Short on Depth, Titan Men Dip Into the Walk-On Well

A reduction in scholarships, one player’s failure to qualify academically and an injury have left the Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team relying on walk-on players for depth this season.

Four freshmen not on scholarship--Danny Dinh, Jon Stoa, Josh Pierson and Ahmad Shurdim--were among the 12 players who made the trip to Montana State for Saturday’s game.

“We thought we might lose some scholarships because of the NCAA penalty, so we planned for more walk-on players because of that,” Titan Coach Bob Hawking said.

Fullerton’s scholarships were reduced from 13 to 11 for each of the next two years as part of its four-year NCAA probation.

A scholarship the Titans expected to give out this season wasn’t used because Patrick Ceresa of Switzerland failed to qualify academically and transferred to Wabash Valley Community College in Mt. Carmel, Ill.

Another scholarship player, freshman Dan Thompson, has been sidelined by a stress fracture in his right foot.

“Having the walk-ons has helped,” Hawking said.

Dinh and Stoa have been among the top 10 players in the first three games. Dinh played 14 minutes Saturday because point guard Kenroy Jarrett was ill with the flu and had early foul trouble. Stoa played nine minutes.

Hawking said he thought Dinh was one of the better point guards in Orange County last season at Pacifica High, even though he wasn’t heavily recruited.

Dinh, who is 5 feet 10, was the Garden Grove League’s most valuable player last season, when he averaged 14.5 points, 7.6 assists and three steals a game.

Hawking also said he is pleased that Stoa decided to walk on at Fullerton. “When we saw him as a junior, we thought he would be a recruitable player, but he played for a small school [Whittier Christian] and didn’t get a lot of attention.”

Stoa, who is 6-4 and can play either guard or small forward, averaged 21 points and seven rebounds as a senior at Whittier Christian.

Pierson, a 6-foot guard, was a three-time most valuable player at Laguna Hills High, averaging 19 points and 5.7 assists as a senior. Shurdim, a 6-4 swingman, played at Magnolia High two seasons ago, averaging 10 points. He was a redshirt last season.

CALDWELL HURT

Cal State Fullerton junior center Matt Caldwell is not expected to play in Tuesday night’s game at St. Mary’s because of an ankle injury late in Saturday’s loss at Montana State.

Caldwell, who was examined after the game by the Montana State team doctor, might miss more than one game with the sprain, according to team trainer Brent Smedley.

Caldwell averaged 10.2 points in Fullerton’s first three games, including 22 against San Diego. Sophomore Josh Fischer is expected to move into the starting lineup as Caldwell’s replacement.

THE BIG PAYOFF

When UC Irvine students passed a referendum last spring to help fully fund athletic scholarships, Anteater coaches talked about what it would mean to their programs.

Cross-country coach Vince O’Boyle has showed what it means.

In signing Abby Miller, he got one of the most coveted high school distance runners in the nation. She finished third in the national high school championships as a freshman and, after injuries slowed her as a sophomore, finished 10th last year.

O’Boyle followed that up by snagging Jenny Liou, a distance runner from Moscow High School in Idaho. Liou, a 16-year-old senior, was the Junior Olympic champion in the 1,500 meters and finished third in the 800 in 1998. She finished third in the 1,500 at the Youth Athletics Nationals last summer.

“With those two and with what we have back, we could be very good,” O’Boyle said.

Miller is the valedictorian at Henderson (Nev.) Green Valley High School with a 4.7 grade-point average. She is sports editor of the school paper. She has worked in a soup kitchen, tutored other students, volunteered in homeless shelters, and served as a counselor and lifeguard at a camp for children with critical illnesses.

And she chose Irvine over UCLA, Arizona and Rice.

ONE TOUGH TEXAN

Why the Anteater basketball team is going to miss forward Adam Stetson was evident as he lay in bed in the Norman Regional Hospital hours after minor surgery for a partially collapsed lung.

A nurse brought in a machine that would slowly administer antibiotics. Stetson wasn’t wild about the idea until he was told it would help prevent infection.

“Oh, I thought it was for the pain,” said Stetson, a 6-foot-7 senior from Colleyville, Texas. “I don’t need anything for the pain.”

And that, in short, is Stetson. His attitude was missed when the Anteaters pushed Oklahoma before losing, 80-68, Saturday.

Stetson did not return with the team from Norman Sunday, but is expected to be released from the hospital today. He will return to his parents’ home in Texas for a few days and will be out at least three weeks.

On top of that, he has been playing with a partially torn tendon in his foot, the same injury that limited Angel outfielder Tim Salmon two seasons ago.

It leaves the Anteaters weak at power forward and Coach Pat Douglass with a decision. He is leaning toward using freshman Matt Okoro, who was ticketed to redshirt. Okoro is a gifted athlete, but is only 17 and could use a year to develop.

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Staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this report.