St. Clair Must Decide Soon Whether to Sit Out Rest of Season

Decision time is nearing for Cal State Fullerton basketball player Chris St. Clair.

After Saturday’s home game against Loyola Marymount, St. Clair will be at the point of no return. If he plays beyond that, he won’t be eligible to retain a season of eligibility under the NCAA’s injury redshirt rule.

The rule allows a player who appears in no more than 20% of the season to apply for the extra year.

St. Clair, a junior who was the team’s second leading scorer last season, has played in all four games this season, even though he has been at less than full strength because of a knee injury late last season.

That injury required reconstructive surgery, with the normal recovery time almost twice as long as St. Clair took before he resumed workouts.

St. Clair has mixed emotions at this point, and, regardless of how it goes, it probably won’t be an easy decision.

“I just know I’m definitely not 100%,” St. Clair said this week. “I’ll just have to think about what will be in my best interest, as well as in the best interest of the team.”

St. Clair said he plans to meet with Coach Bob Hawking to discuss the situation. A decision is expected by early next week.

“I’m going to defer to Chris, his doctor, our trainers and his family,” Hawking said. “I only

know that it’s difficult to expect him to play at this stage at the same level we’ve come to expect of him in the past. I have a lot of empathy for his situation. The decision has to be based on his health, though.”

St. Clair, a former Sonora High player, started only four games last season but consistently was a spark as a reserve. Positive things seemed to happen whenever St. Clair came in.

He had 17-point games against Nevada Las Vegas and San Jose, and his three-pointer with nine seconds left won the UNLV game. He had nine of Fullerton’s final 23 points in the victory at San Jose State in January. Then, against Pacific in February, St. Clair hit a three-point shot to break a 61-61 tie with 38 seconds left, and Fullerton went on to win, 69-63.

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St. Clair started this season with a 12-point game against UCLA, but has struggled since.

He missed all six shots from the field against Cal State Northridge, managing two points at the free-throw line. St. Clair had two field goals in five attempts for six points at San Diego State, then went three for 12 from the field against Gonzaga in an eight-point game.

He’s shooting only 26% for the four games.

“I really don’t want to make excuses, but I know that being out as long as I was didn’t help me,” St. Clair said. “I know that I was expecting a lot more from myself than I’ve been able to do so far.”

St. Clair said he has seen no improvement in the knee since the season began.

“It’s about the same as it was,” he said. “I have some pain with it during the games, but it’s not much different than in practice. So far, I’ve been able to play through it.”

St. Clair said he has been troubled as much on defense as offense.

“I’ve had trouble sliding one way defensively, and that’s caused me some problems,” he said.

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The Titans will be without reserve guard Brian Thomas for a minimum of four weeks after he re-injured his right foot Saturday, and that further complicates things for Hawking. Thomas injured the same foot he hurt in the first week of workouts.

The absence of St. Clair would further drain depth at guard.

Hawking has been playing regularly with a three-guard lineup. Junior Ali Nayab has started at the point, sophomore Chris Dade at the No. 2 spot and senior Chuck Overton at the swing spot. Freshman Kenroy Jarrett is the other reserve guard.

Dade also has been hurting, slowed by tendinitis in his right knee, but he looked stronger Saturday against Gonzaga.

Fullerton’s outside shooting has been the chief indicator of its success so far this season.

The Titans hit seven of 12 three-point shots against San Diego State, their only victory. In the three defeats, however, Fullerton had a combined nine baskets in 22 shots (21.4%) from three-point range.

The only consistent player has been forward John Williams.

Williams, with an 18-point average, has been in double scoring figures in each game. He ranks sixth in the conference in scoring and fourth in rebounding.

Titan Notes

Coach Debbie Ayres has arranged a women’s alumni basketball game for 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Titan Gym, prior to the women’s game at 5 p.m. against Cal State Northridge. Genia Miller, the school’s all-time leading scorer and a former All-American, is among those scheduled to play. “She played two years in the women’s pro league in Japan before they stopped using American players,” Ayres said. . . . Reconstruction and modernizing of the Titan House building in the athletic complex area has started. It had housed the football coaching staff before the school suspended football. Plans call for the building to be the office area for Athletic Director John Easterbrook, his assistants and additional support staff. . . . Sean Kim and Darryl Christian are the only Titan wrestlers with a winning records going into tonight’s match at Fresno State. Christian is 7-2 in the 142-pound division and Kim 3-1 in the 118-pound class. The Fullerton men’s basketball team ranks fifth in the Big West in scoring (70.3 points), but is last in scoring defense, allowing an average of 80.5 points.