News Scrapbook 1984

nDicgo ay, Marcb 7, 1984 ©

Fortune may follow Toreros' newly found fame

earmarked for recruiting. San Diego State had a basket- ball budget of $325,000 that included $100,000 for arena rent and staffing, but was well below USD's tuition expenditures. Yesterday, a local television station discussed with USD athletic director Rev. Patrick Cahill the possibility of telecasting tomorrow's game live from the Sports Center, which seats only 2,500. Those negotiations fell through, meaning tickets for the St. Mary's game, which will be sold first-come, first-served, will be at a premi- um. The gates open before 5 p.m. for the Toreros' annu- al alumni game.

mately $la3,000. USO would earn $61,200 of that, and the rest would go to the WCAC. If USO makes it past an initial opening round in which most teams will be grant- ed byes, and then wins in the first round to advance to the 32-team second round, the school will receive 90 percent of an additional approximately $290,000. That would give the Toreros about $32a,000 - or $100,000 more than the school's entire basketball budget for the season (excluding the salaries of coaches, who are paid as instructors). USD budgeted $218,000 for basketball this season. Of that. $138,000 went for scholarships and $15,000 was

the USD Sports Center. The mania isn't confined just to the students and the players. Last week, during a mass on campus, the priest asked for petitions. Sister Patricia Schaffer responded, "Pray for the USD basketball team." After a moment of tunned tlence, mo ·t of the congregation responded, "Lord, hear our prayers." If he does, the Toreros will reap a financial bonanza to o along with the overnight public attention they have received. A berth in the NCAA tournament is worth approxi-

By 81ll Center,

11111 wru r

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Union (D. 217,324) (S. 339,788)

9 Opportunity knocks tonight for Toreros ll: Bill Cen-ilr1?.r?writer p S t I " 2 Mary's lost two of three on the road, and USO - to oway, an ana ose - '-'• almost everyone's surprise - swept games at Santa

TIIE

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1984

The University ofjian Diego's "five-year plan" comes down to one game tonight. The Toreros' basketball season comes down to beating the team that last beat them. USD plays St. Mary's College at 7:30 p.m. m the USD For the Toreros, the opportunity is unprecedented. The With a victory over St. Mary's, USD will gain sole a berth in the NCAA playoffs. If St. Mary's wins, the two teams will share the WCAC title and there will be a playoff for the post•season tournament berth Saturday mght at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. possibilities are clearly defined. Sports Center.

Clara, Portland and Gonzaga to clinch the title tie. "We haven't been consistent in any phase of the game," Coach Bill Oates of 12-15 St. Mary's said yesterday. "At times we've played well, at times we have not. "It's going to be very tough. USD has done a terrific If the "consistent" St. Mary's shows up tonight, USO could have its hands full. St. Mary's features two of the 6-1 guard Paul Pickett. The Gaels are also one of the job. I'm just concerned about us."

"It's that simple," said USD coach Jim Brovelli. "We need a win. They need two. Th!S is everyone's biggest USO is 17-9 overall and 8-3 in WCAC play. The Toreros have won five straight, including the last three on the road. They haven't lost since falling 79-71 to St. Mary's in full games ahead of its nearest WCAC opposition. USD was 5-3 St. Mary's was still a game ahead as tonight's rivals began three-game road trips two weeks ago. But St. game of the season."

Whitmarsh & Co. Ii ing in a dream

possession of the West Coast Athletic Conference title and Moraga on Feb. 11.

At that stage of the season, St. Mary's was 5-1 and two WCAC's top players in 6•foot-5 forward David Boone and

J

league's top rebou nd

ing teams.

