News Scrapbook 1984

USD Fans and Players Start Partying Early By TIM GILLMAN SAN DIEGO-John Cosenti- no, the University of San Die- go's associate basketball coach, explained it his own way in the pandemonium of the locker room. "We're going to the show," Cosentino said. "We're going to the big show." The big show 1s the NCAA tournament. Thursday night's 68-59 win over St. Mary's Col- lege gave the USO Toreros the West Coast Athletic Conference championship and an automatic tournament berth in the tourna ment. Both are first-time achieve- ments for USO, whichJomed the WCAC and Division I five years ago. Torero Coach Jim Brovelli, who usually does little congrat• ulating before game's end, grabbed Cosentino and hugged him when the clock showed only 21 seconds remaining. And the hugs on the bench began all around. When that happened, the overflow crowd of 2,475 took its cue and increased the volume of its cheers. "Jim usually waits for me to tell him we've won and the game is out of reach," Cosentino said. "But he didn't do 1t this time. With 21 seconds left, he hugged me and told me, 'John, get the scissors, we are cutting the nets down.· " But Brovelli and Cosentino did no cutting, just plenty of huggmg and were rushed to the Please 1ee TOREROS, Page 13

Sports /Financial-

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Friday, March 9, 1984

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. Thoughts of USF on a night when the Cool Man cried

Sports Center last evening.

stands before us today on the helm of the West Coast Athletic Conference champions. Outright champions. This was quite a ride for USD, and the leading man was casted direct- ly from the "Right Stuff." "Look, I know USF is going to approach Jim when the season ends," said Cahlll. "And Jim knows I know it. I haven't brought it up to him because he wants to concentrate on this season. We certainly hope to bold on to him. But this, well, this bas to make him even more attractive to USF." This was not a night to let the future get in the way of a good story. Anything short of watching Mark Bostic slam over Akeem Abdul-Olajuwon to win the NCAA champion- ship won't compare t.o what transpired at the

under an inquisition is looking for salvation. And here its Brovelli - Moses in a herring• bone jacket, a USF alumnus, the coach who took little USD to the NCAA tournament, a man who pr umably can exorcise the Bay ar of Quintin Dailey's gboot and two years of h y. Tb Dons won't come after Brovelli with a routtne sales pitch. After last night, they'll and a harpoon. They can't afford to let the Cool Man get away. Logic and 20 years of loyalty say Brovelli can't resist the temp- tati n to lead bis old school. "The kids know that nothing IS going to distr ct me from getting this team ready to play," was Brovelli's predictable response 1 t ight after USD setUed a 68-59 hair-pull ne

It was an emotional orgy even without the staggering backdrop of Brovelli's possible marriage to USF. If this really was the Cool Man's last game at the Sports Center, then Hollywood will come calling for the script. Check that. The Lord already owns it. Standing room only after a few years at the Division I level when snoozing room only was the order of the evening. And the Cool Man was cool no longer. He tried. A 57-50 lead and a SOS of a time out by St. Mary's brought Brovelli off the bench with arms pumping and fists clenched. Then be checked himself and became the Cool Mao again.

with St. Mary's. "They've read all the rumors (about USF) but nothing will keep us from thinking about the NCAAs." A noble thought. Rev. Patrick Cahill, USD's athletic director, appreciates nobility. And he adores the coach who prodded the adminis- tration into Division I five years ago and now

Please see SHAW. G-9

'an Diego, Friday, March 9, 1984 ------ G-9 •Shaw------------------------- Whltm rsb r ho nded a missed 55 Tw nty- That's the guy who couldn't sleep at all Wednesday night, who ent to work yesterday morning early to fmal- the locker room. Brovelli drank Budweiser. Nothing fancy. But, like bis team, a thirst quencher. TI:IE'$TRIBIDIB

Outside, the court was almost empty. Reverend Cahill held two basketball nets. "Look bow dirty these ll e," he said, smiling. "The least we could have done is t t brand new nets for this game." The USD basketball season has been nothing else, if not charming. Dirty nets, small school, a coach who is all ice outside, all fire inside. "I al ays felt 0 that if I was a wild man on the bench, my teams would play wild," Brovelli said last night. ~u I showed poise, then hopefully so would my team. I average about one technical a season. One time I think I got three in a season. Just absolutely lost it, I guess." The winning was.just as absolute last mght. A memory has been frozen forever. Maybe the last memory of Bro- velli at the Sports Center. A banner, unfolded in the student section, featured a drawing of the Cool Man and a quote that followed. "Who? Needs USF ... I've got USD.'' This, you understand, was a night for optimism, howev- er misguided it might turn out to be.

1ze a game plan that was written in concrete days before. A guy who treated "NCAA" like a four-letter word, even in his own household. "We'd be talking about what we were going to pack for

'I always felt that if I was a wild man on the bench, my teams would play wild,

1984

·MAR 9

- Jim Brovelli

lloeAngeles &\mee tOREROS Continued from Pace 1 locker room for interviews.

the NCAA tournament," Brovelli's wife, Nada, said last rugbt. "And Jim would say, 'I don't even want to think about that now."' Now, the four-letter word is University of San FranclSCO. Has been for most of the year. When tblS religious retreat disguised as a basketball game ended last night, Brovelli stood outside the Torero locker room with a beer in hand. Champagne dampened

Th_ey left freshm,an guard Eric Musselman sitting atop the rim at the gym s east end, leading the cheers of USO students who poured onto the court. The loudest cheers seemed to be for .senior forward Mike Whitmarsh, who was the Toreros' leading scorer with 24 points. Whitmarsh was given the honor of taking down the net. He put it around his neck and was carried around the gym. '.'This is the best experience of my life," Whitmarsh ~1d_as fans contiriued to congratulate him on the court. _This was the longest day of my life. This day seemed hke three days. I skipped my classes this morning because I figured why sit there and not pay attention "It w~sn't hard to get psyched up for the game. The only thmg anybody on campus was talking about was the game. Everybody was fired up." While Whitmarsh was getting the east net, John Prunty, who was boosted up by 6-11 center Scott Thompson, was getting the west net. He is the only fourth-year senior on the team. "I asked him to boost me, otherwise I could never make it," Prunty said. "I'm thrilled. But I'm also absolutely drained. We are going out to a party. It's hard to believe we are in the tournament." ~osentmo had his own thoughts about that. A lot of coaches work hard all their lives and never make the tournament," he said. "This is something special for a coach or a player."

