News Scrapbook 1986

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

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

1986

NOV 7

Jllle,-.'s

P. C 8 I 1. 1888 AI~ test 6fbSD's ----- prospects Never too early to start - Egan By Hank Wesch Staff \Inter The timing of tonight's exhibition game against Athletes in Action couldn't be better, ays Uni~rsi\y of Sap Diego basketball coach Hank Egan. - •·some people think it's too early, I think it's a good time for us to get tarted," said Egan, who has three weeks before the regular-season opener at Utah. "From a coaching standpoint, I'm looking forward to seeing how the new kids react to game conditions," Egan aid. "Being able to perform in drills m practice and being able to·. perform in games are two different thm s" After a few weeks of intrasquad battles, Egan figures his Toreros are ready for some outside competition. And he couldn't thmk of a better out- fit than AIA to provide that competi- tion. "They've got size and they've got skill, so they're just what we need," Egan said. "They're as good as most of the teams on our schedule this sea- son and better than a lot of them." Admission is free for the 7-30 con- test at the USO Sports renter After a 101-99 loss at Texas Chr tian last night. AIA has compiled a 2-3 record. It will be the first public showing for the third team in Egan'. tenure at USO, a squad that features three re- turning starters from last year's 19-9 contingent. Those three - 6-foot-l senior guard Paul Leonard, 6-8 senior for- ward , 1ls Madden and 7-0 senior center Scott Thompson - will be JOmed m the starting lineup tonight by 6-1 sophomore guard Danny Means and 6-6 enior forward Mark Manor. "Based on what they've done in practice, they're the people that would start if the regular season started tomorrow," Egan said. "But

ov 8 1986

econd attempt at a three-pointer to tic the core. USO came out firing from the opening lip hit the fir ·t ix points of th game and went on to a 10-1 lead. Thomp. on got four of the first six Torcros point·. muscling inside against lhnz, AIA's 7-footer And Mark Manor wa ted no time in show- ing hi potential as an outside shoot- ing threat, hitting back-to-back 16- footers. Manor topped USO' scoring with 22 points, Leonard had 17 and Thompson 13 The Toreros maintain d lead· in the IO-point range through the fir ·t 10 mmute of the half before a couple of changes led to an AIA surge. AIA witched from a man-to-man to zone llefense. and Egan replaced his start- mg unit. The U D reserves were 3-for-16 in first-half field-goal attempts, the maJonty of them from the penmeter of th AIA zone. "The thmg that lost the game was ben<'h strategy," Egan said "That mass substitution stopped the mo- mentum and turned things But I was trymg to go after the win and check people out "If I hadn't don it, I would have kicked myself later for not getting a look at some of the new guys • AIA meanwhile, got eight points from guard Kellerman commg off the bench and whittled USD' lead to 26-25 with ju t more lhan three min- utes left in the half. Manor bit his .econd three-point field goal of the half to give USO some breathing room, however, and the Toreros held on for a 39-34 lead. USO was in foul trouble by half- time Madden had four personals, p1ckmg up the last 4a seconds before the end of the half, and Thompson was strapped with three and benched with three minutes left. AIA is 3-3 this season. USO opens its regular season Nov. 28 again1/ Utah in Salt Lake City. /

'D led, 64 6:1 when Thomp on IA s Gibb lhnz con- vert ·d two fr e throw as a re. ult of tl1t· foul nd th Toreros were unable to pull ah d g in "Th · good thing about th game for u w we play d hard," ·aid lJSD coach !lank Egan Th bad wa: th t I thought we executed poorly. '' nd w foul d II lot. All on ofh- c·1al aid to m all n ght was Five - 111 aning omebody else had fouled out" USD wa railed for 29 per onal foul· to 17 f r AIA Thomp on and ~tadd n played 17 and 19 minutes, re pcC'l1vely Guard Paul Leonard fouled out hut with only 13 cond left AIA c nvcrt d 26 of 39 free-throw attempt., th Tor ros made II of 12 Aft r I ading by a many IO points in th first half, USO trailed by 82 74 with 22 seconds left. But a jump shot by frc hman Craig Cottrell and a three-pomt field goal by Leonard drew the Torero~ within 82-79 lJSD got the ball bacl< with 13 c- onds left after a m1 · ed free throw by AIA but misfired on an out-of- bounds play trying to set up a last- d parted, hut

