News Scrapbooks 1977-1979

COLE, CUNNINGHAM Duo nioys Life s Glo e ro ers (Continued from Page C-1)

.:STEVE ..

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THE SAN DIEGO UNION

Thursday, January 18, 1979

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USO Scorev 10th Victory; Tritons Win :;-...... 3 1 ,11 u,, fl)f\ The U~1versity of San DiPgo Toreros overcame a sluggi h fir~i half and went n to deft>at fanchester Col- leg of Indiana 84-59, last night for thPir 10th victory of the ason rn two other area rontests last night UC San Diego defeated LaV me 87-75, and ullerton Colkge whipped Palomar, 67 55. The Toreros, tra1lrng throughout most of the first half moved into the lead JUSt b fort• llltPnnJ.SSJOn on con. utive ba keL~ by for- ward Russell Jackson. Jack- son's fm I shot - a slam dunk follo his own tF>al LSD a 3:>-31 edg . After that Manche. ter was unabl to mount any i;erious thre t a the Toreros pulled away arty m the sec• ond half. Again 1t was Jackson, along wlth teammates Bob Bartholomew and Joe Evans, who led the winners in the openmg minulPS of lhe fmal half Jackson scored 10 ·qmck point wh:Ie Evans and Bar- tholomew dominatt>d both backboards. Bartholomew also began scoring effective- ly on his way to a 24-pomt night BY AILENE VOISIN special To TIie San Dle 1s now 1-11 The losers hit 25 of 28 freP throw attempts but were outscored 24 points from the field . Palomar trailed Fullerton, 29-28, at recess and turn- overs hurt the Comets se- verely in the secund half. Duane Gatson scored 22 poinL~ to pace the Comets while Harry Hclnakan had 17 to lead Fullerton Palo- mar, which opens M1ssmn Conference play at San Ber- nardino aturday, ended its non-league season at 7-7. Fullerton 1s now 11-4. Throughout The Torerors, outrebounding the ::ilthough

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B1S'HEFF One school worries over a bas- ketball crowd of 1,300, the other school would rejoice if that many bothered to show up. One school longs to break into a wire service Top 20 poll, the other school only wants recognition in its own town. One school is anxious and eager to test its strength in a strong, new conference, the other school remains leery and ner- vou .about it San Diego State and the Uni- versity of San Diego both may operate m the same city. But their approach and attitudes are as different as ... well, as that huge 33,000-student facility on Montezuma Mesa and the small, private Catholic institution in Al- cala Park. You can sense the contrast immediately, as soon as you walk into the USD Sports Center, a cozy, unpretentious building that could pass for your basic high school gymnasium. There are no plush theater- type seats, just a bunch of old- fashioned bleachers. There are no concession stands outside, merely a couple of overused vending machines. And in place of a band and a corp of frisky dancers and acrobats, three or four cheerleaders merely stand there and do their best. This is the small-college at- mosphere to which USD has be- come accustomed. It's not the bigtime, but at least it's comfort- able. Maybe that's why next year still remains a little frightening to some people connected with the program ·ext year, the Toreros move up from Division II to Division I. from an independent to a mem- ber of the prestigious West Coast Athletic Conference, from their friendly, little gym to the San Diego Sports Arena. "It' a big jump," admits Coach Jim Brovelli, "we realize that. And we're trying to be realistic about it. We know we might have to experience some growing pains '' The WCAC includes some perennial powers like the Univer- sity of San Francisco and Santa Clara, schools with long, rich basketball traditions. But it also includes schools like St. Mary's and Loyola, both of which have enrollments smaller than USD's. "We've never belien:d in in- stant uccess," explains Brovelli. "We know we won't walk in and start beating the big schools right away. But you have to have a long-term goal. And we'd love to be on the level of a USF or Santa Clara eventually." the baby Toreros, with one of th youngest teams n the West Coast, are preparing as well as they can. Their record is 12-4 no , they've captured 22 in a row at home, and ttte other night, when they slipped by St. .Mary's, 61-59, with a couple of free throws in the final five seconds, their exub- erant public address announcer got a bit carried away. "Welcome to the WCAC! !" be boomed. Obviously, it was a big victory for the little team nobody ever hears about in San Diego. It was a victory that not only boosted USD's confidence, but made school officials feel considerably better about the future. And that's what Jim Brovelli clearly is preparing for The future. He's starting two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman. And another freshman came off the bench the other night to make a major contribution in the second half. Mighty Joe Evans, a 6-9, 250- pound first-year center from Marian High, is the kid who could form the foundation, even though Brovelli is careful not to overemphasize the fact. He In the meantime,

