News Scrapbook 1986

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. D. 127,454)

San Diego, CA (San Diego C~-) San Diego Union (Cir. o. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341,840)

OCT 1 519

OCT 161986

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• an Diego, Wednesday, October 15, 1986

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Any college basketball team with lofty aspirations should have three, maybe four, returning starters (pref- erably seniors), a dominant big man, a proven scorer and a reliable play- maker. Given that his team has none of the above, San Diego State coach Smokey Games has at least this to console him: He needn't worry about raising anyone's hopes. The Aztecs, who opened practice yesterday, graduated the top five scorers from last season's 10-19 team. What's left is a vacuum. SDSU has no returning aircraft carriers, no serious long-range threats, nor any seniors, for that matter. There is one returning junior, 6-8 center Gerald Murray, but he's recuperating from a broken right knee. Gaines can see one advantage in having a team without superstars. "We don't have to worry about catering to anyone~" he said. "There'll be none of this: 'I got a bad leg, I can't run ' That kind of stuff can be contagious. Everybody will be on the same level." The heart of the team will be five sophomores who accumulated a fair amount of playing time last season: guards Darryl Games (Smokey's son), Johnny Scruggs, Tracy Dildy and Josh Lowery, and center Kevin Brown. It appears Murray may contribute, loo. His right knee was tested yester- day morning and was stronger than expected. At practice later, Murray took part in most drills. MORE SMOKEY - SDSU has something of new policy regarding basketball and arademics. Aware that school administrators would like more players to graduate, Gaines has instituted a mandatory study hall for Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Players who miss study hall or a class, or are late to a team meeting, Gaines said, must rise at 5 the next morning to run the steps at the Aztec Bowl. Three players have become acquainted with the steps, Gaines said. MISCELLANY - USD's basket- ball team, which also opened prac-

Colleges Brian Brown

tice yesterday, returns three senior starters from its 19·9 team: 7-foot center Scott Thompson, 6-8 forward Nils Madden and 6-1 guard Paul Leonard. Coach Hank Egan said he expects Thompson to boost his 1985- 86 averages of 14.4 points and 7.3 re- bounds ... USD's football team has a hefty challenge-Safurday at Azusa Pacific: stopping Cho Cho Okoye. Toreros coach Brian Fogarty called the halfback a "Division I player playing at a Division III school." Okoye, 6-2 and 250 pounds, has 584 yards on 85 carries, a 6.8 average ... Four UCSD teams are listed in Divi- sion III natior.11 rankingR: women's volleyball (No. I). vom<'n s soccer (6), men's soccer (19) and men's water polo (13) ... The UCSD and SDSU women's volleyball teams have a combined record of 53-5. The Aztecs are ranked No. 1 in Division I ... SDSU's soccer team broke into the Division I national rankings this week (No. 17) for the first time since 1982. Sunday the Aztecs play fourth- ranked UCLA, the defending national champion . . . After winning the ITCA/U.S. Air All-American Cham- pionships last week at Myrtle Beach, S.C., SDSU women's tennis player Monique Javer can claim to be the nation's top collegian. ANIMAL ABUSE (Devoted to the unusually abused in college sports): A 59-21 loss to Georgia Tech last week carried a high price for North Caroli- na State. In addition to falling out of the national rankings, 19 players were injured. Eight are starters: de- fensive tackle John Adleta (torn knee cartilage), free safety Michael Brooks (concussion), defensive tackle Brian Bulluck (sprained knee), inside linebacker Kelvin Crooms (sprained foot), outside linebacker Scott Wilson (sprained ankle), cornerback Nelson Jones (broken hand and sprained knee), halfback Bobby Crumpler (bruised thigh) and offensive guard Johnny Smith (sprained foot). ./

