Losing Face

Sirens sounding a year ago were largely ignored, like a car alarm wailing in a crowded parking lot.

No Southland team made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1984.

What, us worry?

It was thought to be an aberration, a confluence of odd factors that would wash away along with the oily residue from Steve Lavin’s hair.

Yet, here we are again. In California, only one team south of Santa Barbara had a winning record and the RPIs of the 13 teams from San Luis Obispo to the Mexican border are in triple figures.

The sorry state of local hoops can be expressed several ways. Let’s try the Harper’s Index method. And remember, RPI is the power rating, in order, of the 326 Division I teams:

Years since there were consecutive seasons without a Southland team in the NCAA tournament: 55.

Fewest losses this season by any of the 13 teams from San Luis Obispo south: 12 (UC Santa Barbara).

Lowest RPI: 112 (USC).

Average RPI: 197.

Highest RPI: 300 (Long Beach State).

Teams advancing to the final of their conference tournaments: 1 (Cal State Northridge).

Win-loss record of the 13 Southern California teams: 152-220.

Number of snowballs a New York City man sold on the street one day last December: 10.

Profits he reaped: $9.50.

Like the last two items, we are irrelevant in (caution: redundancy ahead) hoops circles. We are as New Hampshire is to baseball, as Mississippi is to hockey.

Few will notice our absence from this year’s Big Dance. Willing partners abound, from Spokane, Wash., to Salt Lake City, from Seattle to Stockton. In fact, teams from those locales are the ones beating us senseless.

We could dismiss the 1984 reference, especially considering the last time the NCAA tournament was without a Southland team two years in a row was in 1948 and 1949, an almost prehistoric period when the NCAA tournament consisted of only eight teams.

But 1984 continues to resonate because explanations for our second-rate status take on an Orwellian essence.

* Strength is weakness: The hotbed of high school talent in the Southland invites poachers. Recruiting experts say many top local players in recent years became wary of UCLA and USC, yet instead of gravitating to nearby alternatives in the West Coast and Big West conferences, they left for schools outside the area.

So California products from the last three recruiting classes are all over the map -- and NCAA bracket sheets.

Stanford junior Josh Childress, from Lakewood Mayfair High, is the Pacific 10 Conference player of the year. Arizona sophomore Hassan Adams, from Westchester, is a human highlight reel. Maryland freshmen Ekene Ibekwe, from Carson, and D.J. Strawberry, from Santa Ana Mater Dei, are prominent role players with bright futures.

“I see guys from high schools around here, Childress at Stanford and Bobby Jones [from Long Beach Poly] at Washington,” Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal said. “Those guys would look good in local uniforms.”

* Big Brother might be watching, but nobody else is: The only school in Southern California able to draw a decent crowd is UCLA.

“When you recruit kids, they like to see packed houses and play on TV,” said Brian Quinn, the Cal State Fullerton athletic director. “We’re our own worst enemies. Southern California fans, by and large, they’re not going to basketball games anymore.”

USC has long lamented playing at the Sports Arena, and Long Beach State, UC Irvine and San Diego State are the only other teams whose venues can be called arenas. Everybody else plays in half-full gymnasiums.

No wonder so many players choose remote outposts where everyone in town goes to the game. Even if that means doing without smog and freeway traffic.

* What happened to Big Brother, anyway: UCLA is supposed be the Supreme Ruler of Southern California hoops, gobbling up top prospects and leaving the crumbs. This is acceptable because that eerie Bruin blue glow brightens the entire neighborhood.

“I think it’s a real good thing when UCLA recruits well because all the schools are affected by what UCLA does,” Westphal said. “Even if UCLA skims the best players, it would be nice to get the next guys. If L.A. kids think pastures are greener somewhere else, we don’t get any of them.”

UCLA is supposed to remind the nation that tradition, excellence and deep NCAA tournament runs are part of this city’s heritage. Watch the Bruins and You See L.A.