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Cole and Cunningham's paths to the Globetrotters were similar, although both were unaware of it at the time. Cole, USD's leading scorer the past two seasons, was invited to the Glo- betrotters' camp after an un- successflll tryout with the San Diego Clippers. Cunningham was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers after accumlllating impres- sive statistics at Colorado State. He led the Western Athletic Conference in scor- ing hls junior year and was selected All-WAC both years. But, like Cole, be was cut by Phlladelphia and went to Malibu for a chance with the Globetrotters. Shortly after bis arrival, Cunningham was told that

USD's Four Freshmen Sing A Winnin~ Tune "We're the little guys on the hill, trymg to work our way up," says Jim Brovelli The University of San Diego coach mlght be challenged on his grasp of geography, but it is difficult to fault his sense of basketball. Under Brovelli's direction, USO Is mdeed movmg up, at a rate which would do credit to Sir Edmund Hillary. The Toreros are a team in transition, performing somewhere between the Division II label they wear this

season and the Division I status they will enjoy next year upon entry Into the tough West Coast Athlellc Conference. There Is no more d!fficlllt place to play than transition. Brovelli must coach each game with one eye on the present and another on the future. We wants to win now Every coach wants to win now. But he also must prepare this team to do battle with the likes of the Univer- sity of San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pepperdlne and Nevada-Reno next year. With that in mind, Brovelli fre- d quenlly offers a starting lineup

ALAN CUNNINGHAM . . . Globetrotter rookie

another San Diego product "The rookies break in at was attendlflg the tryouts. spots where there's nothing Naturally, the two had plen- but straight basketball. And ty to talk about. since the ball is always mov- "We had been through ing so fast, you have to de- similar experienC('s and felt velop better ·reflexes and that we hadn't been given court awareness. the opprortunity to show "That's one .of the things what we could do," Cole, 23, most people don't realli.e. and the youngest Glo- we play straight basketball betrotter said. "Playing in about so per cent of the time the 'BA all comes down to and don't have to take part politics. When you play for a in the clowning. It's our small school without a lot of choice." publicity, you just don't Still Cole and Cunning- receive the recognition. ham ~dmit that they're be- "They (NBA mana~e- coming increasingly fascl- m~nt) are concern_ed :';'1th nated with other aspects of things like gate receipts, he Globetrotter basketball, in- ~ntinued. "But in the pro- eluding the fancy passes, cess, a lot of good players dunks, dribbling acts and get passed over for some jump ball skits. And because who don't belong m pro of the hectic game schedule, ball." . they learn the more trad.i- . Cunnmgham agrees, al- tional skills on their own though he appears l,ess biller watching the veterans, and !~an the f~nn~r US? star. frequently asking for demoo- Sure, Rons nght. Its \ery strations. polit_ical, a?d sometimes ''The guys are really great unfair But ! m_doing "\\hat I about spending time with us like best-p,aymg ball. And if we ask them to " Cole I'm grateful ~o ~he Gle>- said. "And, you 'know, betrotte;,s for a ll"111ng me to there's a unique psychology do that. involved with what we're \\'.h! is the situation less tr),ing to do. We've picked poht1cal with the Glo- up on that too betrotters? "For instance, the high or "They are sincerely look- excitement that comes from Jng for the best o~~rall p~y- playing college ball is more ers they can find, Cunrung- emotional and intense. But ham C?Dtinu~. "They coo- when you hear 18,000 people duct mtens1v~ two-a_-day laughing and know that you workouts qurmg tramlng bring them some happiness, camp and evaluate all as- it's a very special feeling. pects of the game- It's more h manistic."