Tribune file photo USO HA. BIG EXPECTATJO ' FOR ENIOR SCOTT THOMPSON

people and I think that's an import- ant factor, Egan aid. "I know they were good athletes when we recrmt- ed them and they have good basket- ball skills. How they frt mto th over- all plan is what I have to spend lune determining · Among the players who will be after starting pols are sophomore guard Danny Means. freshman swmgman Craig Cottrell, 6-8 senior forward/center Steve Krallman and 6-8 Junior forward /center Jim Pel- ton. It will also be interesting to note the progress of 6-5 sophomore swmg- man Mike Haupt, one of three redshirts Haupt, who was the San Diego-CIF Player of the Year at Mira Mesa three years ago , attended San Diego State as a freshman and will be eligible at the end of the USO fall emester. The roster also fea- tures 6-8 freshman forward Dondi ----~

Bell from Crawford. "I don't give a whole Jot of speech- es." said Egan •·But one of the things I talk a whole lot about ts that this is the kind of busin where you have to prov yourseU everyday. There are no days where you can mentally or physically re l The other thing is that you've got to want to perform under pr ure If you·re the kind of per on that doesn't like one '.lf those things, then you're not going to like the way we go about business. '"We have enough essential pieces that if we get ome other guys to fill 1D the rest of the puzzle, we have a chance to be a pretty good basketball team. It's how well we fit together." The foundation laid down in prac- tice will be tested early in an exhibi- tJOn game ov. 7 against Athletes in Achoo Egan will make some adjust- ments following that contest in prep- aration for the team's season opeL ov 28 at Utah.

San Diego, CA (San Diego C~.) San Diego Union (Cir. D. 217,089) (Cir. S. 341,840)

OCT 1 71!86

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Thompson's leaps 'J-'u. J give USD a jump Improvement of 7-foot senior gives Egan confidence in his Toreros By Bill C•rnter Slaff Writer

SCOTT'S STATS

team in assists last year. "It helps our offense for the players to know that when the ball goes in to Scott, he has both the mind and the ability to get it back to an open man," Egan said. Egan, thougb, would like to see this unselfish player score a bit more. "Scott has got to assert him- self a little more," he said. "I like the idea of having him putting the ball up. You know he's going to take only good shots, and you know he's accurate:· Accuracy seldom is a problem at USD. Last ye;r the Toreros shot 51.5 percent out of Egan's pat- terned offense. The team's tradi- tionally good outside shooting should bode well for USO this sea- son: The WCAC has established a 19-foot three-point line to go along with a 45-second clock. "It's too close," Egan said. "The fine shouldn't be-right at the top of the key." One player Egan must replace is shooting guard Peter Murphy, an All-WCAC seiection who shot over 54 percent frnm what is now three- point territory. The leading candi- date for Murphy's spot is convert- ed point guard Danny Means, a 6-1 sophomore. But Egan will audition a number of players at shooting guard and small forward, at which 6-6 returnee Mark Manor (6.5 points, 52 percent shooting) has the inside track. The list also includes 6-6 junior- college transfer Marty Munn (third in the state in scoring, 23.4, and rebounding, 13.0, at Hartnell Col- lege), 6-5 freshman Craig Cottrell (who led Arizona high school play- ers in scoring and rebounding), 6-7 redshirt Brian Anderson and 6-5 Mike Haupt. Haupt, San Diego County's high school player of the year in 1984 for Mira Mesa, played on the wing as a freshman for San Diego State in 1984-85. He will become eligible around Dec. 20. USO is ahead of where it was a

Chula Vista, CA (San Diego Co.) Star News (Cir. 2xW. 24,418)

