UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / JOHN WEYLER : Anteaters’ New Look Starts With Team Defense

When they’re shooting straight, the Anteaters can be a very impressive offensive force. And even when they’re not, they can usually score enough to win.

In the past, however, it was a whole different (sob) story when it came to defense.

Last season, the UC Irvine men’s basketball team was last in the Big West in scoring defense and tied for last in blocked shots and steals. The Anteaters forced fewer turnovers than any other team in the conference.

However, when this Big West season begins Jan. 2 in the Bren Center against University of the Pacific, the Anteaters are determined to show their fans a new look.

“I think we’ve played some pretty good defense so far,” all-conference point guard Raimonds Miglinieks said. “We’re getting a good team effort, our team defense is much better than last year.

“I think we’ve realized that if just three or four guys are playing defense, we’re in trouble. We all have to play. If one guy is too lazy to play, it isn’t going to work.”

Irvine is applying more pressure all over the court than it has in recent seasons and that style of defense might in itself be a motivating factor. There’s nowhere to hide.

“We’re extending the floor and much of what we’re doing relies on guys rotating and switching,” Coach Rod Baker said. “So, because of the way we’re playing, it becomes very apparent when someone is not.”

Last season, Irvine averaged 2.3 more turnovers per game than its opponents. This season, they are averaging 2.4 fewer. And the full-court press has been a big factor. During the victory over St. John’s, the Red Storm committed 20 turnovers.

Also, the Anteaters’ press has been a fairly safe gamble so far. They don’t always come up with a steal, but they don’t seem to be giving up too many easy layups after an opponent breaks the press, either.

“We’ve spent a lot of time working on running through the press, running in front of someone,” Baker said. “Then, the worst thing that happens is you end up standing next to a guy you have to keep from getting an easy basket.

“You can’t be afraid of guarding a guy you have to guard. So maybe [6-foot-10 center] Dan Augulis has to guard a point guard. Well, you just have to stand in there until you get help.”

So far, it appears the Anteaters have bought into the aggressive defensive approach and are trying hard to make it work.

“I think we’ve gotten better defensively,” Baker said. “At least we seem to be a lot more interested in playing defense than we have been in the past.”

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Once more with feeling: The Anteaters had one of the best point guards in the country last season. They had the best freshman in the conference. And they finished eighth in the Big West with a 6-12 record.

Disappointing? Certainly.

A classic underachievement? Maybe not.

Miglinieks and conference freshman of the year Kevin Simmons were new to the team, as were starters Michael Tate and Brian Keefe.

“I’m not sure that group was capable of doing any better than they did,” Baker said. “To add all those people to the mix and get them all on the same page, I just don’t know if they could have done a whole lot better than they did.”

The Anteaters had trouble putting together 40 minutes of solid play last season, but Baker thinks consistency will be a key area in which his team will show improvement this time around the Big West.

“I think this is a group right now that’s better in tune with each other,” he said. “There’s a better feel for each other and each day that understanding of what the other guy is going to do gets a little better.”

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Fired up? If the Anteaters go down again this season, they probably won’t go quietly. In five games, they have been assessed four technical fouls and the team leaders are setting the example.

Two have been called on Baker, one on Simmons and one on Miglinieks.

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Answer man: Center Paul Foster says he tries to answer all questions from the media with either a “yes” or a “no” and let his playing speak for him.

In the last two games, he has made a lot of noise. Foster, a 6-8 transfer from Moorpark College, has made 10 of 12 shots from the floor and four of five free throws.

Foster, who had the best field-goal percentage (.657) in the state in 1993-94 and shot 57% from the field last season, is third on the team in rebounding (five per game) but only sixth in minutes played, averaging 19.

Does the ankle injury that slowed his preseason progress bother him anymore?

“No.”

Is he in sync with his new teammates?

“Yes.”

So he’s the silent type. Lately, his performance has been yelling at Baker for a spot in the starting lineup and more playing time.

Anteater Notes

Video replays of the final seconds of Saturday’s loss to USC at the Sports Arena indicate that the Anteaters might have gotten a bad break when Kevin Simmons was called for a foul while rebounding his missed shot with about three seconds left in the game. Irvine was trailing by one and Simmons missed a short baseline jumper then grabbed the rebound away from the Trojans’ Stais Boseman. “It was a good rebound,” Simmons said afterward. “I didn’t push off.” Boseman made two free throws and USC won, 82-79. . . . Senior goalkeeper Stephanie Boes and junior midfielder Nicole Harris were named to the third-team All-West Region team by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America. Boes is Irvine’s all-time shutout leader with 21 in three years. Harris was a key defensive player for the Anteaters, who set a single-season school record for fewest goals given up (20). . . . Senior defender Kim Kaitanjian was one of 64 players selected to participate in the 1996 Umbro Select College All-Star Classic scheduled for March 1, 1996, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Kaitanjian, who moved from forward to defender this year, ended her career with 20 points.