USD Men's Basketball 1994-1995

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TORERO OUTLOOK

The 1994-95 University of San Diego men's basketball program, under the direction of first year coach Brad Holland, returns seven lettermen and three starters from last year's squad that finished 18-11 and that advanced to the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game. The returning starters include senior guard Doug Harris, junior for– ward Sean Flannery and junior point guard David Fizdale. With ten of his fourteen players underclassmen, Coach Holland will be counting on the above trio to supply both experience and leadership. Leading scorer Doug Harris (6-0, Guard), an All-WCC choice as a sophomore and an honorable mention All-WCC pick last year, is back for his senior year after topping last year's team in scoring with 14.4 points per game. He also was named to the WCC Post-SeasonTournament team after scoring 20 and 25 points in wins over Portland and Gonzaga. For the season, Doug scored in double-digits 23 times with a career-high 27 points against UC Irvine Juniors Sean Flannery (6-5, F, 9.4 ppg) and David Fizdale (6-2, G, 8.0 ppg) also return to the starting lineup. Flannery, who fi~ished fourth on the team in scoring, will be one the team's best outside shooters this season. Last year he bombed in 49 treys and posted a career-high 24 points against USF when he nailed 6-of-9 three pointers. He has the versatility to play small for– ward as well as both guard spots. Fizdale started the last nineteen games last year and has turned into a fine point guard. Besides his 8.0 ppg average, David finished first in steals (44) and second in assists (103) and blocks (12). To help fill the void left by graduated seniors Brooks Barnhard (6-9, Fl C, First Team All-WCC, 14.0 ppg), Joe Temple (6-3, F, 13.2 ppg) and Chris Grant (6-8, C, 6.3 ppg), the Toreros will look for sophomores Brian Bruso (6- 7, Forward, 7.4 ppg and 4.2 rpg) and James Black (6-11, Center, 2.5 ppg) to step their games up a notch. Bruso, who sat out the 1992-93 season after suffering a stress fracture in his foot, was one of the WCC's best freshmen last year as he converted 55.7 percent of his field goals (73xl3 l). With a year of experience under his belt and added strength gained during the off-season, Black will only get better with each game played. Other returning lettermen include junior guard Val Hill (6-4, 215 lbs.) and sophomore center Rocco Raffo (6-9, 228 lbs.). Three players back that sat out the 1993-94 season include 6-2 sophomore guard Casey Sheahan (played for Coach Holland at Cal State Fullerton in 1992-93), 6-8 freshman forward Andre Speech and 6-6 freshman swingman Mike Courtney. The Toreros program has four new freshmen on this year 's squad. Kareem Mutrie (Carson, CA) is a 5-11, 165 lb. point guard who averaged 19.9 ppg and 8.9 assists at Bishop Montgomery; Lamont Smith (The Colony, TX) is a 6-2, 175 lb. guard that averaged 16.0 ppg while leading The Colony HS to a 31-2 record; Ryan Williams (Seattle, WA) averaged 23 .1 ppg and 12.0 rpg while helping O'Dea High School to a 3rd place finish in the Washington State AA Championships; and Nosa Obasohan (Houston, TX) averaged 19.4 ppg and led the Houston area in three pointers made with 108 while helping Alief Elsik High School to a record of 31-4. Smith will sit out the 1994-95 season as he recovers from knee surgery. After two exhibitions against Cairnes, Australia (Nov. 19th) and High Five America (Nov. 22nd), Coach Holland will open the season at the Univer– sity of Kansas on Nov. 26th. Notre Dame comes to town on December 3rd as the Toreros host the Fighting Irish at the San Diego Sports Arena. Other games that highlight the nonconference schedule include three Big West Conference opponents (UC Irvine, Nevada and Pacific) as well as another trip to the midwest to take on Drake and Iowa State of the Big Eight. USO will open up West Coast Conference play at San Francisco on Jan. 7th with their first home WCC contest against Gonzaga on Jan. 12th. The WCC Tournament will be held March 4-6 at Santa Clara's Toso Pavilion.