San Diego County CC t ;Part III

Toreros Capture a Title and a NCAA Tournament Bid

By CHRIS COBBS, Times Staff Writer

12 Part lll/Friday, March 9, 1984 J USD Continued from Page 1 throws, shared top billing with senior guard John Prunty. The team's only four-year veteran-all but Prunty were new in the last two seasons-was a driving force off the bench with 17 points. He followed a missed layup by guard Mark Bostic that put USO in control, 57-50, with 4,32 to play. "We didn't panic when we were behind," he said. "But we never thought we had it under control until we got that seven-point spread, either. "I had dreamed of playing in the NCAAs, but never with much seriousness until this seson. I was just worried that with all the talk on campus this wee, that it would slip out of our grasp." St. Mary's (12-16, 7-5) was a pesky opponent, utilizing its superior leaping ability to control the rebounding by a 23-16 margin. Forward David Boone led the Gaels with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He was the only double-figure scorer for St. Mary's, which made 52% of its field goals, slightly better than USO's 50%. The standing room only crowd sensed a USD victory with a couple of minutes left. The chant, "N-C-A-A", shook the tiny building as the fmal seconds ticked away. Somebody unfurled a banner that read, "Come fly with USd." "Hey, we're in th~ big leagues now," USD's Whit- marsh said. "This 1s every team's dream." Whitmarsh, who was battling a sore throat, said he was worried when USD fell behind. "It seems like that always happens to us in the second half," he said. "We get scared and then we start playing. We don't fold or choke or try to force things." Fear won't enter the picture in the NCAA tourney, he said. "We won't be afraid of anybody," Whitmarsh said. "They may not have heard of USO back East, but they are going to find out who we are. "I don't know if we are ready for the North Carolinas and Georgetowns, but we're not going mto this with the attitude that we're just happy to be there. We want to win, too." Brovelh paid tribute to Whitmarsh's calm under fire. "He bides his time and selects his shots," Brovelli said. "He is the best I have ever coached." Brovelli credited his team's composure. "We didn't want our emotions to be a factor," he said. "We didn't to force shots or make turnovers. And I

SAN DIEGO-Mike Whitmarsh made a big mistake Thursday. He cut a class. He quickly grew bored. The time was dragging. With nothing else to do, he was reduced to cleaning up his apart- ment. "And that's a miracle," he said. Not nearly as big a miracle as the one that transpired Thursday night. With Whitmarsh scoring 24 points, the University of San Diego defeated St. Mary's, 68-59, to win both the championship of the West Coast Athletic Conference and a berth in the NCAA tournament. USO has been a member of the NCAA's Division I-which includes titans like North Carolina and Ken- tucky-for only five years. Playing before a record, turna- way crowd of 2,800 at the USD Sports Sports, Coach Jim Brovelli's team achieved one of the more unlikely feats of the sports year. "This is the greatest moment of my life," Brovelli said. "I've been in coaching 20 years and this is the ultimate. "My players are going to have an experience they'll never forget. The five years we waited seem short now." It hasn't been determined whom or where USO will play in the NCAA tournament, but Brovelli said he doesn't mmd waiting anoth- er day or so to find out. "This is a gutty group of kids," he said. "We were down by three points in the second half, but then our defense shut down St. Mary's. "It's hard for me to be- lieve-ending the year with six wins in a row. But our players earned it. They deserve this." USO, 18-9 and 9-3 in the WCAC, trailed by three points with seven minutes elapsed in the second half. The Toreros rallied and seized the lead at 51-50 on a three-pomt play by Whitmarsh. The 6-7 forward, who made seven of 12 field goals and 10 of 11 free Please see USD, Pace 12

thought we played solid. "These are very gutty guys. And this is a different tea than it was early in the year. We really pushed it down the stretch." Brovelli said he wasn't bothered that St. Mary's, the best rebounding team in the league, had its way on the glass. "We have been out-rebounded most of the year, but we won," he said. "We got the boards when we had to." Prunty agreed. "Every shot that goes up, they get their elbows above the rim," he said. "They're very good athletes...but we won the game we had to win." USD enjoyed leads of six and seven points in the first half, but was unable to sustain either of them. The offense picked up when Prunty entered the game after six minutes. He scored eight straight points to lift USO to a 24-20 advantage. · Following a 20-footer by Prunty and a free throw by Al Moscatel, Whitmarsh hit a driving one-hander, then made a turnaround jumper for a 29-22 spread, the biggest of the half. St. Mary's then came up with seven points in a row to pull even with 40 seconds left in the half. A shot by Moscatel at the buzzer gave USO a 32-29 halftime lead. David Boone was the top scorer for St. Mary's with nine points in the half. Prunty had nine for USD.

BARBARA MART!t- / Loi Angelet Tim" USO forward M1k Whitmarsh scores against St. Mary's in Thursday's WCAC championship game.