Morgan Fired Up by 49er Outlook

It may be time to put up or pack up for Long Beach State basketball Coach Wayne Morgan.

In the third year of a five-year contract, the former Syracuse assistant is still looking for a winning season. The 49ers were 10-19 last season, their worst record in 12 years, and finished fifth in the six-team Western Division of the Big West Conference.

Afterward, Morgan met with Athletic Director Bill Shumard, who basically told the coach that if they were to meet under the same circumstances after a similarly disappointing 1998-99 season, it probably wouldn’t be to discuss a contract extension.

Morgan made a promise to Shumard: We will get better.

He then went out and recruited several players before making the same vow this month at a media gathering.

“We will improve drastically from last season,” he said. “We have to, or somebody else will be coaching here next season.”

Clearly, he got the message.

Two games into the season, though, the results are mixed.

The 49ers lost to Cal State Northridge, 83-65, in their opener last Saturday at the Pyramid, then rallied for a 98-92 overtime victory over Loyola Marymount Tuesday night at Loyola.

With four new players among the six who have played the most minutes so far, Morgan said Long Beach might be slow in developing but that the 49ers are “clearly more talented and more athletic” than they were last season.

“The big thing for our team,” he said, “is coming together and meshing and getting used to playing with each other because essentially it’s a brand-new team.”

The top returning players are 6-foot-6 senior forward D’Cean Bryant, who averaged 12.7 points and 6.9 rebounds last season, and 6-7 junior swingman Antrone Lee, who averaged 11.7 points and 4.1 rebounds and also led the team in assists, steals and blocked shots.

But Lee didn’t start in the opener, giving way to Bryant, and Bryant didn’t start against Loyola, giving way to Lee--illustrating the level of talent that Morgan has this season.

The other starters in both games are all newcomers: 6-11 junior center Mate Milisa and 6-8 junior forward Richie Smalls are junior college transfers; 5-9 senior point guard Tommie Davis sat out last season because of a dispute with Morgan; and 6-4 sophomore guard Ramel “Rock” Lloyd is a transfer from Syracuse.

Lloyd, said Morgan, should be one of the top five players in the Big West, though he will be hampered by sitting out last season.

Lloyd eventually will be joined in the backcourt by Charles O’Neal, another junior college transfer who is expected to replace Davis at point guard after sitting out nine games while completing his Associate of Arts degree.

“Once he’s eligible and acclimated,” Morgan said of O’Neal, “he’ll be a special player.”

Grant Stone, a 6-8 sophomore forward who started all but one game last season and averaged 5.2 points and 5.0 rebounds, has been sidelined after surgery on his left foot but is expected to play Saturday against Pepperdine.

On talent alone, Long Beach is expected to challenge for the Western Division title.

“My athletic director has only said to me, ‘At the end of the season, I want to be able to say that we’ve improved and that we’ve turned a corner.’ And I think we’re going to be able to say that. . . .

“My outlook is that we’re going to have a winning season. Any coach who doesn’t have that outlook probably should be fired.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

LONG BEACH STATE AT A GLANCE

SCHEDULE

Date: Opponent, Time Nov. 14: CS Northridge, L, 83-65 Nov. 17: at Loyola Marymount, W, 98-92 Nov. 21: Pepperdine, 7 Nov. 24: at USC, 7:30 Nov. 28: at San Diego State, 1 Dec. 1: CS Dominguez Hills, 7:30 Dec. 5: Utah, 7 Dec. 9: ..at SW Missouri State, 5 Dec. 12: Kansas State, 7 Dec. 27: at Northwestern, 11 a.m. Jan. 2: at Idaho, 7 Jan. 7: Nevada, 7:30 Jan. 9: Utah State, 7:30 Jan. 14: at New Mexico State, 9 Jan. 16: at North Texas, 5:30 Jan. 21: at CS Fullerton, 7 Jan. 23: at UC Irvine, 7 Jan. 28: Boise State, 7:30 Jan. 30: at Pacific, 7 Feb. 4: UC Santa Barbara, 7:30 Feb. 6: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 7 Feb. 11: at UC Santa Barbara, 7 Feb. 13: at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 2 Feb. 18: UC Irvine, 7:30 Feb. 20: Cal State Fullerton, 5 Feb. 27: Pacific, 7 March 4-6: Big West Tournament

ROSTER

*--*

No. Player Pos Ht. Wt. Yr. 3 Antrone Lee F 6-7 195 Jr. 4 D’Cean Bryant F 6-6 215 Sr. 10 Allan Gomez G 6-5 220 Jr. 11 James Delone G 6-2 185 So. 12 Ron Johnson G 6-1 180 Fr. 13 Mate Milisa C 6-11 225 .Jr. 14 Charles O’Neal G 6-3 190 Jr. 15 Grant Stone F 6-8 220 So. 22 Ramel Lloyd G 6-4 225 So. 32 Richie Smalls F 6-8 215 Jr. 34 Jared Frey F 6-5 215 Sr. 50 Ian Milley C 6-10 230 So. 55 Tommie Davis G 5-9 175 Sr.

*--*

RETURNING LEADERS

Scoring: Bryant, 12.7 ppg Rebounds: Bryant, 6.9 Assists: Lee, 3.0 Blocks: Lee, 1.8 Steals: Lee, 2.2 FG%: Bryant, 45.9 FT%: Milley, 83.3