COLLEGE BASKETBALL: 1994-95 PREVIEW : LONG BEACH STATE : Question Marks Greet 49ers and Temper Early Excitement

They were eager to open their new place in style. Then one cast member got some bad advice, and he’s still digging his way out.

And just when it looked as if this production was back on track, a potential show-stopper went down and out indefinitely.

Seth Greenberg, men’s basketball coach at Long Beach State, envisioned a different beginning to his team’s first season in the Pyramid, the university’s 5,000-seat on-campus arena scheduled to open Wednesday when the 49ers play host to Detroit Mercy. But this is the hand Greenberg has been dealt.

“I’m still real excited about our team,” said Greenberg, starting his fifth season as the 49ers’ coach. “I think our depth is real solid, and that will help us, but we’ve got some big questions.”

Three starters and six lettermen returning from a 17-10 team--and the positive impact of the Pyramid on recruiting--had Greenberg feeling especially good only a few weeks ago. The 49ers, who tied for second in the Big West Conference last season, were picked to finish third behind New Mexico State and Nevada Las Vegas in the preseason media poll.

But problems have mounted--quickly.

First, Greenberg had to tinker with the lineup because of the ineligibility of senior point guard Tye Mays, an occasional starter last season.

Mays is in good academic standing, but school officials mistakenly advised him about selecting the proper courses in order to remain eligible. The NCAA Eligibility Committee is expected to soon rule on his appeal.

An even bigger blow fell last Friday. Starting shooting guard James Cotton, the Big West freshman of the year last season, crashed to the floor in an exhibition game and will be sidelined indefinitely because of torn ligaments in his left ankle. Cotton, who averaged 11.4 points and 4.2 rebounds, said he would consider being redshirted if he is sidelined more than a month.

Cotton was to have been the focus of the offense.

“No one person is going to replace James Cotton,” Greenberg said. “We’re going to try to do this by committee and hope that somebody steps up.”

Cotton’s injury might open the door for junior guard Eric Brown, a skilled offensive player with great shooting range. He needs to improve his defense, though, and play more within Greenberg’s system.

Still, the 49ers’ prospects are far from bleak.

Senior forwards Mike Atkinson and Terrance O’Kelley were two of the conference’s best at their positions last season. Atkinson made 141 of 203 shots, led Division I players in field-goal percentage at 69.5% and averaged 15.4 points and 4.3 rebounds. He was selected second-team all-conference.

O’Kelley, a third-team pick, scored 11.9 points and led the 49ers in rebounding, with a 6.8 average, and blocked shots, 2.2. Greenberg has challenged him to play stronger near the basket.

The coaching staff raves about versatile junior forward Juaquin Hawkins. The 49ers’ sixth man as a sophomore, Hawkins plays standout defense.

Rebounding was a team weakness last season. Long Beach finished ninth in the conference, averaging 35.4 a game. Senior center Joe McNaull, a transfer from San Diego State, should help.

Redshirt freshman forward Akeli Jackson figures to be a key player for the 49ers in the future, but packs only 220 pounds on his 6-foot-8 frame and must add weight and strength to become the force Greenberg foresees.

Jackson is battling for minutes with junior forward Brian Yankelvitz, a transfer from Garden City Community College in Kansas.

Greenberg is pleased with junior point guard Rasul Salahuddin, who is expected to start. A tenacious defender, Salahuddin transferred from Dixie College in St. George, Utah.

Junior point guard Jamie Davis, a transfer from Long Beach City College, impresses Greenberg with his physical style and might get considerable playing time.

Sophomore Everett Ratleff, nephew of former 49er star Ed Ratleff, is competing with Davis. And Long Beach is the fourth college for well-traveled senior Frank Harris, who was at Stanford last season. Harris is currently ineligible, but he, too, might eventually be in the mix at point guard.

Long Beach Facts and Figures

1994-95 ROSTER

No Player Pos Hgt Wgt Yr Hometown (HS/College) 3 Akeli Jackson F 6-8 220 Fr Gardena (Serra) 4 Rasul Salahuddin G 6-3 185 Jr Mt. Vernon, NY (Mt Vernon) 5 *Juaquin Hawkins F 6-7 195 Jr Lynwood (Lynwood) 12 *Eric Brown G 6-6 215 Jr West Covina (Workman) 13 Everett Ratleff G 6-5 190 So Long Beach (Jordan) 14 Frank Harris G 6-3 185 Sr New York (Riverdale) 15 *Tye Mays G 6-1 195 Sr Los Angeles (Hamilton) 22 Brandon Titus G 6-4 190 Jr Cerritos (Gahr) 24 Jamie Davis F 6-5 215 Jr Long Beach (Millikan) 32 Gerry Branner F 6-8 235 Sr Cincinnati, OH (Woodward) 34 *Mike Atkinson F 6-7 235 Sr San Jose (Bellarmine) 40 Jo McNaull C 6-10 255 Sr San Diego (Monte Vista) 44 *James Cotton G 6-6 205 So San Pedro (St. John Bosco) 53 Brian Yankelvitz C 6-8 245 Jr Queens, NY (Bayside) 55 *Terrance O’Kelley F 6-7 245 Sr Lakewood (Lakewood)

*Lettermen returning (6)

Coach: Seth Greenberg.