The San Diego Union/.Jim Baird

Hank Egan's Toreros will play Athletes in Action in an exhibition tonight at USD. between now and Utah, things could change." Gibb Hinz. "They are a strong inside team,'' Egan said.

to play at the end of the first semes- ter. "It hurts us some this year, but it might hurt us more long-term," Egan said. "We were hoping for him to contribute the second half of this sea- son and p~ssibly be ready to take over at Leonard's guard spot next year. If he does that now, he'll do it without the experience he would have had." Overall, Egan is pleased with the Toreros' practice sessions. "Last year we put in a new system based on what we'd learned in a year here." Egan said. "It was designed around Scott and the inside guys. This year we'll be using basically the same system. "Al this time a year ago, we had to rate our progress based on the fact we were introducing a new system. This year it's not something new, so we have to assess progress different- ly But we still think we're ahead of last year. "We'll find out." /

Thompson, beginning his fourth season as the Toreros' regular cen- ter. averaged 14.4 points and 7.3 re- bounds per game last season. He is the ma1or reason USO is rated atop the West Coast Athletic Conference in most preseason polls. "That has no effect on what we do," Egan said. "But if people perceive you as the team to beat, it means they're going to be ready for you and you're not going to steal any games." With Thompson, Madden (9.3 points, 5.6 rebounds per game last season) and six other players 6-6 or taller, the Toreros should have a strong inside game. Steve Krallman, a 6-8 senior forward-center, and 6-9 junior forward-center Jim Pelton are expected to be among the first Toreros off the bench. USD's front-line strength will be tested tonight by AIA, hich has 6-6 Doug True, 6-10 Paul Renfro and 7-0

With the exception of center Swen Nater, who was just playing the se- ries, it is the same AIA team that recently won two out of three agamst the touring Soviet national team - and the same team that lost this week to Pomt Loma Nazarene. "I don't think many people expect- ed that to happen, but Point Loma played a super game," Egan said. "I know AIA can play better, but that Point Loma team is very well coached. Ben Foster does a heck of a job." Although it is an exhibition, Egan said winning will be a priority. The only negative development of USD's preseason has been the recent revelation that 6-5 swmgman Mike Haupt will be lost for the season with a herniated disc. Haupt, a former standout at Mira Mesa High, trans- ferred to USO from San Diego State last year and was to become eligible

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

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THE':i.TRIBUNE

ifff;J a mob seen becau e I was used to it. It didn't bother me." But the e were thmgs that came natural to Egan He Just did them. It was part of gro11 mg up •·1 think ports started playmg a big part in my life when I was in high chool, Egan said ··In those days, ports was a way of establishing fnendsh1p and being soc1ally ac- e pted. By nalur I am competitive, nnd 1I was also an outlet for my com- pet1tiv ne " After a year at 1agara Universi- ty. Egan received an appointment to the aval Acad my. He played on a Navy team that went to the NCAA Touma n twice, but remembers the experience more for what he learned about him. elf "I went to the erv1ce academy for a lot of r ons, ' Egan 1d "First of all 11 wa a prestigious thing to do. I had not had a lot of e per1ence with th military so I didn't know exactly what I was getting mtu. But you had ev rything paid for, plus they paid you. It wa a chance for ome inde- penllence. and th y al u had a pretty good ba ketball program at that time ·When you go through something hk a scrv1c academv, I don t know 1f you n c anly learn n w things, but you become very much aware of your If your trengths and

made when Egan arrived. There was pressure to succeed that first year, perhaps, self-imposed because Egan arrived on the heels of the Toreros only NCAA Tournament appearance. Egan posted a 16-11 mark his first season with the Toreros, then went 19-9 last year. "With a new coach and coaching staff, it was kind of like transferring schools," said Thompson, who was recruited by Brovelli. ·It wasn't the happiest thing that ever happened to me. I came here because of Coach Brovelli. But Coach Egan didn·t Just jump in and change all our things. I think he made the transition very well." With the Air Force experience be- hind him and the transition to USD complete, Egan has settled in to do what he does best - teach and coach. "The other day in practice he told us a story about cowboys and Indi- ans." Thompson said.' In the movie~ the cowboys would circle their wag- ons. The Indians would always ride around shooting at them instead of going straight in and attacking them. "He applied that to defense. He said the guys were Just kind of cover- ing their man instead of attacking them, which is a good point. "It's also what he's kind of about because he·s a direct guy. He comes right out and tells you what he's thinking. He'!. truthful with you."