Lately, though, all anyone sees is one sorry excuse for a dynasty. Lavin’s house of cards tumbled last season and Ben Howland found the rebuilding a tad tougher than anticipated.

Result: A two-year, 21-36 nightmare, the first Bruin consecutive losing seasons since 1941 and 1942.

If a turnaround begins with recruiting, Howland appears on the right path. He signed four Southland players, including two ranked among the nation’s top 30 prospects -- Jordan Farmar of Woodland Hills Taft and Arron Afflalo of Compton Centennial.

That made every local coach happy except USC Coach Henry Bibby, who theoretically goes after the same guys. Bibby did well too, signing blue-chip point guard Gabe Pruitt of Westchester and Robert Swift, a 7-0 center from Bakersfield who could go straight to the NBA.

Should UCLA return to its winning ways and USC make a decent NCAA tournament run every three or four years -- let’s not forget the Trojan Elite Eight foray in 2001 -- the other schools stand a good chance of filling in the blanks.

Remember Pepperdine in the first round of the 2000 tournament, ending Bobby Knight’s tumultuous tenure at Indiana by sending him out on his rear?

With a little less misfortune -- the Waves had several injuries the last two seasons and one extended battle with the NCAA over player eligibility -- the ‘Dine could be just as fine next season. Every player on the roster returns.

Northridge came within a missed three-point shot at the buzzer of beating Pacific and winning the Big West tournament Saturday night, proving that even a team with a record below .500 can knock on the door.

(Getting beat by Northridge in a Big West semifinal, however, apparently is the kiss of death, as Utah State discovered Sunday, getting passed over for an at-large bid despite a 24-3 record and an RPI of 43.)

Santa Barbara made the NCAA tournament as recently as 2002. Northridge earned a berth in 2001 as a member of the Big Sky Conference. UC Irvine nearly broke through in both of those years, earning NIT bids.

Long Beach State last made the NCAA field in 1995. Loyola Marymount had its Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble era, culminating in a 1990 Elite Eight run. Cal State Fullerton must go back to its 1978 Elite Eight appearance.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo made the Big West tournament final last season. UC Riverside has been in Division I only three seasons and has made progress, qualifying for the Big West tournament for the first time this year.

The city of San Diego is not part of the Southland, but this year can be lumped in on the merits of its mediocrity. San Diego and San Diego State were a combined 18-42, and San Diego went from an NCAA appearance last season to a 4-26 record -- one of the steepest declines in recent memory.

San Diego State made the tournament in 2002, though, and has shown an ability to recruit skilled athletes.

So history tells us the drought will end soon. Somebody, somewhere, somehow is bound to win a conference tournament or gain an at-large berth.

At the very least, a team should win a few more games than it loses, ending at one the number of years Loyola Marymount can lay claim to Southland superiority for going 15-14.

Times staff writers Eric Stephens and Paul McLeod contributed to this report.

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Down and Out

Only one Southern California Div. I college basketball team finished with a winning record and all were shut out of the NCAA tournament:

*--* RPI School Record How finished Last NCAA 112 USC 13-15 First round 2002 of Pacific 10 tournament 117 San Diego State 14-16 Quarterfinal 2002 s of Mountain West tournament 129 Pepperdine 15-16 Semifinals 2002 of West Coast tournament 133 UCLA 11-17 First round 2002 of Pac-10 tournament 153 UC Santa Barbara 16-12 Quarterfinal 2002 s of Big West tournament 180 Loyola Marymount 15-14 Quarterfinal 1990 s of West Coast tournament 186 Cal State Northridge 14-16 Final of Big 2001 West tournament 223 UC Irvine 11-17 Ninth place Never in Big West 241 Cal State Fullerton 11-17 First round 1978 of Big West tournament 242 Cal Poly SLO 11-16 First round Never of Big West tournament 245 UC Riverside 11-17 Second round Never of Big West tournament 298 San Diego 4-26 First round 2003 of West Coast tournament 300 Long Beach State 6-21 Last place 1995 in Big West Average RPI: 196.85 Total record: 152-220.

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