Mary’s 7:30 Jan. 3 CS Fullerton 7:30 Jan. 7 Nevada Las Vegas 7:35 Jan. 9 at New Mexico St 6:30 Jan. 14 Nevada 7:30 Jan. 16 Utah St. 7:30 Jan. 19 at Pacific 7:30 Jan. 22 at San Jose St. 2:00 Jan. 26 Long Beach St. 7:30 Jan. 28 UC Santa Barbara 7:30 Feb. 2 Nevada Las Vegas 7:30 Feb. 4 New Mexico St. 7:30 Feb. 9 at Utah St. 6:00 Feb. 11 at Nevada 7:30 Feb. 16 San Jose St. 7:30 Feb. 18 Pacific 7:30 Feb. 23 at UC Santa Barbara 7:30 Feb. 25 at Long Beach St. 7:30 Mar. 1 CS Northridge 7:30 Mar. 4 at CS Fullerton 7:30 Mar. 9-12 *Big West Tourn.

All times p.m. and PST *at Nevada Las Vegas 1993-94 RESULTS

W-L, Rec. Opponent Score W,1-0 *Salem St. 95-67 L, 1-1 Utah 92-66 L, 1-2 *San Diego 96-82 W, 2-2 CS Northridge 93-82 L, 2-3 Georgetown 93-64 L, 2-4 St. Mary’s 104-95 W, 3-4 *Iowa 86-78 W, 4-4 CS Fullerton 77-71 L, 4-5 *CS Northridge 68-66 L, 4-6 *Nevada Las Vegas 101-79 L, 4-7 Nevada 96-85 W, 5-7 Utah St 78-71 L, 5-8 *Pacific 73-71 L, 5-9 *San Jose St. 89-76 L, 5-10 Long Beach St. 111-106 L, 5-11 UC Santa Barbara 92-88 L, 5-12 San Jose St. 72-67 L, 5-13 Pacific 88-79 L, 5-14 *Utah St 79-77 W, 6-14 *Nevada 99-70 L, 6-15 New Mexico St. 90-60 L, 6-16 Nevada Las Vegas 80-64 L, 6-17 *CS Fullerton 101-95 W, 7-17 *New Mexico St. 95-87 L, 7-18 *UC Santa Barbara 81-77 L, 7-19 *Long Beach St. 91-72 W, 8-19 UC Santa Barbara 53-48 W, 9-19 Utah St. 78-68 W, 10-19 Pacific 82-78 L, 10-20 New Mexico St. 70-64

*Home: 4-9. Away: 3-10. Neutral: 3-1. Conference: 4-14