time in 20 years. Coincidentally, USO was looking for a new basketball coach, with former coach Jim Bro- velli having resigned to return to his alma mater at the University of San Francisco. When Egan applied for the Toreros position, Knight was among the coaches who recommended him to the Rev Patrick Cahill. USD's athlet- ic director 'A lot of people recommended him whom we respected,'' Cahill said. "And, of course, we interviewed him. We knew about his integrity, his ca- pability as a coach, the respect of his peers and his background. He be- lieves in the philosophy of thi!, school.' Said Egan: '·I really enjoy watch- mg people develop, learning things about themselves and growing. It re- ally does something for me. I'm probably even more outwardly excit- ed than they are. I know it's coming and they're kind of surprised by it. The players are individually and col- lectively the most important ingred- ient m all of this I'm just there to help nudge and push and shove and do whatever is necessary to see that happens. I enjoy all that." Among the players Egan has had to nudge, push and shove is All- 1\.menra candidate Scott Thompson. the Toreros' 7-foot senior center. There were a few adjustments to be

weaknesses. You are put in situations where your good points and bad points are exposed. You get a pretty good idea in there of who you are and what you are." In college, Egan added discipline and organizational skills to the integ- rity, competitiveness and determina- tion he already possessed. He was close to discovering he was a basket- ball coach. He was able to take his commis- sion in the Air Force ratber than the Navy because there was a need to bolster the ranks in that branch. Egan was assigned to Missouri for a while, then reassigned to the Air Force Academy. "At that point, I was still just thinking of fulfilling my commit- ment and then getting out and going into a business some place," he said. "At the Air Force Academy, I was a Phys Ed mstructor and that's what got me into athletics." When a position opened as an as- sistant basketball coach for the Fal- cons, Egan was selected. When head coach Bob Spear resigned five years later, Egan replaced him. "When I got out and started teach- mg, I really enjoyed it," Egan said. "When they threw the basketball on top of the teaching, it was really great because then I had an avenue for the teaching and something for my competitiveness. That's when I

'I really enjoy watching people develop'

Egan's record

W L 12 13 14 10 11 13 13 12 16 9 12 15 15 10 12 13 8 17 9 18 8 19 10 17 8 19 16 11 19 9

School Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force Air Force

Year

1971-72 1972-73 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1979-80 1980-81 1981-82 1982-83 1983-84 1984-85 1985-86

-Hank Egan made to upgrade the football pro- gram. However, the same commit- ment was not made in ba etball, where the Falcons found themselves facing a tougher schedule. "The admmistration decided it wanted to do something with the Air Force football program, and it did," Egan said... If you're gomg to put something in Division I, then I think you have to treat it that way. I felt that basketball's needs were not being met by the athletic depart- ment." Said Col. John Clune. Air Force's athletic director· ·we had a contract that bad run its course We didn t renew 1t It wasn t a case of winning or losing or b1m not workmg hi fanny off. I think Hank 1s an excel- lent coach and mind He just became so frustrated But it was difficult for him to see a light al the end of the tunnel here. I just felt that if he stayed here he was just gettmg so frustrated. I just didn't thmk 11 WaJ fair to him or the program · Egan was out of a JOb for the first

USO USO

discovered this is something I really like to do." Height restrictions, high academic requirements and the five-year ser- vice commitment that follows school were among the constraints Egan dealt with on an annual basis at Air Force. Still, he managed a 148-185 record during his 13 seasons there and earned the respect of his peers, men like Abe Lemons, Larry Brown and Bobby Knight. The limitations Egan faced at Air Force caused a rift between the bas- ketball coach and the athletic de- partment. Air Force joined the WAC in 1980 when a commitment was

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