Talk Is Cheap, So Braswell Gets His Money’s Worth

It’s that time of year again when basketball coaches bounce their optimistic outlooks off anyone willing to listen.

Or is forced to.

Nine of Southern California’s college coaches made the most of he opportunity last week duringan annual tip-off luncheon at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

Each took their turn at the microphone trumpeting their programs, their returning players and their talented recruits.

Seated at the dais was Bobby Braswell, entering his fourth season as coach at Cal State Northridge and savoring his heightening stature in the college ranks.

Braswell showed he knows how to play the banquet game, too. He devoted his speaking time to joking with colleagues, and praising his assistants, players and program.

“It’s always a privilege to come to this event and have a chance to visit with some of my colleagues,” Braswell told the gathering.

Afterward, Braswell conceded rhetoric tends to fly freely this time of year, including his own. But his optimism is genuine.

“This is a nice event to come to every year,” Braswell said. “Everybody sandbags about how good they’re going to be. But I really am excited about this team.”

Northridge, 17-12 last season and tied for third in the Big Sky Conference at 9-7, has lost key players Derrick Higgins, Greg Minor and Jason Crowe.

Higgins, the Matadors’ leading scorer and most valuable player, has graduated. Minor, the team’s leading three-point shooter the last two seasons, quit the team last spring and declared himself eligible for the NBA draft but was not drafted.

Crowe, a 6-4 guard who averaged 4.8 points a game, was unsuccessful in petitioning the NCAA for another year of eligibility.

That leaves forward Andre Larry, who averaged 20 points in the final five games last season and center Brian Heinle--both 6-9 but big men who could stand to be bigger--and guard Markus Carr, who averaged a team-high 4.4 assists, as offensive catalysts.

Northridge, 43-43 in three seasons under Braswell, might benefit from the graduation toll taken on other Big Sky teams.

Predictably, Braswell told the gathering, “This is a phenomenal group of players. . . the first group that I really feel truly cares about each other and really cares about our program and where it’s headed and what we’re trying to do.”

Any coach might have said the same. But Braswell insists he is passionate about the upcoming season like none before.

In fact, Braswell proclaimed this Northridge team the best in his tenure. He wasn’t speaking into a microphone.

“I feel this is the first group we’ve had that has a goal and everybody is unified in their thinking,” Braswell said. “This is the most talented group we’ve ever had. Absolutely.”

Now, that’s saying something.

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Braswell’s third full recruiting class might be his best.

Most promising are freshmen Craig Calloway, a 6-1 guard from Long Beach Jordan High, and Lionel Benjamin, a 6-3 forward from Lakewood High and a transfer from the Naval Academy.

Guard Marco McCain, a 6-3 junior, averaged 14.5 points last season for Cerritos College, which won the state junior college championship.

Forward Whitney White, a 6-5 junior, transferred from Lincoln College near Chicago.

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Outside hitter Jennifer Keating is likely to set an Antelope Valley career record for kills when the Marauders play Chaffey tonight.

Keating, a sophomore from Palmdale, has 364 kills, 12 short of Heidi Roarty’s record set in 1990-91.

Keating established a Marauder match record with 25 kills against Desert on Wednesday. She is the season record holder with 267 kills last year.

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Northridge and Cal Lutheran host homecoming football games Saturday. Northridge plays Cal State Sacramento at North Campus Stadium. Cal Lutheran hosts Claremont-Mudd at Mt. Clef Stadium.