Winning Would Solve Irvine’s Problems

UC Irvine’s situation is muddled, and very simple. The Anteaters, fighting for a spot in the Big West Conference tournament, can go two routes.

They can stress and fret, waiting for other teams to take care of it for them. Or, they can just win the next two games and be done with it.

“We are going to try to create our own destiny by playing good basketball,” Coach Pat Douglass said after Saturday’s loss to Long Beach State.

The Anteaters, who are fourth in the Western Division, were doing that to an extent before running into the 49ers, one of two quality teams in the conference--at least by Big West standards.

This week the road gets easier.

Irvine plays at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday. The Titans have beaten the Anteaters seven consecutive times, but seem in self-destruct mode after Coach Bob Hawking announced his resignation last week.

Next comes a home game against North Texas on Saturday. The Eagles are in a similar situation, fighting for a tournament spot in the Eastern Division. They are also a team that plays little defense.

The Anteaters can finish anywhere from fourth to last in the division. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is a game behind Irvine and must play Pacific and Long Beach.

“We may need a win to finish third,” Douglass said. “We may need two wins to get to the tournament.”

Long Beach and Utah State long ago wrapped up the division titles. The Aggies are undefeated in conference play (14-0), while the 49ers are 13-1, their only loss being to Utah State.

“We win the next two games, we go into the tournament with a streak,” said Long Beach center Mate Milisa, whose team has won 18 of its last 19 games. “We can’t be complacent. We still need to work hard in practice and the games. We still need to be focused every single day.”

The 49ers would do well to spend some of that time on the free-throw line. They made only 15 of 27 free throws against Irvine, which could be a problem come tournament time.

“That is a concern,” Coach Wayne Morgan said. “We need to concentrate on that. Those are absolutely crucial in a tournament game.”

DOLLAR INTERESTED

Utah assistant coach Donny Daniels appears to be the front-runner to replace Hawking as Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball coach, but he will have some competition.

Cameron Dollar, the former UCLA standout who is now an assistant at St. Louis for Lorenzo Romar, said he plans to apply for the position.

“I think it’s a do-able situation at Fullerton,” Dollar said. “The key is having someone who can level the playing field from a recruiting standpoint, and stir up some interest.”

Dollar was an assistant for one season at UC Irvine and head coach at Vanguard College for one year before moving to Georgia as an assistant.

Daniels, a former Fullerton player and assistant coach, is in his 12th season with Coach Rick Majerus at Utah.

LARGE TURNOVER

Hawking’s resignation means that Douglass is now fifth in seniority among conference coaches . . . in less than three seasons.

Such is the Big West.

Of course, while things have ground to a halt at Fullerton, the Irvine program seems to be inching forward. The Anteaters won two conference games a year ago but have five victories this season, with two to play.

OK, it’s not exactly a jet pack-like ascent, and Irvine has only one victory over a Division I team with a winning record.

But with two seven-footers next season (redshirt Adam Parada and community college transfer Dave Korfman) and Stanislav Zuzak, a 6-9 forward who is on the Czech under-20 national team, the Anteaters might be in position to put together a season highlighted by more than victories over Division II teams and hapless Division I opponents.

Still, few of the conference’s coaching jobs have been career-makers.

In the last 10 years, only three Big West coaches have moved on to bigger and better things as head coaches for other schools--Larry Eustachy (Utah State to Iowa State), Seth Greenberg (Long Beach State to South Florida) and Brad Holland (Fullerton to San Diego).

LOW TURNOUT

So where are those “Yes” votes now? Last spring, Irvine students overwhelmingly passed a student fee hike to bring back baseball and fully fund scholarships.

Included in that referendum was a quasi-bribe--free tickets to Irvine basketball games for the first 1,000 students. Thus far, the full allotment has not been used at any game, despite extensive campus promotions.

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Staff writer Lon Eubanks contributed to this story.