While NBA Sits Idle, Basketball Goes On

Who needs the NBA?

There’s plenty of basketball in Southern California, as evidenced when 10 college coaches from San Diego to Santa Barbara appeared Wednesday at the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s annual John Wooden luncheon.

*

We already have the season’s first upset. . . .

On the dais with his colleagues was USC’s Henry Bibby, almost as elusive now as when he was playing. . . .

Criticized because he was a no-show last year, he decided to grace the luncheon with his absence again until Wooden Award Chairman Duke Llewellyn called on a couple of friends with USC’s board of trustees to persuade him to change his mind. . . .

Bibby shouldn’t need convincing to appear at a function in honor of Wooden. . . .

Steve Lavin had to leave early for the airport. He’s going to Holland to meet the parents of 6-foot-10 freshman Dan Gadzuric, then to Guadeloupe to meet the parents of 6-10 1/2 freshman Jerome Moiso. . . .

Lavin will probably check to see if they have any “little” brothers. . . .

NCAA rules prevent him from talking about high school players, but Lavin reportedly is close to receiving an oral commitment from freshman JaRon Rush’s brother, Kareem. . . .

Baron Davis, who had reconstructive knee surgery in April, is far ahead of schedule in his rehabilitation and could even play in the Nov. 19 opener against Santa Clara. . . .

Michael Johnson, Cal State Northridge’s associate head coach, was an undergraduate assistant at Purdue when Lavin was a graduate assistant under Gene Keady. . . .

“He was my mentor,” Johnson said. “We hit every happy hour, trying to get Buffalo wings because that’s all we could afford. . . .

“Now he’s got the new contract, the greased-back hair, the clothes. At Purdue, he would hand his tie to a student manager and make him tie it for him because he didn’t know how.” . . .

Pepperdine Coach Lorenzo Romar, formerly a UCLA assistant, has a game scheduled against his old head coach in Westwood, Jim Harrick, when the Waves meet Rhode Island on Dec. 29 in Malibu. . . .

Bob Williams, UC Santa Barbara’s new coach, said he had a “tingle down my spine” from appearing at a luncheon associated with Wooden. . . .

“I wish I had the same feeling about coaching my basketball team this season,” he added. . . .

He did get a thrill recently from Adama Ndiaye, a 6-9 sophomore from Senegal. . . .

“We tried to test his vertical leap in the weight room and couldn’t do it because his head hit the ceiling,” Williams said. . . .

Williams, who won the NCAA Division II national championship last season at UC Davis, credited UC Irvine Coach Pat Douglass. . . .

“We had to wait for Pat to move out of Bakersfield for us to get out of the Western region,” Williams said. . . .

Douglass, who had won the national title in three of the previous five years at Cal State Bakersfield, had his first losing record in 25 years of coaching last season. . . .

“I was asked how I would adjust to a team that had won only one game the previous season,” said Douglass, whose Anteaters improved to 9-18 in his first season. “After the experience, I would have to say, ‘Not very well.’ ” . . .

*

Cal State Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking listened to the other coaches Wednesday, then mused, “One goes to Holland to recruit, another goes to Africa. I go to South Anaheim.” . . .

Hawking will be on one bench and his son, Kansas State assistant Butch Hawking, on the other when the Titans play Nov. 16 at Manhattan, Kan. . . .

Loyola Marymount Coach Charles Bradley’s new assistant, John Schweitz, has something in common with Michael Jordan. . . .

They’ve both played on championship teams coached by Phil Jackson--Schweitz with the CBA’s Albany Patroons. . . .

James Holland, San Diego State assistant, played for the Harlem Globetrotters. . . .

“I wish we could schedule the Washington Generals,” he said. . . .

Although Long Beach State’s shooting guard, Ramel “Rock” Lloyd, transferred from Syracuse, 49er Coach Wayne Morgan said he’s still friends with his former Orangeman boss, Jim Boeheim. . . .

“I spoke to Jim just yesterday,” Morgan said. “I asked who we were going to get from him next year.” . . .

Morgan celebrated his 47th birthday Wednesday. He was 37 when he arrived in Long Beach two years ago.

*

While wondering if there ever was a smoother fielding left side of the infield than Mark Belanger and Brooks Robinson, I was thinking: It’s about time Mayor (Bring-up-the) Riordan joined the fight for football in L.A., whether Ray Rhodes or Norv Turner loses his job first might be decided Sunday, the Eagles could use Randall Cunningham.