Douglass Really Has Work Cut Out

The biggest fixer-upper in men’s college basketball, without a doubt, is UC Irvine. And there are those who wonder if the new coach, Pat Douglass, knows what he has bought into.

Douglass might have won three NCAA Division II national titles at Cal State Bakersfield, but this is Irvine. The Anteaters went 1-25 last season--beating Nevada in an overtime game--and have had one winning season in the last nine.

“I guess, after being in Bakersfield for 10 years, I was looking for a new challenge,” Douglass said.

He has put together a patchwork team, with only three returning scholarship players, that has demonstrated so far that it will play hard. That, alone, is an improvement.

“I don’t think you can get a read on a team until it has played eight games,” Douglass said. “After eight games, you have a handle on their abilities.”

Last season, things were pretty clear 7 1/2 minutes into the second game, which was how long Washington State held the Anteaters scoreless. The Cougars rolled to a 91-53 victory, one of seven losses by 30 or more points for Irvine.

Coach Rod Baker was fired less than 24 hours after the season ended, eventually replaced by Douglass, who was 257-61 at Bakersfield and won national titles in 1993, ’94 and ’97.

“I’m used to having more points than the other team at the end of the game,” Douglass said. “We need this team to get used to winning. They are used to losing.”

Well, three of them are, anyway. Point guard Lamarr Parker, forward Juma Jackson and center Andrew Carlson, the only returning players on scholarship, survived last season. Parker, a 6-foot-1 junior, and Carlson, a 6-10 sophomore, figure prominently again this season.

Douglass was hired in late March, long after the best and the brightest recruits had committed. He tapped longtime contacts and took some chances, which netted him five recruits.

Freshman Ben Jones, a 6-7 forward from La Habra Sonora High School, is the best of the lot. He and Adam Stetson, a transfer from Western Nebraska Community College, give the Anteaters two three-point shooters. Last season, Irvine shot 41% and made 56 of 247 three-pointers.

“Right now, Ben Jones is our best player,” Douglass said.

That’s a lot to put on a freshman.

Carlson and Matt Willard, a 6-9 transfer from Butte Community College in Oroville, Calif., are the only two post players. They have been alternating at center, leaving Jones and Stetson to play inside, as well as shooting from the perimeter.

Carlson, who seemed out of shape last season, showed up a trimmer 245 pounds after attending Pete Newell’s big-man camp during the summer. What skills he picked up have yet to surface.

“We need Andrew to score more than he did last season,” Douglass said. “He’s a good shooter. Matt doesn’t really play well with his back to the basket. We can’t put him in that position.”

This season, to be sure, is one to survive, while gaining a measure of respect. Douglass was given a five-year contract to turn the program around. How much remodeling can been done the first year remains to be seen.

“This year, I want to establish a program that people are going to take seriously,” Douglass said. “We want to be viewed as a legitimate Division I program.”

That work has only just begun.

UC IRVINE AT A GLANCE

SCHEDULE

DATE: OPPONENT, TIME

Nov. 15: San Francisco, L 75-59

Nov. 18: Pepperdine, 7 p.m.

Nov. 21: Chico State, 7 p.m.

Nov. 29: at Utah, 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 4: Oregon State, 7 p.m.

Dec. 13: San Diego State, 7 p.m.

Dec. 18: Portland, 7 p.m.

Dec. 21: at Northern Arizona, 1 p.m.

Dec. 23: at Las Vegas, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 3: Sonoma State, 7 p.m.

Jan. 8: at North Texas, 5:30 p.m.

Jan. 10: at New Mexico State, 6:30 p.m.

Jan. 15: Boise State, 7 p.m.

Jan. 17: Idaho, 7 p.m.

Jan. 22: at Pacific, 7 p.m.

Jan. 24: at Long Beach State, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 29: Cal Poly SLO, 7 p.m.

Jan. 31: UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.

Feb. 5: Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m.

Feb. 7: at Nevada, 7 p.m.

Feb. 12: Utah State, 7 p.m.

Feb. 14: at Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m.

Feb. 19: Long Beach State, 7 p.m.

Feb. 21: Pacific, 7 p.m.

Feb. 26: at UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.

Feb. 28: at Cal Poly SLO, 2 p.m.

March 6-9: Big West Tournament

ROSTER

*--*

No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. 3 Jason Flowers G 6-1 180 Fr. 4 Lamarr Parker F 6-1 180 Jr. 11 Malachi Edmond G 6-0 165 Fr. 12 Junior Bond G 5-8 140 Jr. 13 Juma Jackson G 6-4 180 So. 20 Puneet Sahi G 5-11 145 Jr. 22 Brian Scoggin G 6-2 190 Jr. 35 Anthony DelaCruz G 6-4 190 So. 42 Adam Stetson F 6-7 210 So. 45 Ben Jones F 6-7 210 Fr. 54 Matt Willard F 6-9 225 Jr. 55 Andrew Carlson C 6-10 245 So.

*--*

RETURNING LEADERS

Scoring: Lamarr Parker, 13.4 ppg

Rebounds: Andrew Carlson, 5.0

Assists: Parker, 4.0

Blocks: Carlson, 0.6

Steals: Parker, 1.8

FG%: Carlson, 40.9

FT%: Juma Jackson, 75.8