Hank Egan proudly talks about the "quantum leaps" being made by Scott Thompson, a 7-foot senior the University of San Diego is bill- ing as its first-ever All-America candidate. These are not leaps made from the basketball floor, for Thompson is not your slam-dunking, shot- blocking center of higblight films. The leaps Egan talks about are far more significant. "In all-around play, in strength and stamina, Scott today is far ahead of where he was at the end of last season," Egan said. "It is a pleasant surprise." So it should be no surprise if USO fields its best team ever. West Coast Athletic Conference coaches have picked the Toreros to win their second conference title in four years. The most notable reason is Thompson, although two other starters - 6-8 power forward Nils Madden and 6-1 point guard Paul Leonard, both seniors - return from a team that went 19-9, USD's best record ever in Division I. Thompson, 21, averaged 14.4 points and 7.3 rebounds last year and shot 55 percent from the floor and 75 percent from the foul line. He scored in double figures in 24 games and finished among the WCAC leaders in every shooting and rebounding category. But statistics do not tell the entire story. "The mental part of basketball comes very easy for Scott Thomp- son," said veteran NBA scout Stu Inman. "In all our tough games, his numbers go up," Egan said. "He is one of the most competitive people I have ever met. Plus, he under- stands the game as well as any col- lege player you'll find." Thompson has been known to play the point in one of USD's zone offenses. He was fourth on the

OCT 16 1986

Scoll Thompson"s scoring, shooting, rebounding and blocked shots statis- tics in his three years at USD: Yr. G Avg. FG•!, Reb. Bk. "83 28 7.1 50 4.5 38 '84 27 11.1 55 6.7 49 "85 28 14.4 55 7.3 52 ::..Tt:.c. l·.....:.7::..5 _ 1:.:0:.:.9_..:,54~~6.2 139 year ago, when point guard was unsettlea between Leonard and Kiki Jackson "Paul is a very steadying influ- ence at a position that gets much of the pressure," Egan said. "It's hard for an outsider to understand his value. You want your point guard to be an extension of your planning . . . to run the offense without making mistakes. Leonard is this type of a player." Egan likes the ability and the mental makeup of the three re- turning starters "down the mid- dle." Leonard, Thompson and Mad- den (9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 59 per- cent shooting) are all soft-spoken. "I'm excitable enough for all of us," Egan said. "They are not laid- back as much as it might appear. But this is not a rah-rah lot." Backing Thompson and Madden will be 6-8 senior Steve Krallman (3.1 points, 2.5 rebounds). "He shows his emotions more," Egan said. "When he comes onto the floor, he gives us a spark." But the key is Thompson, a two- time All-WCAC selection who has been starting since his freshman year. "I think even I misunderstood Scott," said Egan, who had few chances to teach big men while coaching at Air Force Academy for 13 seasons. "They come around at a different pace. Scott now is reaching a new level of play."

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developments need to be planned more carefully. "I think the council shou ld just slow down a little bit," Sipan said. "The land will still be there in five to· IO years." A rhird geryeration Chula Vistan, Sipan attended RoseBank Elementary, Hilltop Junior and Hilltop High School where he got involved in student politics. After graduating in 1978 he attended the University of California, Berkeley as a pre-law major. He graduated in 1983, returned ro Chula Vista and earned his law degree from the UnjversitLQ_f San Di~assing the state bar exam tn 1985. He is now working for an aitorney in La Mesa. If elected, he said, he would have no proble!fl juggling his schedule to meet the workload. While this is his first bid for elected office, Sipan said he entertained thoughts of running in 1982. • Sipan is also focusing on a pro- posal being considered by the city that, he said, will produce more

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tional programs for youth. "I think the big sleeper issue, . that I don't think anybody else is addressing, is the revitalization of the Chula Vista Shopping Center," he said. Most of SipaIJ's criticisim is aimed at the proposal to close Fifth Avenue between I and H ~treets to consolidate the shopp- ing center Such and action, hi: said, would lead to gridlock. "It doesn't take a study to know that traffic is already stop- and-go on Broadway and slow on Fourth Avenue," Sipan said. He also opposes the proposal to eliminate the Boys Club on I Srreet. Any plans for upgrading the shopping center, he said, should include either a new Boys Club building or finding a site for it elsewhere m the area. Sipan said he will spend about $3,000 on his campaign, concen- t r_ at in g on walking neighborhoods and passing out campaign flyers.

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"I have a couple of brothers \\ ho are carpenter •" Si pan aid. "They u uall; build onl5 one hou e at a time J have no pro- blem \\Ith that " Hut the large cale