Wayne Lockwoo consisting of three freshmen and two sophomores. Of late, it is not unusual for the Toreros to have four freshmen on the floor at the same time. In such a circumstance, you would expect to find the roach in a corner, head m hands, devouring a packag of antacid tablets So why is this man smiling? Well, a 12--4 record might have somethlng to do with it. That was USD's accomplishment before last night's appearance at Hayward State, one which opened a difficult four-game road trip. Somehow, Brovelli has discovered a way to give his young people playing tlm and still win. The formula Includes patience, tolerance and a sense of humor. A Homegrown Flavor "Agalflsl St. Mary's, we went into a delay game with three mJr\utes left and three freshmen on the floor,'' Brovelli rt'<'all "Tha 's an ea y way to get an ulcer. Freshmen tend to be a little, ah, unpredictabl ." P USD won the game, 61-59, against one of the WCAC nvals they must face next year. There are freshmen. And then there are freshmen. The Class of '82 at Acala Park appears out of the ordinary on two scores It has enough skill to overcome most of those youthful mistakes and it 1s largely local. Brovelti's first-year players include Joe Evans of Mari- an, Don Capener of Torrey Pines, Rusty Whitmarsh of Monte Vista and Keith Cunningham of Morse. farlan. Does the coach really intend to win with this beardless bunch? You bet. What's more, he's doing it. Ateam which seems d tined to get better and better isn't too bad right now Brovelli has e&sed Evans, a 6-9, 230-pounder in the Wes Unseld mold, into h1s starting lineup. Against St. Mary's, the strapping youngster scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and hPld the Gaels' 6-11 Norm Kelly to six points. "Joe has really come on," smiles Brovelli. "When he's m the game, he's a dominant force " But the Toreros are no one-man show. Eleven players have scored m double-figures at least once this season. Bartholomew, perhaps the team's headiest athlete, leads the offense with an average of 14.7 points a game. Stockalper, the other sophomore, runs 1t. The Rood To Maturity "He must have put up about 23 shots a game in high school " Brovelli remembers. "We let him take two a game la t year This year, it's up to maybe eight. "I'm not so sure he likes it, but he's done a great job of adJusting to what we want him to do." Cunningham, a slender 6-8 forward largely overlooked in h1gb chool, has come on to be a pleasant surprise in recent games. "He didn't make All-CIF or anything," Brovelli notes. "I think maybe he has a little something to prove." The rest of the team does, too, despite its success to date. "We still have to prove we can win on the road," Brovelli acknowledges. "That's where maturity really comes in." Before last night, the Toreros were only 1-3 outside their cozy campus gym. On the remainder of this trip, they must play a rematch with St. Mary's and games against Southeast Louisiana and the University of New Orleans. "The real test of maturity for our young people comes in these games," Brovelli feels. "Sometimes young people have a tendency to turn into spectators on the road, especially in places like San Francisco and New Orleans, which they haven't seen before." Still, it's exactly the sort of exposure this team needs to prepare for next season. What else does it need? "We don't recruit in numbers," Brovelli says. "We're recruiting about three more people. U we can come up With three bona fide DiVJ.Sion I players, we're in pretty good shape. "With a couple of top players the people we have now will be better still." Even without them, Brovelli' team is mo · up that Among his grizzled veter ar sophomores Bob Bartho om ro e and Mike oCJrniper rom

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Ing, passing, jumping, and your ability to play team "What they don't do is rush you in and out i1 you don't have a strong following from college. Everyone gets a fair shot." Cole and Cunningham sur- vived the cuts and became the first rookie roommates from the same area to make the team. Since the Globetrotters play seven days a week, with occasional doubleheaders, both players have ample op- portunity to im, rove their fundamental, as well as comical, basketball skills. Cole, a 6-4 guard in col- lege, plays a Doorman's role and only occasionally takes part in the skits. He is con- sidered one of the best pure shooters on the team and is encouraged to shoot from anywhere on the floor. Cunningham, a 6-8 for- ward, handles a corner- man's spot and is responsi- ble for dunks, rebounds and long-range jump sho~. "We both get quite a bit of playing time, and since we play so often, our games are getting better," Cole sald.

Cunningt: m, even more than Cole, "gets into" the Glo~trotters' objective of evoking laughter. And he also acknowledges that there Is less pressure than playing in the NBA. "Here I know what's ex- pected of me and don't have to worry about being traded unless I score so many points per game or pull down a certain number of rebounds. I really have a good time. "Besides," he added jok- ingly, 'my friends and fami- ly have always said that my last name should be short- ened to 'Ham' because I've always liked to entertain. "I've had to cbange a few things in my lifestyle. When Ron and I first started tra- velling, we'd go out every night until early morning and were really wearing our- selves down. "But the veterans taught us a few things, like how to pace ourselves, how to budg- et our money, and other practical things. I'll tell you, for a while there, we were both dying out on the court "

The UJ1i!orm' dl!!erenl, but the face will be familiar to San rnego b ketball ra • Ron Cole, top USO scorer the past two seasons, ts one of l"no San o 1 go products who will play for the Harlem Globetrotters, wb n the Trot rs come to to"\\n Friday.

Toreros seek J 1th

\-pf On Sa1urday, January 6, workshops on the prospects for practical applitations of social action localll will be explored. The worlshop begin at 9am, .Social ju'>tice on a global with worl~hop, fm SpaRish- ,cale, and the po,;_sibilitie for spealini; parti, ipants sla1t!d to . d human gel underwa) a1 9:10am. , local ac t10n aroun . • . . . · 11 . . ·11be thetopicsof \\orl shop topic,; w1 rights issues w1 .· at 1he ·include: The Elderly in San a two-day sympoS1Um • od p · Th . it ol San Diego's Diego, Fo roJectS, e Umvers YL Hall on 'estle's Boycott. and lmmigra- Sa)omon ect ure . 1 llon ssues. January 5 and 6. Thesymposiumissponsored Franciscan priest, will be lhe by the University of San Diego keynole spealer on _Frid~y, C..ontinuing Education Deparl- January r; at 7:30pm. Ht'> topi_c, ment, the Office of Adult ..A • ·ew \\ oriel Order--Latm Education, the Padre Hidalgo Amt·ri

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