UC Irvine Notebook / John Weyler : Florentine Realizes Winning Isn’t the Only Thing

Steve Florentine figures he’s an expert of sorts on sports psychology . . . at least if firsthand knowledge counts for anything.

In the past year, Florentine has experienced his own emotional version of the Wide World of Sports. And he has discovered the agony of victory and the joy of defeat.

The agony of victory: Last season, Florentine was a forward on the UC Irvine basketball team. He appeared in 22 of 30 games and started five conference games. Florentine, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, was a designated defensive player and he drew more than a few difficult assignments, such as: Stop Brian Shaw. Stop Ricky Berry. Stop Gerald Paddio.

He was moderately successful in that role--of course, he might have been the defense-weak Anteaters’ best defender this season--and he averaged two points and a rebound per game.

Coach Bill Mulligan admired Florentine’s athletic talents, but he questioned his dedication and was angered by his concentration lapses on the court.

“I thought I was doing a pretty good job,” Florentine said, “but Mulligan was almost more concerned about what you were doing off the court than on the court. I couldn’t understand why he benched me near the end of the season. It was head games and more head games.”

Before the conference tournament began, Mulligan held a lengthy team meeting on a Sunday afternoon. He had decided that 10 players would be in uniform for the tournament. There were 11 players at the meeting. Florentine was the odd man out.

Florentine was openly upset and Mulligan threw him out of the meeting and off the team. Later, Mulligan said Florentine had been suspended for attitude problems.

“He had a bad team meeting,” Mulligan explained.

Irvine upset Nevada Las Vegas in the semifinals and lost a lead in the second half of the tournament final to Utah State. The Anteaters were a few minutes shy of a spot in the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. playoffs.

Florentine didn’t get to share in the glory, fleeting as it was. He had to buy a ticket to watch.

“Florentine could have been a good player if he had worked at improving,” Mulligan said, “but all he wanted to do was go to the beach, play volleyball and pick up girls.”

Mulligan certainly was right about that.

The joy of defeat: Florentine did not play volleyball at Redondo (Beach) Union High School, but his reputation as a beach player was enough that Bill Ashen, the Irvine volleyball coach, had asked him to come out for the team, even if it meant just playing in the last few matches after the basketball season ended.

So, instead of transferring and playing basketball somewhere else, Florentine changed uniforms instead of schools.

Irvine’s men’s volleyball team is a member of the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn., along with most of the best teams in the country. The Anteaters don’t win often--they’re 0-2 so far--but, boy, do they have fun.

“We’re definite underdogs in the WIVA,” Florentine said. “Sometimes we’ll be getting totally worked, just pounded, but everyone is having a great time, kidding each other, making the best of it, enjoying the game.

“I’ve never seen a college sport so relaxed. I look forward to volleyball practice. I used to dread basketball practice, but this is a much more comfortable environment.”

Ashen is glad Florentine feels at home because his presence at middle blocker has elevated the team to a new level. Even though the Anteaters are on the bottom of the WIVA totem pole, they are ranked No. 18 in the national poll.

“His footwork is a nightmare,” Ashen said, laughing, “and he sometimes knocks our outside hitter into the bleachers while making a block, but the point is he makes the block.

“He has a lot to learn about positioning, but what he doesn’t know he makes up for in athletic ability and instinct.”

Florentine admits he may not be the fastest learner around, but he’s making progress under Ashen’s low-key guidance.

“Coach Ashen doesn’t get frustrated,” Florentine said. “He’s calm and patient and he doesn’t mind telling you something over and over.”

So Florentine has been transformed from a forgotten forward in one sport to the center of attention in another.

“With Steve in there, we block a whole lot better as a team and that’s the quickest way to get points,” captain Dave Pettker said. “We may not be real competitive in the WIVA yet, but we’re not horrible.”

Florentine’s future might be on the beach, anyway.

“With a couple of years of sand under his belt, he could make an impact on the pro tour,” Ashen said. “He’s got the talent.”

Florentine’s beach volleyball experience so far has been limited to playing with a friend--instead of a highly skilled player--as a partner. Still, he has had some success.

“I’m definitely going to pursue it,” he said. “I’m going to go all out this summer.”

The key to making a living playing beach volleyball is securing a sponsor. Florentine’s blond, beach-boy good looks can’t hurt in that department.

“Getting kicked off the basketball team was a blessing in disguise,” he said, smiling. “Basketball wasn’t going to take me anywhere.”

Mulligan had a question for his team this week:

“Why do you think (Cal State Long Beach guard) Walker Moore is playing instead of (second-leading scorer) Darrell Faulkner?”

Mulligan thinks he knows.

“Because Moore throws the ball to (No. 1 scorer, center John) Hatten.”

Mulligan hoped the analogy would sink in, but just in case it didn’t, he made his point clear.

“That could happen to a couple of our guys real soon,” he said. “(Guard) Kevin Floyd is shooting 40% in conference games. (Guard) Rod Palmer is shooting 38%. Doesn’t it make sense that (center) Mike Doktorczyk, who’s shooting 58%, should be taking more shots than Floyd and Palmer?”

Floyd has taken 102 shots in Big West Conference play and Palmer 106. And Palmer is 14 of 46 on 3-pointers in conference games.

Doktorczyk is second in the nation in 3-point field-goal percentage (.587) and is shooting 58% from the floor. He has attempted 79 shots in Big West action.

“I had a rule when I had (Kevin) Magee,” Mulligan said. “It was, ‘Throw the ball to Magee or come sit with me.’ We may start something like that again.”

Anteater Notes

Coach Bill Mulligan pointed out that there’s one good thing about Irvine’s basketball schedule this season: The Anteaters, who will take a bus to Fresno and Stockton for their last two road games, have no more airplane trips. An optimist might point out that there’s a chance for another air excursion if the Anteaters win the Big West tournament and the automatic NCAA berth. Mulligan: “Like I said, no more plane trips.” . . . Opposing inside players have been scoring with relative ease against the Anteaters recently. When asked who would guard Cal State Fullerton’s Cedric Ceballos tonight (who is averaging 21 points a game), Mulligan said, “I don’t have anyone who can guard Ceballos. Hell, I don’t have anyone who can guard (Irvine sports information director) Bob Olsen.”

Kris Roberts was named outstanding player of the year and Ali Wood was honored as most improved at the women’s volleyball annual banquet. Roberts, who set six school records this season, and Wood tied for the school record with 381 kills this season. . . . Freshman Ken Cooper won the 100-meter breaststroke, the 200 breaststroke and the 200 individual medley to lead the Anteater men’s swimming team over Pomona-Pitzer Saturday.