News Scrapbook 1985

Loi Angeles, CA (Loa AngelH Co.) Time• (San Diego Ed.)

(0. 50,010) (S. 55,573)

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131985

Toreros~reTrying toForgetThatSpecialSeason "v1 , ', .

con istenc1JStopped U D From Returning to NCAA Tournament By TONY COOPER SAN DIEGO-Mention the Uni- ver 1t n Diego's 1983-84 b . ke all season to Hank Egan und his reply will be dehvered with a glare usually reserved for refer- e • "I don't give a bleep about last year," says Egan, who replaced Jim Brovelh last spring. "I can't stand talking about it." Maybe so, but to anyone associ- ated with USO basketball, last season was worth remembering because the Toreros won their f1rst-ev r West Coast Athletic Conference title and went on to the CAA tournament. The Toreros weren't able to m tch those feats m 1984-85. USO fm1 hed fourth m the WCAC with a 5 7 record, lG 11 overall "Compan' lo last year, thts 1s quite a I tdown," said semor guard Chns Carr "F.specially after you look m the paper and sec the pa.1rlngs. Last year we were one of those t ams." S 1d forward AI'thony Reuss. U. D's other scmor "It's a little letdown, to be honest We had one great year. It's something we'll always cherish" [neon stency hurt the ToreroR. USO had early-sea~on \,ctories agamst evada-Reno and San Jose tate, but dropped four of their first five WCAC games. USO bounced back to wm four of its next five league games before losing the fmal two games to Pepperdme and Loyola Marymount. "We lost game against people we should've beaten," said Egan. "The last game (a 66-64 loss to Loyola Marymount at the Sports Center) left a bad taste in my mouth. What typified our season i we beat anta Clara at Santa Clara, and lost to Loyola at home. We beat evada-R no, the Big Sky cham- pion. and lose to Idaho (one of the weaker teams m the Big Sky)," Another contributing factor to the disappointing season was the combmat1on of a new coach and new player . Newcomers Kik1 Jackson, James Kmght and Peter Murphy all played significant roles this season and the Toreros also had to do without Mike Whitmarsh, their 1eading scorer and rebounder last season and guar

VINCE COMPAGNONE / Loo Ang•l•• Time, Scot Thomp:,on, a 6-11, 250-pound sophomore !=enter, is a key to USD's success for next season. Thompson averaged more than 11 points and 6 rebounds per game this season for the Toreros.

head coach at Air Force, where prospects could look forward to no less than a five-year career in the service after college. So much for the National Basketball Assn. 'They recruit for nme years, not four," said Cahill. Reuss believes Egan will be able to attract high-caliber players to USO because of his background. "He's a master at getting the type of player he wants," Reuss said. "He did it 13 years at Air Force. If he can do it there, he can do it here. It's twice as easy to do it here. He'll handle it." The Toreros will have a tougher schedule to handle next season. USO will travel to tournaments at New Mexico, Montana and Texas, and has non-conference games against Cal State-Fullerton, Neva- da-Reno and Montana State. Also in the works are a possible appear- ance in a tournament at Indiana University and a game against DePaul. The latter woul

disadvantage. Not only is USD's 2,500-seat Sports Center not the size of a basketball showplace, but USD has stringent academic re- quirements. A prospective high school graduate must have a grade-point average of 2.8. For college or Junior college transfers, it's 2.5. "The quality of the education, the campus and the city are plusses," Egan said. "If there's a problem. it's the gym. The kids we're interested in are more con- cerned about the education than the gym, but the gym is going to be a factor." Said Father Patrick Cahill, USD's athletic director, "It (the academics) is one factor that elimi- nates a lot of people. Another is the facility. If a kid is a blue-chip player and pictures himself playing in a Pauley Pavilion, then comes to our facility, he'll figure he won't get the exposure." But USD may have a new home in the future. There is talk of building an on-campus arena on the northeast end of Alcala Park. Egan is used to requirements even tougher 'than the ones he faces at USO. He spent 13 years as

"We took a httle bit of a slide -I'm not happy about that. But we're not going to hit rock-bottpm." Egan is looking for Jim Pelton, a 6-foot -Inch tra fer from Kansas to step in and help the Toreros next season. "He's a big 'kid and a good athlete," Egan said. "He'll help us." Eg:m aJsr expecting better thmg~ froru Murphy, Steve Krall- man. Nils Madden and Jackson. But the key to USD's fortunes is probably 6-11, 250-pound sopho- more center Scott Thompson. Thompson averaged more than 11 points and 6 rebounds per game this season and has improved tre- mendously since his freshman year. Egan says Thompson wlll spend time in the weight room during the offseason to build his strength, particularly in his legs. The Toreros appear to have a nucleus that should make them compet· 1 •· •o the WCAC next season. But oefore USD entertains hopes of unseating Pepperdine, Egan will have to find a point guard. Signing a point guard has to be Egan·s top recruiting priority. When it comes to enticing prep players to USO, Egan is at a

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Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Co.) Ttmea (San Otego Ed.)

(0. 50,010) (S. 55,573)

MAR 16 1985

J1.1!~11's P. C. B

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C rt.Jso Defeats Nevada-Reno, 14-8 ~6-

went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Third baseman Dave Rolls also had three hits, and Shawn Baron and Bill Ismay had two hits each for the Toreros, who collected 15 hits. The Wolf Pack made six errors. Mark Hawblitrel (2-2) picked up the win for the Toreros, Guy Yamoka (2-4) took the loss. USDis 2-2,8-15-1, UNR2-l,8-8. /. /

SAN DIEGO-The University of San Diego cored five Tuns m the second and fifth innings to beat the University of Nevada-Reno, 14-8, in a \Ve.,t Coast ~e Confer- ence baseball game at USD Friday afternoon. Torero right fielder Paul Van Stone had a double, triple and four RBIs, and shortstop Robbie Rogers

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