Northridge cooks up a win at basketball coaches challenge

May the best shrimp win.

That was the goal Wednesday when men’s and women’s basketball coaches from the Big West Conference got together at the ESPN Zone in Anaheim and attempted their best Top Chef impersonations.

The only requirement was that the meal had to include shrimp, and a panel of four judges — one an actual Superior Court judge —declared Cal State Northridge’s team of men’s Coach Bobby Braswell and first-year women’s Coach Jason Flowers winner of the second Big West Southern California Basketball Coaches Cooking Challenge.

“It might be the only thing we win all year,” Braswell joked upon receiving the first-place trophy.

The Matadors return just one starter, forward Lenny Daniel, from last season’s team that finished 11-21 overall and 6-10 in conference play. Daniel led the Big West with a school-record 44 blocked shots.

But Braswell is also high on senior swingman Rashaun McLemore and senior point guard Dathan Lyles, who were both slowed by injuries last season.

Northridge has eight freshmen, making this the youngest team Braswell has coached in his 15 seasons at the school.

Top performers

The Big West returns six of its top 10 scorers from last season, led by conference player of the year Orlando Johnson of UC Santa Barbara.

The conference also returns its top three rebounders, led by first-team All-Big West selection T.J. Robinson of Long Beach State; teammate Casper Ware led the league in steals and assists.

Bob Burton, who is set to begin his eighth season at Cal State Fullerton, said he expected Long Beach and Santa Barbara to be two of the better teams on the West Coast in the next year or two.

“This year is going to be very good, and next year it’s going to be the best since I’ve been in it,” he said of the conference.

Seeking depth

Along with Ware and Robinson, Long Beach returns starters Larry Anderson and Eugene Phelps, as well as shooting guard Greg Plater, a top reserve last season.

But Coach Dan Monson is looking for more players to step into the game rotation.

“Our season will be defined on players 6-7-8,” he said. “We have five guys that I’m very confident in. They’ve got experience. They’ve been through the league. But we’ve got to develop some depth.”

Monson is hoping junior college transfer Tristan Wilson will bounce back from knee surgery and join the mix, as well as returning reserves Kyle Richardson, Lin Chang and 7-footer Mike Vantrimpont.

Rookie at Irvine

UC Irvine’s first-year coach, Russell Turner, was an assistant for the NBA’s Golden State Warriors the last six seasons. He said his biggest adjustment has been working within NCAA rules that limit the amount of time he can spend with players during the off-season.

“It makes it difficult,” he said. “The challenge we have in front of us is getting our team ready for the way we’re going to communicate and the way we’re going to play.”

Turner inherited a team with two returning starters, forward Eric Wise and guard Darren Moore, plus Patrick Rembert, who started 15 games at point guard last season. Wise led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists.

“The cupboard was not left bare,” he said.

Wooden Coaching Award

Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo, who has guided the Spartans to six Final Fours and the 2000 NCAA title, was announced as the 2011 winner of the John R. Wooden Award’s Legends of Coaching Award during a luncheon at the L.A. Athletic Club. Izzo will be honored in April.

Head coaches from UCLA, UCLA, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, along with assistant coaches from the local Big West schools, spoke at the luncheon.

Bell tolls both ways

Every player who scored a point for Pepperdine last season returns to the team.

Among them is junior guard Keion Bell, who averaged 18.5 points a game and is on pace to become the school’s all-time leading scorer.

“Unfortunately, he’s one of those guys that can keep both teams in the game,” said Coach Tom Asbury, whose team was 7-24 last season. “He can go down, get a basket, turn it over at the other end, get a rebound, get a charging foul.”

Wave in waiting

Asbury, who is in his second stint at Pepperdine, spanning nine years overall, said assistant Marty Wilson would “get to be the head coach at Pepperdine in the near future, we hope.”

Ready to roar?

With four returning starters and 6-foot-10 redshirt freshman Edgar Garibay returning from a torn knee ligament to bolster the front line, Loyola Marymount has greater aspirations than writing out a fat check to be included in the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament.

“This year, we will have expectations,” said Coach Max Good, whose team is picked to finish second or third in the West Coast Conference in most preseason forecasts.

The Lions also feature a pair of returning first-team all-conference players in guard Vernon Teel and forward Drew Viney from a team that went 18-16.

Times staff writers Ben Bolch and Baxter Holmes contributed to this report.

sports@latimes.com