USD Men's Basketball 1995-1996

TORERO OUTLOOK

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The 1995-96 University of San Diego men's basketball program, under the direction of second year coach Brad Holland, returns four starters and eleven lettermen from last year's squad that finished 11-16 and fifth in the West Coast Conference. Although the team loses just one player, Coach Holland will have a tough time trying to replace him -guard Doug Harris. Harris, a two-time First Team All-West Coast Conference selection, was the lone Torero to start all 27 games while leading the team in scoring (17.2 ppg), field goals made (165), three pointers made (63), free throws made (72), steals (45) and minutes played (928). Coach Holland will be looking for his returning starters to all step up their games to ease the loss of Harris. Leading the way in '95-96 will be seniors Sean Flannery and David Fizdale, both tri-captains last year with Harris. Flannery, a 6-5 swingman from Tucson, Arizona, is the team's top returning scorer (14.0 ppg) and an Honorable Mention All-WCC pick. He led the league in free throw percentage (90.0%) and canned 62 treys, one shy of Harris' school record. Going into his senior year, Sean has 707 career points and 115 career made three-pointers. He should become the school's 15th player to score 1,000+ career points and will have a serious shot at breaking Doug Harris' career record for threes made of 176. Senior David Fizdale, a 6- 2, 185 lb. point guard from Los Angeles, will be one of the league's best. This past season he averaged 8.7 ppg, led the team in assists with 158 (5 .9 apg, 2nd in WCC), and finished second in steals with 44. Among USD Division I players only (1979-95), David currently stands fourth all-time in assists with 270 - he needs 139 this coming season to break Wayman Strickland's mark of 408 (the all-time USD record is 451, set by Stan Washington, 1971-74). The other two starters returning include junior center James Black (6-11, 260 lbs.) and sophomore forward Ryan Williams (6-6, 215 lbs.). Black, who started 14 games last season, is the projected starting center this coming season. He averaged 3.8 ppg and 3.0 rpg while getting just over 18 minutes of playing time a game. Williams, who earned his first start in game nine against Iowa State, was one of the best freshmen in the WCC. He finished the season making 59.1% of his shots while averaging 7.3 ppg and 4.7 rpg. Other key returning contributors include: Brian Bruso (6-7,junior, F/C), who started 15 games, but was the first player off the bench down the stretch, finished with averages of 9.9 ppg and a team-leading 5.3 rpg; Andre Speech (6-8, sophomore, F), played in all 27 games and averaged 4.6 ppg; Rocco Raffo (6-9, senior, C), started seven of twenty games and sparked the team with his hustle; and Val Hill (6-4, senior, F), one of the team's more aggressive defensive specialists. Two returning sophomores that gained valuable experience in their rookie season include Nosa Obasohan (6-5, swingman) and Kareem Mutrie (5-11 , point-guard). Lamont Smith (6-2, freshman, guard), who sat out last season after corrective knee surgery, is expected to help with his defensive abilities and outside shooting. The Toreros two newcomers, Brian Miles (6-9, sophomore, F) and Brock Jacobsen (6-5, freshman, G), are both expected to see considerable action in 1995-96. Miles, who is coming off a two-year church mission, played his freshman year at Utah Valley State. Coming off the bench he averaged 7.4 ppg and proved he has range by canning 45.2% of his three-point attempts. Jacobsen comes to USD via Crescenta Valley High School (coach Holland's alma mater). Selected All-State (third team) by Cal-Hi Magazine , Brock averaged 27 .2 ppg while leading his team to a 25-2 mark (3rd in state). Brock's brother, Adam, is a starting guard at the University of the Pacific, USD's opponent on November 26th in Stockton. USD's schedule will be highlighted by its December 9th encounter with the University of Kansas at the San Diego Sports Arena. USD plays cross-town rival San Diego State at USD on December 2nd. The game will be televised live by Prime Sports West at 5:00 p.m. Other key nonconference home opponents include UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 6), UC Irvine (Dec. 21) and the University of Nevada (Dec. 23). The Toreros' nonconference road slate includes contests at Sacramento State (Nov. 24), Pacific (Nov. 26), Notre Dame (Dec. 28) and Cal State Northridge (Jan. 24). USD opens up WCC play on January 6th in San Diego against San Francisco. The WCC Tourna– ment will again be at Santa Clara University beginning March 2nd with the winner getting the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.