TIME TO FACE THE MUSIC

In normal, read losing, times at Cal State Northridge, three returning starters plus a sixth man who led the team in assists would be absolutely certain of their rightful places in the lineup.

If we are to be overmatched, at least seniority within the team ought to prevail, so the thinking went.

No longer.

Coach Bobby Braswell, in his second season, has brought in his first complete recruiting class. And he’d as soon go with the potential as with the proven.

“The first day of practice Coach said there are no returning starters,” said Derrick Higgins, a senior guard who led the team in scoring last season. “He meant it too. You have to work for it. There is too much talent on this team to be complacent.”

Higgins and the other senior returners--forward Kevin Taylor and guards Trenton Cross and Lucky Grundy--have no quarrel with Braswell’s approach.

Improving the talent level of newcomers was necessary.

“We have more good players, we have versatile players,” Higgins said. “Now we have more of an all-around good team.”

And a whole new outlook. Northridge, like a player launching an alley-oop pass, has its sights set above the rim.

The Matadors believe they will post a winning record for the first time since 1988-89, when the program was still in Division II.

They believe they can reach the NCAA tournament, a conviction bolstered by the memory of coming within 43 seconds of the tournament last season.

These Matadors talk about the big dance without blushing. In fact, “Big Dance” is inscribed above the locker room door, and the players reach up and touch the words on their way out every day.

“Before last year there was no talk of the ‘Big Dance,’ ” Higgins said. “A square dance, maybe.”

The Matadors waltzed around the .500 mark most of last season, going 14-15 overall and 8-8 in their first Big Sky Conference campaign. But in the conference tournament they hit their stride, upsetting Montana State and Northern Arizona, then nearly beating Montana in the final before blowing a lead in the last minute.

“I’d have rather lost in the first round because losing at the end hurt so much,” Higgins said. “There were no words to describe it.”

Braswell sympathizes, but believes that coming so close kept a fire burning in his veterans the entire off-season.

“I understand Derrick’s emotional feeling, but getting to the championship game was good for our psyche,” he said.

None of the four returners would have coasted into training camp had their starting jobs been guaranteed in granite.

This is their last chance to win, and they believe it is a good one.

“It’s now or never, that’s our driving force,” Higgins said.

Higgins, a guard whose leaping ability enables him to play taller than his 6-foot-3 frame, averaged 11.6 points last season and led the conference with 2.6 steals a game.

Taylor, who averaged 6.1 rebounds a game last season, is recovering from a nagging ankle injury and in Braswell’s estimation is at 80% strength. He will play one of the two post positions in Northridge’s three-guard lineup.

Cross, most valuable player in the conference tournament and a play-making point guard who averaged 10.9 points last season, missed the Matadors’ two exhibition victories because he was serving a suspension for leaving a recruit at a party a month ago.

“That set him back but he has practiced every day with us and I think he’ll be ready,” Braswell said.

Grundy, a 6-foot point guard who averaged 3.4 assists, is an unselfish catalyst whose ball-handling and passing creates scoring opportunities.

That quartet gives Northridge an experienced and versatile nucleus, but eight new faces give the Matadors a fresh look.

Three newcomers will make an immediate impact.

Mike O’Quinn, a 6-6 senior swingman, sat out last season after transferring from Loyola Marymount, where he started as a junior and sophomore. Athletic and versatile, O’Quinn might become Northridge’s best all-around player.

Greg Minor, a 6-3 shooting guard from Canyon High, is a sophomore transfer from South Plains College in Texas. Whether used as a reserve who can provide a quick scoring boost or as a starter at either point or off guard, Minor will get his shots and many will be from three-point range.

Jabari Simmons, a 6-7 sophomore transfer from Compton College, led Northridge in points and rebounds in both exhibitions. A wide-body type at forward, Simmons adds strength on the boards and gets points on follow shots.

