Balanced Matadors Use Unselfish Approach to Share the Wealth

Judging by the way he operates his Cal State Northridge basketball team, Coach Bobby Braswell would be a great playground supervisor.

Everyone gets to play. Everyone gets the ball. Everyone gets to shoot.

Only forward Andre Larry has started all of the Matadors’ five games, and he ranks fifth in minutes played. Eight different players have started.

“We have a lot of depth and when everyone stays in the system, the ball is spread around,” Braswell said. “Something I like about this team is that no one is too concerned with personal statistics. The guys are very unselfish.”

Ten players average at least 14 minutes a game, and no one has played more than guards Derrick Higgins, Greg Minor and Markus Carr, who each average 25 minutes.

Minor, Brian Heinle and Rico Harris each average 10 points and eight players average more than six.

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It’s not so much the size as the sound.

The crowds at the first two Northridge home games were extremely vocal. Several new Matador players grew up in Southern California, and they have their own cheering sections.

The families of Larry of Compton, Markus Carr of Palmdale, Rico Harris of Temple City and Jason Crowe of Inglewood should bolster attendance and raise the decibel level all season.

“We had great support and that’s something we need,” Larry said. “It felt good to finally play in front of my family.”

Braswell was startled at the noise 882 fans made in the Matadors’ 73-65 victory over San Diego in their home opener Saturday.

“This is different and it’s kind of scary,” Braswell said. “To hear that crowd yelling and screaming was huge for us.

“When I took this job [in 1996], I promised the players they would get support from the community and fans if they worked hard. It’s finally starting to happen.”

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One San Diego player had his own modest cheering section. The family of Brock Jacobsen, a senior guard from Crescenta Valley High, sat a few rows behind the Torero bench.

Jacobsen scored nine points, all in the first half. He missed his only three shots in the second half and fouled out in the last minute.

Among those watching were Jacobsen’s brothers, Adam and Casey. Adam is a former standout guard at University of the Pacific and Crescenta Valley. Casey is a senior at Glendora High and has signed with Stanford.