See USD on Pag] C-2

USD: Goes against Gaels for berth

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WCACtitle • a win away Last year at Central Arizona Jun- ior College, Mark Bostic played for- ward. Now at USD, he plays guard. "Last year," he says, "I didn't come out of the games much, I could do more things than I do here. But once the guys and coach (Jim) Bro- ve~li explained what my role was gomg to be, I fit into it easily. Mine is a set-everybody-else-up role. We've got shooters, inside players, reboun- ders ... " What would Mike Whitmarsh's role be? "He kinda fits all of them," said Bostic. Now it can be said. On a 17-9 USD team that has won five straight games, eight of the last 10, and 10 of the last 13, a team that has lost only three games in the last two months - a team on a roll full of guys play- ing roles - Whitmarsh plays the leader role. "Mike's not a rah-rah type," Bro- velli says, ''but he's much more of a leader than he's ever been." "In the last four or five games he's been much more verbal than he was earlier," says Bostic. "Hmm," said Whitmarsh. "Did he say it was working? I don't know why I've been that way, but I have been. I'll yell at guys if they need it, en- courage them if they deserve it. I like the responsibility." Tomorrow night at the USD Sports Center, he'll have all the responsibili- ty he wants. USD plays its biggest game of the season, perhaps of its basketball history. Brovelli has been saying that about every game for the l~t ~hree wee~. And his players are kidding Brovelli about it. But tomor- row night's game against 12-15 St. Mary's is no joke. The Toreros are 40 minutes away from the outright championship of the West Coast Ath- letic Conference, a bid to the NCAA tournament and a cut of the profits - worth approximately $150,000 - that goes with it. Please see TOREROS, D-6 By T.R. Reinman Tribune Sportswriter

Continued from C•l

games) and John Prunty.

and about the game when we wt!re los!ng than at any other time. It was the best thmg that

Boone is averaging 14.9 points and 9.9 re- bounds a game, and Pickett is averaging 13.3

Tonight will close the regular-season portion of USD's first winning season in five years as a

ever happened to me. It made me better all the points. In the first game against USO, Boone Division I school. The Toreros had never before way around, as a coach and a person. had 27 points and eight rebounds, and Pickett played .500 ball in the WCAC. "Losing is when you learn how to deal with bit seven of 11 shots from the floor and finished Brovelli yesterday discussed what has im- your fears and th~ of your players. ! always with 18 points and five rebounds. For the game, proved him as a coach. bad the fear of bemg prepared fo~ a big gam~. st. Mary's shot 56 percent from the floor. "Losing" he said. Losing helped me prepare for this season. Id "We've got to do a better job on Boone and "I lea~ed more about myself, about players recommend it for anyone." ./ Pickett," said Brovelli. "They really hurt us up L_

there. St. Mary's forward line (which includes 6- 7 forward David Cooke, 9.1 points and 6.3 re- bounds, and 6-6 center Ken Jones, 5.1, 4.9) plays at rim height. We've got to keep control of the game." · By WCAC definition, St. Mary's eight-point triumph over USD in the first round was a blowout. It was USD's worst loss of the confer- ence season. Nearly half the WCAC games played this season have been decided by four points or less, with 17 games going into over- time. USD twice has won in overtime and five of its eight wins have been by a basket or less. fa six of its eight WCAC victories, USD has trailed in the second half. USD's 6-7 forward Mike Whitmarsh has been honored as the WCAC player of the week for the third time this year, sharing this week's honor with Santa Clara guard Harold Keeling. Whitmarsh is averaging 18.7 points, 7.4 re- bounds and 6.0 assists per game and recently has been shuffling between his regular position and point guard. Starting at the other forward is 6-7 Anthony Reuss, who is shooting 62 percent from the floor and averaging 12.1 points and 6.5 rebounds. In the middle is 6-11 freshman Scott Thompson, at 7.3 points and 4.7 rebounds. The starting guards are Chris Carr (5.8 points) on the point and Mark Bostic (10.5) on the wing. In reserve are outside shooting artists Al Moscatel (53 percent from the floor in WCAC

