Douglass Happy to Be in Red

There are three freshmen redshirting this season at UC Irvine. Nothing better shows the direction Anteater Coach Pat Douglass thinks his basketball program is headed.

A redshirt freshman is rare for the Anteaters, like a full house in Irvine’s Bren Center for a basketball game.

Near as Irvine officials can figure, there have been four or five redshirts in the last 20 years. So holding out center Adam Parada, forward Matt Okoro and guard Aras Baskauskas is quite a statement by Douglass.

So things are changing at Irvine? Maybe. And after winning only 15 games in two seasons--the Anteaters were 6-20 last season--improving shouldn’t be too hard.

“In the past, I would talk about 15 victories as a bad season,” said Douglass, now in his third season. “The problem was, we basically had to start the program over. We didn’t want to go for the quick fix. I think we have established a foundation.”

And now?

“At some point, you have to show you’re getting better,” Douglass said.

That could happen this season.

Douglass won three Division II titles at Cal State Bakersfield and took over an Irvine team that had gone 1-25 in 1996-97. The Anteaters finished 9-18 and qualified for the Big West Conference tournament his first season. A year ago, they slipped to six victories, one against Division II Cal State Stanislaus and another against Southern Oregon, an NAIA team.

The Anteaters, who have had only one winning season since 1987-88, lost 14 consecutive games, many because of second-half fades. They lost six games by five points or fewer.

“It’s time to let bygones be bygones and forget about last year,” senior forward Marek Ondera said. “Mentally, we have to tell ourselves to get it done at the end of games. It is five minutes out of your day. Play hard.”

That will be easier to do this season with seven returners and four newcomers.

There is returning talent. Point guard Jerry Green was the conference’s freshman of the year after averaging 13 points and four assists. Ondera averaged 11 points and seven rebounds as a skinny, 6-foot-7 junior. He now weighs 220 pounds.

Likewise, Adam Stetson, forward Ben Jones, center Mark Gottschalk and guard Zamiro Bennem all have beefed up.

The is also talent coming in. Sean Jackson, a 6-5 transfer from California, will make an impact. He not only is a deadly shooter, but also an intense player who can push and prod the Anteaters into action. Jens Jensen, a 6-5 transfer from Denmark via San Jose City College, has similar skills and attitude.

“We learned a lot last year,” Green said. “Mostly we learned what it takes to win games.”

It takes an inside game, for starters. There was no secret to success against Irvine last season: Guard the perimeter and pound the ball inside. Douglass hopes J.R. Christ and Greg Ethington are the answer to that problem.

Christ, who went to Colorado as a freshman, rarely touched the ball at Hutchinson (Kan.) College last season, getting his five points a game mostly off rebounds. He showed good mobility to go with his 6-9, 240-pound frame in Irvine’s exhibition games.

Ethington, a 6-8, 235-pound freshman, signed with Pepperdine, but asked out of his scholarship when Coach Lorenzo Romar left for St. Louis. Like Christ, he moves well and is also a threat from behind the three-point line.

Unfortunately for the Anteaters, he will play this season, then go on a two-year Mormon mission.

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UC Irvine at a Glance

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Date Opponent, Time Nov. 19 UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO, 7 p.m. Nov. 26 Southwest Texas#, 4 p.m. Nov. 27 Okla. or University of San Diego#, TBA Dec. 1 at Loyola Marymount, 7 p.m. Dec. 4 ST. MARY’S, 7:35 p.m. Dec. 14 WESTERN WASHINGTON, 7 p.m. Dec. 18 at California, 8 p.m. Dec. 22 HUMBOLDT STATE, 7 p.m. Dec. 30 ST. FRANCIS, 7 p.m. Jan. 5 at Pepperdine, 6 p.m. Jan. 9 HIGH POINT, 2 p.m. Jan. 13 at Nevada*, 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at Utah State*, 6 p.m. Jan. 20 IDAHO*, 7 p.m. Jan. 22 BOISE STATE*, 7 p.m. Jan. 26 CAL STATE FULLERTON*, 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at New Mexico State*, 6 p.m. Feb. 3 LONG BEACH STATE*, 7 p.m. Feb. 5 PACIFIC*, 7 p.m. Feb. 10 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo*, 7 p.m. Feb. 12 at UC Santa Barbara*, 7 p.m. Feb. 17 CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO*, 7 p.m. Feb. 19 UC SANTA BARBARA*, 7 p.m. Feb. 24 at Pacific*, 7 p.m. Feb. 26 at Long Beach State*, 7:30 p.m. Mar. 1 at Cal State Fullerton*, 7 p.m. Mar. 4 NORTH TEXAS*, 7 p.m. Mar 9-11 Big West tournament, TBA

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#Oklahoma tournament; *Big West Conference games

UCI ROSTER

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No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Year 3 Greg Ethington C 6-8 235 Fr. 4 J.R. Christ C 6-9 240 So. 5 Jerry Green G 6-3 195 So. 11 Malachi Edmond G 6-1 18 Jr. 14 Zamiro Bennem 6-4 195 So. 21 Marek Ondera F 6-7 220 Sr. 22 Aras Baskauskas G 6-3 185 Fr. 24 Sean Jackson G 6-5 200 Jr. 30 Jens Jensen 6-5 185 Jr. 40 Matt Okoro F 6-7 210 Fr. 42 Adam Stetson F 6-7 230 Sr. 45 Ben Jones F 6-7 220 Jr. 52 Mark Gottschalk C 6-10 255 So. 55 Adam Parada C 7-0 220 Fr.

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