Titans Trying to Be Cool About Postseason Chances

They don’t want to get too excited. There are still four regular-season basketball games left, none of them guaranteed victories, and then there is the Big West Conference tournament.

But for the first time in six years, the Cal State Fullerton men’s team has a legitimate chance at postseason play. The Titans are 14-8 and tied with Pacific for third in the Big West, and athletic department officials last week returned a preliminary questionnaire from the National Invitation Tournament in New York.

Although it is highly unlikely that the Titans will earn an NCAA tournament berth without winning the Big West tournament March 12-14 in Long Beach, the NIT is within reach. “We understand we’re only one of a number of teams meriting consideration (for the NIT),” said Bill Shumard, Fullerton’s athletic director. “But postseason play of any sort for our program would be a tremendous achievement.

“We said a year ago when we made the change (bringing in Brad Holland as coach), we would eventually like to be in the 17- to 20-win category with a shot at the postseason, and we’re on the doorstep. That’s exciting.”

Indeed, there weren’t many who would have figured Fullerton into that mix at this point in the season--the Titans were preseason picks for ninth in the conference.

As for the 32-team NIT field, Shumard figures the Titans need 17 or 18 victories. That would mean winning at least two of their final four regular-season games plus a first-round Big West tournament game.

Then comes tournament selection committees, strength-of-schedule charts, and politics.

In Fullerton’s favor: Of its eight losses, four were to teams ranked among the top 25 nationally at the time (UCLA, Nevada Las Vegas, New Mexico State and Cal State Long Beach). And another team that defeated Fullerton, Houston, was among the top 25 at one time this season.

Not in Fullerton’s favor: The remaining schedule. The Titans must play at Pacific on Thursday and still have to play host to UNLV and New Mexico State.

Also, the Big West tournament doesn’t figure to be easy on Fullerton. Because of the Titans’ lack of depth, the starters will be forced to play many minutes on consecutive days. Burnout and the possibility of facing Long Beach in the Long Beach Arena could be important variables.

If the NIT beckons, don’t expect the Titans to play at home. Teams with large arenas and rabid fan bases get to play host to early-round NIT games; Titan Gym seats about 5,000 and the team has drawn only 18,407 in 10 home dates this season.

Much of the NIT questionnaire Fullerton filled out dealt with the university’s facility and capability of putting on a good show. Some sample questions:

--How many fans does your facility hold?

--What is its television capability?

--Who is the radio rights holder?

--What is your average home-game attendance?

--Are there any events in your area that would conflict with your hosting early-round games?

--When is your spring break?

--What is your minimum ticket price?

--What is your press capacity?

--What is your approximate distance from a major airport?

The Titans last appeared in the NIT in 1987, when they lost a first-round game in overtime at Cal, 72-68. The Titans have not played in the NCAA tournament since 1978, when they stunned New Mexico and the University of San Francisco before losing in the quarterfinals to Arkansas, 61-58.

Holland landed three players during the early signing period in November. An update:

--Chris Dade, a 6-foot-2 guard at El Camino High in San Diego County, is averaging 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. El Camino is 21-4.

“I think he’s really developed,” El Camino Coach Ray Johnson said. “He’s able to play the one or two guard and do it well. And he’s able to adjust from shooting guard to off guard or vice versa during the course of a game--that’s hard for a lot of kids to do.”

--Josh King, a 6-7 forward at Jesuit High in Carmichael (near Sacramento), is averaging 16 points and six rebounds. Jesuit is 28-1 and was ranked 12th nationally last week by USA Today.

“He’s having a solid year,” Coach Hank Meyer said. “He’s got great perimeter skills. The only thing he’s weak on is guarding the (opponents’) three guy. But offensively, he’ll tear (the opponents’ three position) up. He’s an automatic scorer.”

--DeVaughn Wright, a 6-6 forward at Mater Dei, is averaging 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds. Wright is usually the second man off the bench on an extraordinarily talented team. Mater Dei is 27-1 and last week was ranked 13th in the nation by USA Today.

“He started off pretty good, went into a little slump but, in the last three weeks, he’s really come on,” Coach Gary McKnight said. “He’s probably our best athlete, and definitely our best jumper.”

The fifth-ranked Fullerton softball team opens its season at home Wednesday against Cal State Northridge. The Titans already have amassed some statistics they would rather have avoided: Four players, including all-American pitcher Tiffany Boyd, underwent major surgeries during the off-season. The rundown:

--Boyd had her right knee reconstructed.

--Ann Van Dortrecht, a pitcher who went 17-4 last season, had her right (pitching) shoulder reconstructed.

--Laurie LoForti, the second baseman, had her left knee reconstructed.

--Tammy Fa’agata, an outfielder, had surgery on her left ankle.

“That’s one reason we didn’t start our games as early this year,” Coach Judi Garman said. “Normally, we’d have four to six games under our belt by now.”

Fa’agata has a doctor’s appointment today, and the Titans are hoping she gets a release to play. The other three are already playing, although their effectiveness varies. Boyd is actually pain-free, LoForti is looking strong and Van Dortrecht, who had the same type surgery as the Dodgers’ Orel Hershiser, is about 80%.

Fullerton finished 45-20 last season and was eliminated in the NCAA Regionals by Cal State Long Beach. Garman figures that if the sore players progress as expected, these Titans should go even further.

“The key is we have some great quality players returning with a year of experience they gained last year,” Garman said. “That’s going to make this year better than last year.”

Titan Notes

The Fullerton baseball team travels to Pepperdine today for a 2:30 p.m. rematch of last June’s College World Series championship game, won by Pepperdine, 3-2. The game will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis by Prime Ticket at 10:30 tonight. Junior right-hander Dan Ricabal (2-0) will start on the mound for Fullerton. “I have no predictions--I just hope we get to play,” said Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido, referring to the forecast of rain. “We’re still trying to find solutions to playing baseball better than we’ve been playing it. . . . We’re still trying to develop--we’re not focused on any one game.” . . . The Fullerton-UCLA baseball game, rained out Feb. 10, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, May 11 at 7 p.m. at Titan Field. . . . Point guard Aaron Sunderland was named Big West Conference player of the week. Sunderland had 47 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists during victories over Long Beach and UC Santa Barbara. Since returning from a one-game suspension, Sunderland has scored 75 points in three games. . . . The Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America is sponsoring the Chuck Abair Memorial Sports Writer’s Scholarship, to be awarded to a sportswriter in the Cal State Fullerton journalism department. Abair, an Orange County Register sportswriter for 22 years, died after a heart attack Nov. 14 while in Las Cruces, N.M., to cover the Fullerton-New Mexico State football game. To donate, checks should be made payable to the Chuck Abair Sports Writer’s Scholarship-Communications. The address is Chuck Abair Sports Writer’s Scholarship, Communications Dept., Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton 92634.