Football Is His Little Diversion

His basketball coach resigned in disgrace.

California’s Tony Gonzalez hit people.

His friend’s father admitted taking money from a basketball booster.

Gonzalez ran over people.

His star teammate bolted to the NBA in front of the NCAA posse.

Gonzalez got physical with anybody who got in his way.

While the Bear basketball program sinks slowly in the East Bay--tugged down by accusations that are becoming more and more fact--Gonzalez finds an outlet with football. Call it physical therapy.

“I don’t want to hear about the problems with the basketball program right now,” said Gonzalez, a junior tight end who played at Huntington Beach High. “Football is a cool way to get away from all that. There’s nothing wrong with this program.”

Cal is 4-0, 1-0 in the Pacific 10 going into Saturday’s game against USC at the Coliseum. The “West Coast” offense brought in by first-year Coach Steve Mariucci is averaging 42 points. Gonzalez, a two-sport standout, is bigger, stronger and has developed into an NFL prospect.

And his other sport?

“I really don’t want to talk about basketball,” Gonzalez said.

OK, then how about that Bear football team?

The problems swirling around the basketball program are enough to make a tabloid headline writer squeal with delight. Players have bolted, fingers have been pointed and the coach has been forced out. All of which, the NCAA is investigating.

The news, to put it mildly, hasn’t been good.

Tremaine Fowlkes transferred to Fresno State. Jelani Gardner, Gonzalez’s friend, transferred to Pepperdine. Pacific 10 player of the year Shareef Abdur-Rahim, after much vacillating, jumped to the NBA. Then it got worse.

Coach Todd Bozeman was reduced to a bunker-like existence. First, he was accused of sexually harassing a former Cal student, which ended with a court-approved settlement that Bozeman said vindicated him. Then, Gardner’s father, Tom, told NCAA investigators he took money to ensure his son would enroll at Cal. Bozeman resigned Aug. 28.

“Me sitting around and worrying about it wasn’t going to help the situation,” Gonzalez said. “I didn’t want to hear about basketball. I wanted to concentrate on football.

“I prepared a lot harder this summer and I hit the weight room. I worked out like I never worked out before.”

The result has been impressive.

Gonzalez added 20 pounds and is now 6 feet 6, 240 pounds. That rock-solid body, combined with his soft hands, has been dangerous in the Bears’ offense.

Gonzalez has 11 receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns despite a knee injury that forced him to miss 10 days of practice at the end of summer. He also has improved as a blocker.

“I don’t hold people anymore,” Gonzalez said. “I used to try to hold on every play. I’d go straight for the jersey. The guys on the team used to give me a hard time that I couldn’t block. I would get thrown around a lot. Now I’m stronger.

“I used to dibble and dabble in the weight room, maybe do a few curls, but I was never serious about it. This summer, I hit the weight room every day.”

The result: No more holding.

“Not unless the Bionic Man is across from me,” Gonzalez said.

Mariucci put it best: “Tony is just thicker,” he says. It’s meant as a compliment.

“He looks more like a football player than a basketball player all of a sudden,” Mariucci said.

Basketball, though, remains a high priority for Gonzalez. In about a month, he will begin rising early to shoot jump shots. It’s his way to cram two sports into four years of college.

Gonzalez leaned toward basketball out of high school. Most told him to concentrate on football, pointing out that 6-6 tight ends were much more desirable than 6-6 post men.

“Larry Johnson and I have the same type of bodies,” said Gonzalez, who averaged 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds last season. “He’s a little bigger than me. . . . OK, he’s a lot bigger than me. But maybe we have the same athletic ability. I just haven’t showed that I can dominate games yet.”

Gonzalez decided not to tour Europe with Cal’s basketball team this summer so he could concentrate on football. That left no question as to which sport he intended to dominate this fall.

Though he has been a contributor to the basketball team the past two seasons, he has developed more rapidly in football.

Gonzalez caught eight passes for 62 yards and one touchdown as a freshman in 1994. Last season, he had 37 receptions for 541 yards and two touchdowns. He capped the season with 10 receptions for 150 yards against Stanford--a performance that Gonzalez best remembers for the gaffe he made.

With the Bears trailing, 23-17, and nine minutes left, Gonzalez fumbled after making a 13-yard catch. Stanford won, 29-24.

“I watched that game film over and over,” Gonzalez said. “I wanted to deny it at first. I thought my knee was down. But the film shows the Stanford guy stripped me of the ball and the ref made a good call. It bothered me, but life goes on.”

So does basketball.

This season will be difficult. Gonzalez knows it. By the time he changes from cleats to sneakers, the Bears could be on probation. Gonzalez is one of six returning players.

“I talk to the guys regularly,” Gonzalez said. “We talk about football and stuff. We never talk about basketball or the problems with the program. It won’t affect our play. We’ll still play hard.”

Until then, Gonzalez does the same on the football field.

Said Gonzalez: “I’ve gotten some frustration out on the football field this year.”