Holbert Fits New Role Quite Well : Basketball: USD guard still putting up good numbers despite coming off bench.

In a roller-coaster season of emotional peaks and dips at the University of San Diego, Pat Holbert quite possibly has had the most turbulent ride.

Whether in the front, middle or back of the train, Holbert hasn’t always taken the ascents, the descents or the bumps in sync with the team.

There have been moments, and there is still some track left, but overall it hasn’t been as smooth a ride as many thought it might be for Holbert after last year’s whirlwind.

A carefree Holbert of a year ago seemed to have more fun with every twist and turn, and he soared through the West Coast Conference basketball season with an aesthetic jump shot that made him one of the nation’s most accurate three-point shooters.

This season, there has been some queasiness. Three bouts with the flu and a few others with his studies have added to the uneasiness he already felt of having to duplicate last year’s success.

Through it all, he has persevered, adjusting admirably in USD’s team concept.

So Holbert isn’t having as big a year individually--or so it has seemed. So he hasn’t started in 12 games and is fourth among four guards in minutes played during that span. The Toreros (16-9, 8-4) are winning more, and Holbert has certainly contributed.

Said USD Coach Hank Egan, “I was a fan of Pat’s last year because he was shooting the ball so good. But I’m a bigger fan of Pat’s right now because he’s got some heart.

“He’s done a good job under some trying circumstances. And he could have caved in, but he didn’t. I think he’s really helped us in a lot of ballgames down the stretch here. And it may not show in the statistics, but he really has.”

The statistics--deceiving in Holbert’s case--show little difference.

In fact, present Holbert his overall statistics from the past two seasons, and he would be hard pressed to tell which year was which.

Based on averages--since USD has played three fewer games this year heading into tonight’s home game against Loyola Marymount--Holbert has scored (12.0 this year, 12.3 last year), shot (48%, 49%), assisted (2.2, 2.7), rebounded (2.2, 2.7), stolen the ball (.6, .8), turned it over (1.6, 2.0) and fouled (2.5, 2.1) roughly about the same in both seasons. The numbers would probably be better this year, but he has played an average of three fewer minutes per game than last year.

“I don’t know what everyone thought I was going to do this season,” Holbert said. “I had a decent season last year, but I wasn’t any Michael Jordan. And I wasn’t going to turn into one.

“I made all those preseason teams, so there was some pressure. But I didn’t think I was going to turn into some scoring machine or superstar. In this team concept, that’s just not going to happen.”

Holbert showed signs, though, in the beginning.

He was averaging 17.4 after eight games, a slight increase over what he scored in WCC games last year when he helped spark a 13-5 mark down the stretch. Before that, as Holbert struggled to find his niche after transferring from Mesa (Ariz.) Community College, USD got off to a 3-7 start, its worst since becoming a Division I member in 1979.

Last year, Holbert and others felt he was snubbed somewhat by receiving only honorable mention on the all-conference team, which was selected prior to the WCC Tournament. He got some vindication by notching a career-high 27 points for the third time in an 80-74 tournament victory over San Francisco.

This year, he hit 27 again, in a 91-64 loss at Indiana. In the first 10 games, he led the team in scoring six times. USD won its first five then lost four in a row. Holbert was the leading scorer in three of those losses. Since then, he hasn’t led the team in scoring once, and the Toreros won nine of 10 during one stretch.

Last weekend, he had his two best games in WCC play, scoring 14 and 17 against San Francisco and St. Mary’s. But USD lost both, becoming the last of seven teams eliminated from the regular-season race.

“If that were a correlation study, it might be favorable for me to stop shooting,” Holbert, who has retained his delightful demeanor, joked.

In reality, it might have been favorable for him to shoot more--on his own, in practice. The problem was, Holbert was having difficulty in school.

Not that he was flunking out, but he was struggling a bit and wanted to do better. So instead of spending extra time in the gym, as he always had, Holbert hit the books.

“If you’re a shooter, you’ve got to spend time shooting the ball,” Egan said. “But that other part (academics) came first. He had his priorities correct.”

Said Holbert, “This is not a cakewalk school.”

This is also the first place Holbert, a senior, has spent consecutive years since his freshman and sophomore years at Santa Monica High . From there, he went to Oakland Tech his junior year then to Inglewood High his senior year. After one year at the University of Idaho, he transferred to Mesa and then to USD.

“To be honest, I don’t think most athletes choose a school because of academics,” Holbert said. “They choose one because they like the program or the coaches . . . But this school happens to be tough academically. For me personally, this is a pretty tough school.”

Said Egan, “I just think school’s hard for some people. If you’re going to get a quality education, it’s hard. In Pat’s case, he transferred from a junior college, and he’s in a tough program (business). It requires a lot of time academically.

“If it was just the grades, he’d be OK. But he’s down physically. He’s over-stressed trying to live up to all the preseason expectations . . . Everything hit him at once. He’s really done a heck of a job fighting back. I think he’s been super.”

Holbert’s “slump” was not all together poor nor all that extensive.

It had been building for awhile and came to the forefront around semester exams in December--during which USD had five consecutive road games. It continued on and off until he was benched against Santa Clara in the WCC opener.

In the first game after Santa Clara, Holbert made five of six shots and scored 13 in a 90-88 victory at Pepperdine. The next night, he made six of 11 and again had 13 in a 98-90 victory at Loyola.

In 12 WCC games, Holbert is averaging 9.0 points and has shot 48%. His scoring is down, but he has made 46% of his three-pointers, raising his overall three-point percentage to .402 from a low of .316.

“I think Pat’s played pretty well in conference,” Egan said. “He’s given us a lift off the bench . . . He’s become more comfortable coming off the bench. We didn’t change him (back to a starter) because he’s in his comfort zone.”

Said Holbert, “Early on, the team didn’t really reflect what I was doing. I never was that comfortable. I had my own little personal battles while I was still trying to fit into the team concept. The first part of the year, I wasn’t stroking the ball as well. I didn’t have the feel or the confidence I had in the second half of last season. And it affected my defense, too. But later, as I continued to work on my defense, my shot started falling again.”

A natural shooter, Holbert added, “I’m better off when I don’t think about it. Just let it fly.”

And so he has lately. Trailing St. Mary’s by three with five seconds left Saturday, Holbert didn’t have time to think. He got the ball out on the left wing and released a perfectly-arched three-pointer that sent the game into overtime.

There was some debate, too, as to whether he was fouled by the Gaels’ 6-10 center Eric Bamberger, who had a hand in Holbert’s face.

“Never even saw it,” Holbert said.

What Holbert has seen is a change in himself and his approach to the game. And he is still having fun.

“It’s been enjoyable in two ways,” Holbert said. “First, we’ve had a lot of success--more so than last year. And we’re not done.

“The second thing is . . . We went into a slide. We made a change in the lineup, and it was me. That was difficult. But I’ve learned there are certain formulas to a team. It was difficult, but I got over that real quick because I wanted to win.”

Said Egan, “I’m sure there are some aspects of (this season) he’s not enjoying. He had some goals and some visions, and it hasn’t turned out that way. But I’ll tell you what; I hope he understands how much I appreciate all he’s done. And how hard it’s been for him. And what kind of character he’s shown. I think he can feel really good about he’s done.”