Fighting Taylor and Simmons for minutes in the front court are 6-5 sophomore Jeffrey Parris, a rugged defender and inside scoring threat who was academically ineligible last season, and 6-9 freshman Brian Heinle, a deft shooter from the perimeter.

Another forward is 6-7 Brian Hagens, a junior transfer from New Orleans, who will be eligible when fall semester ends in mid-December.

Freshmen guards Carl Holmes, Braswell’s nephew, and Carloes Harper, a good shooter from Canoga Park High, will get spot action.

“Having so many new players, we haven’t put in our whole system yet,” Braswell said. “That will affect us early. It will take a while for us to get used to each other. Our goal is to peak at the right time.”

The Matadors open today at Arizona State and play at Oregon State on Thursday night.

Before beginning Big Sky play Jan. 2, the Matadors play Pepperdine, San Diego, Ohio State, Ohio and Long Island. A victory over Long Island in the first round of the Fresno tournament probably will pit Northridge against Fresno State, a top 10 team in preseason polls.

“This is a time to show who we are, a real basketball team not to be joked with,” O’Quinn said. “We want to let this be known throughout the nation.”

At the very least, a strong preseason will put Big Sky opponents on notice. Successfully integrating the new talent with the old will put Northridge on a serious hunt for a dance partner.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

CAL STATE NORTHRIGE ROSTER

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No. Player Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown 3 Trenton Cross G 5-11 Sr. Reseda 4 Greg Minor G 6-3 So. Canyon Country 20 Carl Holmes G 6-1 Fr. Harrisburg, Ore. 21 Derrick Higgins G 6-3 Sr. Los Angeles 22 Dante Santiel G 6-2 So. Los Angeles 23 Lucky Grundy G 6-0 Sr. Santa Monica 24 Mike O’Quinn F 6-6 Sr. Los Angeles 25 Carloes Harper G 6-4 Fr. Northridge 31 Brian Heinle C 6-9 Fr. Eugene, Ore. 32 Kevin Taylor F 6-7 Sr. Oakland 42 Jeffrey Parris F 6-5 So. Long Beach 44 Jabari Simmons F 6-7 Jr. Santa Barbara

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Head Coach: Bobby Braswell (Cal State Northridge, 1984). Assistant Coaches: Michael Johnson (Purdue, 1991); Eddie Hill (Washington State, 1994); and Butch Hawking (U.S. Air Force Academy, 1992)

CAL STATE NORTHRIGE SCHEDULE

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Date Opponent Time 11-16 Arizona State 2 p.m. 11-20 Oregon State 7:05 p.m. 11-29 Pepperdine 7:05 p.m. 12-2 at San Diego 7 p.m. 12-6 Loyola 7:05 p.m. 12-15 at Ohio State 5 p.m. 12-17 at Ohio 4 p.m. 12-22 vs. Long Island at Fresno# 5:30 p.m. 12-23 vs. Fresno St./Tenn. St.# TBA 12-29 CS Dominguez Hills 7:05 p.m. 1-2 at Portland State* 8:30 p.m. 1-5 at Eastern Washington* 7:05 p.m. 1-8 Montana State* 7:05 p.m. 1-10 Montana* 7:05 p.m. 1-15 at CS Sacramento* TBA 1-17 at Weber State* TBA 1-22 Idaho State* 7:05 p.m. 1-31 at Northern Arizona* 6:05 p.m. 2-5 at Montana* 7:30 p.m. 2-7 at Montana State* 6:35 p.m. 2-12 Eastern Washington* 7:05 p.m. 2-14 Portland State* 7:05 p.m. 2-19 Weber State* 7:05 p.m. 2-21 CS Sacramento* 7:05 p.m. 2-25 Northern Arizona* 7:05 p.m. 2-27 at Idaho State* 7:30 p.m. 3-7 Big Sky tournament TBA 3-8 Big Sky tournament TBA 3-9 Big Sky tournament TBA

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All times local / # Fresno State tournament / * Big Sky game