Braswell Won’t Talk About Job Prospects

The questions keep coming as Cal State Northridge prepares to make its first NCAA tournament appearance.

Can the No. 13-seeded Matadors match up with No. 4 Kansas in a Midwest regional at Dayton, Ohio? Will any “Matamaniacs” follow Northridge east?

Will Coach Bobby Braswell accept a job offer at Nevada Las Vegas, or some other school, after the season?

Answers: Maybe, maybe and. . . . don’t ask.

Northridge (22-9), Big Sky Conference champion, plays the Jayhawks (24-6) Friday after advancing to its first NCAA tournament.

Braswell, rumored to be bolting Northridge after the season, doesn’t want to talk about any job, other than the one he’s trying to do.

But there he was again Monday, deflecting questions about his future while trying to prepare players for the biggest game of their lives.

“I just have to live with it,” Braswell said.

Braswell ducked out of practice Monday, while players shot free throws, for a live television interview. Of course, speculation crept into the interview. Braswell reiterated he hasn’t given UNLV a thought.

“It’s just the business,” Braswell said. “But I can answer it any way I want to answer it. Right now, my answer is basic. I’m not thinking about it. I’m not doing anything on any job.”

The Matadors have their work cut out for them, particularly against a frontcourt of imposing figures.

Kansas center Eric Chenowith stands 7 feet 1. Forwards Drew Gooden and Nick Collison are 6-9 each.

Northridge isn’t accustomed to playing against bigger bodies in the Big Sky, a conference known more for its three-point shooters.

Centers Brian Heinle, 6-9, and Dan Read, 6-10, are the Matadors’ tallest players. They also could stand to beef up. Each weighs about 225.

“They have a lot of good big guys, but we’re not going to play scared,” Read said.

Assistant Shon Tarver, who played in four NCAA tournaments for UCLA, said the Matadors will be ready.

“I think our schedule has prepared us for tournament ball,” Tarver said. “We know what it’s like to battle from behind, and we know what it’s like to battle when we’re ahead.”

Read, a junior expected to return next season, doesn’t know what Braswell will do. It’s nothing to talk about this week.

“Right now that’s not in our hands,” Read said. “We’re concentrating on this game this week.”

Sophomore forward Lionel Benjamin, who became a starter down the stretch because of his physical play, echoed Read.

“At this point,” Benjamin said, pointing at the floor for emphasis, “it’s not my concern.”

Tarver, in his first season under Braswell, would like to see the staff remain intact. Everyone at Northridge would.

They also would like to see some hometown fans at Dayton.

The school’s 1,600-seat gym, affectionately known as the “Matadome”, was a sea of red and black Saturday night, when the Matadors defeated Eastern Washington for the Big Sky championship.

Northridge followers agree the school had never seen anything like it. But the Matadors figure to have few supporters Friday, at least in the stands.

Only about 100 tickets figure to be sold among those provided to Northridge by the NCAA, Braswell said. The Northridge entourage of players, coaches and administrators will total 45. Budgetary constraints at the school preclude footing the bill for benefits such as charter planes.

Guard Carl Holmes spent part of Monday surfing the Internet in search of cheap plane fares.

“I’m still trying to get a ticket so my wife can go,” Holmes said.

There’s always television.

“We’re one of those teams people really want to see win,” Tarver said. “We know we can beat them. We don’t know how many people will come out there.”