Assistants: Clyde Vaughn, John Welch, Jason Levy.

1993-94 STATISTICS

Player G FGM-FGA Pct. FTM-FTA Pct. Ast Reb Pts Rod Hannibal 27 139-312 .446 77-100 .770 2.8 4.7 15.7 Mike Atkinson 26 141-203 .695 117-160 .731 1.0 4.3 15.4 Terrance O’Kelley 27 124-259 .479 52-72 .722 1.1 6.8 11.9 James Cotton 26 98-209 .469 73-96 .760 2.3 4.2 11.4 Brian Camper 20 60-136 .441 35-46 .761 3.3 3.1 8.4 Juaquin Hawkins 27 63-124 .508 56-98 .571 1.3 4.6 6.9 Jeff Rodgers 21 43-115 .374 25-54 .463 3.1 2.8 5.9 Tye Mays 25 34-73 .466 30-44 .682 1.7 1.3 4.0 Eric Brown 21 23-63 .365 15-21 .714 0.3 1.2 3.4 Tim Caviezel 24 20-52 .385 9-20 .450 0.5 1.1 2.3 Gerry Branner 12 8-17 .471 5-17 .294 0.1 1.5 1.8 Bart Gijbels 10 0-7 .000 2-2 1000 0.1 0.5 0.2 Jason Townsend 5 0-3 .000 0-0 .000 0.2 0.0 0.0 LB ST Totals 27 753-1573 .479 496-730 .679 15.6 35.4 80.3 Opponents 27 725-1586 .457 540-834 .647 13.0 37.1 77.6

Three-point goals: Hannibal 68-172; Atkinson 1-2; O’Kelley 21-55; Cotton 27-79; Camper 13-39; Hawkins 3-11; Rodgers 12-38; Hays 3-16; Brown 10-31; Caviezel 7-29. Long Beach St. 165-479, 34.4%.Opponents 104-322, 32.3%;

1994-95 SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time Nov. 30 Detroit Mercy 9:00 Dec. 3 College of Notre Dame 1:00 Dec. 6 at CS Northridge 7:00 Dec. 21 Montana 7:30 Dec. 29-30 *Mich. St. Tournament 3:00 Jan. 5 New Mexico St 7:30 Jan. 9 Nebraska 9:00 Jan. 11 at Nevada 7:30 Jan. 14 San Jose St. 7:30 Jan. 16 Pacific 7:30 Jan. 19 at Utah St. 6:00 Jan. 26 at UC Irvine 7:30 Jan. 28 at CS Fullerton 7:35 Jan. 30 Nevada Las Vegas 9:00 Feb. 2 Nevada 7:30 Feb. 4 Utah St. 7:30 Feb. 9 at Pacific 7:30 Feb. 11 at San Jose St. 7:30 Feb. 15 at UC Santa Barbara 7:30 Feb. 18 UC Santa Barbara 1:00 Feb. 20 at Memphis 5:30 Feb. 23 CS Fullerton 7:30 Feb. 25 UC Irvine 7:30 Mar. 2 at New Mexico St. 5:30 Mar. 4 Nevada Las Vegas 7:35 Mar. 9 **Big West Tournament

All Times are p.m. and PST

*Michigan St. tournament at East Lansing

**at Nevada Las Vegas

1993-94 RESULTS

W-L, Rec. Opponent Score W, 1-0 *Cal Poly SLO 82-58 W, 2-0 *CS Northridge 82-74 W, 3-0 *Houston 77-67 L, 3-1 Iowa 101-79 W, 4-1 *Cal Poly Pomona 96-63 L, 4-2 UCLA 93-51 W, 5-2 Fairleigh Dickinson 108-107 L, 5-3 New Mexico St 94-76 W, 6-3 *Utah St. 89-70 W, 7-3 *Nevada 78-66 W,8-3 San Jose St. 78-71 L, 8-4 Pacific 92-69 L, 8-5 *UC Santa Barbar 82-66 W, 9-5 *UC Irvine 111-106 W, 10-5 *CS Fullerton 91-69 L, 10-6 UC Santa Barbara 67-66 L, 10-7 Nevada Las Vegas 68-61 W, 11-7 *Pacific 88-75 W, 12-7 *San Jose St. 73-66 L, 12-8 Utah St. 80-76 W, 13-8 Nevada 70-64 W, 14-8 *Memphis St. 80-58 W, 15-8 *New Mexico St. 84-83 L, 15-9 *Nevada Las Vegas 74-70 W, 16-9 CS Fullerton 96-87 W, 17-9 UC Irvine 91-72 L, 17-10 *Pacific 87-74

*Home: 11-2. Away: 5-7. Neutral: 1-1.

Conference: 11-7