Man Under the Microscope

Steve Cleveland had an inkling, but no real idea, about what went with being BYU’s basketball coach.

He was the low-key candidate among the high-profile names being bandied about in the spring of 1997. Cleveland, then the Fresno College coach, didn’t rate so much as a whisper, which is why there were more than a few “Steve Who?” quips when he was hired to resurrect the 1-25 Cougars.

He wasn’t “Steve Who” for long after his arrival in Provo.

“I think there were probably 20 TV cameras and 100 media people,” said Cleveland, who played two seasons at UC Irvine. “When I came on board, my life became so much more public. When I go to the grocery store or the movies, someone is always coming up and saying hello.

“It’s not me, it’s the position. The bottom line is that people want to see BYU basketball back in the NCAA tournament.”

That won’t be an easy trick in the tough Western Athletic Conference, especially given some of the Cougars’ early problems during the rebuilding phase.

Leading scorer Ron Selleaze and redshirt Mike Garrett--two players who followed Cleveland from Fresno--were thrown out of school after being cited for marijuana possession. Selleaze pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana; Garrett was issued a citation for possession, but was not charged.

Such scrutiny comes with Cleveland in his return to Irvine. The Cougars (4-6) face the Anteaters (2-5), who also were 1-25 two seasons ago, tonight in the Bren Center.

This is more than a homecoming for Cleveland, it’s a chance to compare notes. He and UCI Coach Pat Douglass have a long friendship, dating back to when they were coaches in the San Joaquin Valley. Douglass was at Division II Cal State Bakersfield and Cleveland at Fresno.

Neither man was entirely prepared for the chore that awaited him.

“When Steve got the BYU job, I called him and said, ‘Don’t recruit a lot of players like yourself--left-handed, non-jumping, 6-4 forwards,’ ” said Tim Tift, who coached Cleveland at Irvine. “His toughness quality was fine, but I told him to look for it in 6-9 guys.”

A year ago, Irvine was routed by Utah in Salt Lake City. On the same night, BYU lost to Utah State, the ultimate sin for Cougar fans--BYU’s one victory the previous season had come against Utah State.

Douglass and Cleveland met later that night.

“It was just good to see a friend,” Cleveland said. “We both knew we couldn’t control everything without the players. It was sometimes frustrating.”

Last season both teams won nine games and reached their goals, qualifying for their conference tournaments.

“We played a lot of golf and talked a lot of basketball over the years,” Douglass said. “He talked with me before applying at BYU. He’s just one of those guys you root for.

“We came into similar circumstances. We talked about the adjustment and realistic goals.”

There is one difference in their jobs. BYU was once a regular in the NCAA tournaments, but hasn’t qualified since 1995.

“BYU had a tradition, a niche of young men to draw from,” Cleveland said. “UCI may not have that.”

Anteater tradition is scant, at best. Cleveland is a small part of that.

He transferred from Fresno College in 1974 and was part of an Irvine team that finished 17-11 and reached the NCAA Division II tournament.

“I did Jerry Tarkanian a favor because someone had dropped off his schedule, so we agreed to play UNLV,” Tift said. “That was the year before they made it to their first Final Four and they had guys like Reggie Theus.

“We decided the best way to handle their press was to just line four guys up, call a number and throw it long. We called Steve’s number the first time and he makes this perfect over-the-shoulder catch. He has four yards on Theus and goes up for the layup, like most slow 6-4 guys. Theus gets there, bats the ball out to midcourt and they get a dunk. We called time out and Steve said, ‘Should we just catch it and dribble out instead?’ ”

It was Cleveland’s first coaching decision. He was soon making many more.

Cleveland’s road to Provo began at Clovis West High School, where he spent 10 years before being hired at Fresno. He was 157-77 in seven seasons at Fresno and was contacted by BYU officials after the 1996-97 season.

“I kept it to myself,” Cleveland said. “I read in the newspaper that I wasn’t considered a significant candidate.”

Jim Harrick, Ball State Coach Dick Hunsaker and Utah assistant Jeff Judkins were the names most mentioned to replace Roger Reid, who had been fired early in the 1996-97 season. No one thought about some community college coach from Fresno.

“Having never attended school here, I did not understand the magnitude that this program is watched,” Cleveland said.

Selleaze and Garrett were arrested last March. Selleaze was named the team’s MVP for the 1997-98 season and Garrett was expected to be the starting point guard this season. He is sitting out this season at Bakersfield. Garrett is playing for Fresno and might return to BYU.

The incident took some of the luster off the Cougars’ eight-victory improvement from the 1-25 season.

“It was probably the most disappointing thing I’ve experienced in coaching,” Cleveland said. “Not only because I was close to those young men, but because it was so public.

“I was a little naive when I first got here. My philosophy has significantly changed. I understand what it’s like here in terms of environment and expectations. I learned that I have to do this first and foremost with high school players. I have to be very careful in evaluating young people.”

It’s a formula that has served a colleague well. Rick Majerus has pushed Utah past BYU as the state’s top basketball school, especially after the Utes reached the NCAA title game last spring. But Cleveland has been able to make some inroads following limited success.

During the 1-25 disaster two years ago, New Mexico crushed the Cougars, 74-32, in Albuquerque. Last season, BYU upset the 15th-ranked Lobos, 83-62, in the Pit. BYU finished 9-21, enough of an improvement to attract some talent.

Mark Bigelow, a 6-6 freshman guard, averages 17 points to lead the Cougars.

“There was no question it was going to be difficult,” Cleveland said. “For one thing, over the last three or four years, a lot of outstanding [Mormons] have gone to other schools. You go back 10-15 years ago, when BYU was really going, it was rare for them not to come to BYU. Those kids are the life-blood of this program.”