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pointing forIRVINE —When Pat Douglasswas hired as UC Irvine’s new basketball coach last March, he learned all five of the team’s starters would be returning thisseason.He just didn’t know if that were the good news or the bad news.After all, UCJ went 1-25 last season, which is why Rod Baker was fired and Douglass was hired.It was easy to figure out why Douglass got the nod of UCI’s search committee:-*-• Douglass, 47, has never had ii losing season in 24 years of Caching high school, junior col-hjge and four-year college KP?*ms.► He guided Cal State Bakersfield to the NCAA Division II championship last season — his third national championship there in five years. (His 1992-93 Bakersfield team went 33-0, one of only six four-year college teams to go undefeated in the past 25 years.)► His teams have won at least 20 games in 13 consecutive seasons, all 10 of his years at Bakersfield and his last three years at Eastern Montana, another Division II school now known as Montana State-Billings.Given his dynastic success atCal State Bakersfield and his admitted aversion to losing, it wasn’t as easy to figure out why Douglass said yes to UCI.Sure, it was a Division I job, but being asked to turn around the downtrodden Anteaters was a monumental challenge.Seven months later, after just completing his first week ofpractice, what is Douglass thinking now?“Granted, I don’t like to lose a lot of ballgames,” he said Friday, “but I’m not deflated or looking at it negatively or questioning my decision to come here, I knew what cards were being dealt. ... Any coach likes to win 20 games, but I’m really enjoying working with this team.”Though realistic about histeam’s chances of contending in tile Big West, Douglass is looking forward to the challenge because fie likes the work ethic his players have shown — those of whom are still here, that is.;j“If I had players wrho w'ouldn’t work hard, it would be very difficult for me,” he said “Yes, this is a different challenge for me, but I’ve always enjoyed being around teams or players who really wanted to work. I’m really proud of this group setting the table for us for the future.Turns out, all five of UCI’sstarters didn’t return this sea-Mn. Forward Brian Johnson, a i2 point scorer who made the Big West All-Freshman Team last season, transferred to Florida AM. Center Wendell Robinson (8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds), the team’s only senior, is academi cally ineligible and not practicing with the team.[hat leaves junior guard Lamarr Parker, the leading returning scorer at 13.4 points, sophomore swing man Juma Jacksonand sophomore center AndrewCarlson as the only significant holdovers from Baker’s last team.And that means several newcomers— freshman forward Ben Jones (Sonora High), freshmanguard Malachi Edmond (Long Beach Poly) and junior collegetransfers Junior Bond (IllinoisCentral Community College) andMatt Willard (Butte College in t*roville) — likely w ill see plentyHANDY YOUNGMANof playing time this season for aninexperienced team that also has four walk-ons.“The problem you have coming in (as a new coach), you have to count on four or five guys in a program, and we didn’t have that,” Douglass said. “It’s unfair to a guy like Ben Jones and some of these kids, to be the foundation of the program, but they’re going to have to be.”Douglass laughed. He clearly doesn’t sound like a coach stressed out about the strong possibility he is about to experience his first losing season in 25 years.In fact, he insists it wasn’t difficult to lower his own expectations.“The thing about Bakersfield,” he said, “is that it was one of the top two or three programs in the country, out of about 300 Division II schools. No matter what I do, I will never have the same expectations here that I had at Bakersfield, because that was like the UCLA or the Duke of Division II.“What I’m excited about here is the opportunity to improve as a coach. We’re going to have to find ways to squeeze out as much as wre can over the years. This year, I think these kids will have some bright moments as we go through the season, but it definitely is a rebuilding type situation.”For the eminently successful Pat Douglass, there’s nowhere togo but down, but he doesn’t seem to mind because he is confident UCI is on the way up again.Don’t forget, Dean Smith had a losing season his first year at North Carolina and even suffered the indignity of being hanged in effigy. After that, all he did was post 29 seasons of 20 ormore victories.Just wondering: TV ratingsfor the 1997 World Series are among the lowest ever. Is it the markets or the sport itself?► Does Ken Kaiser, the first-base umpire Thursday night in Game 5, know how close he came to becoming the next Don Denkinger?► Anybody else notice the Mighty Ducks play in a division in which only one team has a winning record?► Did you really think Dennis Rodman, Newport Beach’s w'eirdest part-time resident, would sit out the season?Rumor of the Day: During a speaking engagement Wednesday at the Fireside restaurant in Westminster, former Angels and Dodgers outfielder Jay Johnstone said the Phillies and Reds are interested in talkingto Pete Rose about managing if he is reinstated by major-league baseball.Quote of the Day: Bruce Coslet, coach of the 1-6 Cincinnati Bengals: “We can’t run.We can’t pass. We can’t stop the run. YVe can’t stop the pass.We can’t kick.”What about the coaching,Bruce?Randy Youngman is a Register staff columnist.
Newspaper Details
Santa Ana Orange County Register Sunday
Santa Ana, California, US
Sun, Oct 26, 1997
Page 122
Full Page
Clipped by
Decatur P.
IL, USA 15 Sep 2022
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