It's the good ol' days at USD Toreros go for NCAA berth as support grows

with a sinus infection since Sunday. . Five years ago if someone told USO coach Jllll Brovel~1 he'd be playing for a championship and NCAA spot th!S soon, even he may have laug~ed- Back. ~e_n all he was pushing for was making the JUIDP to D1vJS1on I and en- trance into the WCAC. . "I said then that it would take five years to build enough identity, credibility and res~t to be susta~ed year in and year out," Brovelli said. That was the five- year goal. I never had a five-y~ar go_al _for and or NCAA tournament bids. Domg this mDiv1S1on I JS Just incredible." Bob Bartholomew, USD's second-leading career scorer, played two years in Division II, two in Division ~- a freshman be was on the USO team that won the DivJSJOn II West Regional tournament at Northridge State, and made the Final Four at Orlando, Fla., where they lost the first game. "You think today's team bas role players and chemistry?" Brovelli said, pointing to the picture of that championship season team. "That team had chemistry." "The place used to go nuts, like it's going now," Bartho- lomew recalled yesterday. But after closing out its Divi- sion II history with 19-7, 20-7and 22-7 records, the Toreros folded to 6-19 their first year in Division I, 1979-80. "It was tough," Bartholomew said. "People stop~ coming. They didn't want to bear about better competi- tion. They just wanted wins. "When we were Division II we'd play three or four Division I teams and play them well It was easy then because we'd be shooting for them. But then playing every night against them wore us down. They bad better talent and the big thing was their depth. Our first year we lost a couple of players and I ended up playing center at 6-foot-7. That's tough to do in Division I." Bartholomew graduated, and USD struggled to consec- utive 10-16 and 11-15 records. Steps were being taken. Maybe they were baby steps, but they were in the right Please see TORE80S, C-7 .

By T.R. Reinman Tribune Sporiswriter

In the good old Division II basketball days at USO, the fans used to clap together blocks of wood as they watched the games in the Sports Center. These are not those good old days. These are the happy days in Division I. That means a win tonight against 12-15 St. Mary's will give the 17-9 Toreros the West Coast Athletic Conference title and an . invitation to the NCAA tournament. Times, and stakes, change. The blocks of wood have been replaced by rosary beads. . "If you'd have said we'd be playing for ~e ~hampton- ship and the NCAA this year, at the begmrung of the season even I would have laughed at you," said forward Mike Whitmarsh, the team leader, who has been suffering at Tonight's game at a glance Here are the starting lineups for St. Mary's and USO for tonight's game (7:30) al the USO Sports Center. Sconng and rebollnd1ng averag- es are In parentheses. Sl ..- 1 112 15)

Tribune sWI photo MIKE WHITMARSH (ABOVE LEFT) HAS ANEW ROLE . . .

DAILY CALIFORNIAN MAR 8 1984

USO (17-1)

-,

-

(9.1,6.3) (14.9,6.3) (5.1,4.9) (4.7,2.1) (13.3,1.3)

f David Cooke [)avid Boone C Ken- ~- .. - Off. Oef. FG'4 65.0 63.7 .514 67 1 64.0 .503 (12.1,6.5) (7.3,4.7) f (5.8,1.0) G BillyKnoX (10.5,2.7) G Paul Plcl

Mike Wh"rnarsh Anthon)' ReU1S ScottThofflPIO" ChrlsCan • Marl< Bo1t1C

6-7 Sr. (16.7,7.4)

IH Jr. 6-5 So. 6-3 Jr. 6-1 Jr. H Jr.

6-7 Jr. 6-11Fr. 6-3 Jr. 6-4 Jr.

FT'4 .714 .680

flab, Tum. 26 6 13.3

Team USO St. Mary's

32.5

16.0

A capsule look at today's top stories

C-7

Tribune photo by Jerry McClard , . HE HAS BECOME THE VERBAL TEAM LEADER AT USD

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THE~TRIBUNE

March 8, 1984

THEFIRSTTIME The University of San Diego can win its first Division 1 basketball championship and Its first spot in the NCAA Tournament by defeating St. Mary's tonight at the Sports Center on the USO campus. Former East County stars Mike Whitmarsh (Monte Vista High, Grossmont College) and Anthony Reuss (Christian High) are key players for the Toreros. USO Is In only its fifth year at the Division I level. page 1B

*Toreros------ Continued From Page C•l direction. Last year they finished 12-14. All of which brings the Toreros to tonight's game. Starting three players who are in their first year in the program - two junior college transfers at guard, a fresh- man at center - says something about the big reason USO has made the jump from baby steps to the NCAA doorstep: Brovelli is fitting better talent into bis system. "We used to have players that just couldn't do what we'd ask of them, so we were limited," said John Cosenti- no. "That's not the case any more." Gosentino knows. For six years he has been Brovelli's chief recruiter and assist- ant coach, and he figures to be first in line for the head coaching job if Brovelli decides to move on to the Univer- sity of San Francisco after this season. But he, like Brovelli, says, "I'm not even thinking of that possibility now." Now they are thinking about St. Mary's.