UC IRVINE NOTEBOOK / MIKE REILLEY : In the Car or the Starting Lineup, Whitehead Is a Fortunate One

Todd Whitehead considers himself fortunate.

He feels lucky to be playing Division I college basketball. Lucky to be starting as a freshman for the Anteaters. And lucky that the 10 stitches in his forehead wasn’t something worse.

Whitehead cut his forehead Saturday night after his brother’s car was hit from behind while sitting at a stoplight in Los Angeles. They were on their way home after Whitehead scored 16 points in a 76-74 loss to New Mexico State at the Bren Center.

Whitehead, riding in the passenger seat and not wearing his seat belt, suffered a deep cut about an inch above his left eye. He spent part of the night in an emergency room for treatment.

“They numbed it before they put in the stitches,” he said. “But it hurt when it wore off.”

Still, it will take a little more than a knot on the noggin to keep Whitehead out of the starting lineup Friday, when the Anteaters meet top-seeded and 24th-ranked New Mexico State in the Big West tournament at Long Beach Arena.

Whitehead, a 6-foot-4 guard, is averaging only 4.7 points and one rebound but has picked up the pace since starting four of the last five games. He averaged 17.5 points in losses last week to Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico State.

He struggled with his consistency as a reserve player most of the season, but he has played well since starting in place of academically ineligible Keith Stewart.

“Todd has been playing like a junior instead of a freshman the last week or so,” Irvine Coach Rod Baker said.

Whitehead scored nine points in 21 minutes in his first start, a 67-62 victory at San Jose State Feb. 25. He added five points in 21 minutes against Pacific two nights later.

“When we went to San Jose without Stewart, we needed the next guy in line to step up for us,” Baker said. “It didn’t matter if it was a freshman or a fifth-grader. Todd did it and he gained some confidence.”

It showed last Thursday when Whitehead scored 19 points in a 96-74 loss to UNLV. He added 16 in the loss to New Mexico State Saturday.

He hit five of eight three-pointers against the Rebels, but was only one of seven against the Aggies. For the season, he’s shooting 42.6% from three-point range.

Baker said Whitehead can improve if he gets stronger. Whitehead rarely lifted weights at Los Angeles Fremont High, where he was the City Section player of the year as a senior.

Weightlifting has been only part of Whitehead’s adjustment. What else?

“Being smart, taking more shots, knowing when to score, being more disciplined,” he said.

And learning how to handle losses. Whitehead’s high school team was 65-6 during his two years as a starter. Irvine is 6-20 this season, 1-3 with Whitehead in the starting lineup.

“It’s hard to come from a winning program and then lose,” he said. “It’s frustrating.”

Whitehead has three more seasons to do something about it. His goal is obvious.

“To win,” he said. “That’s all. We want to make it to the Final Four or something.”

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Big West tournament: Most coaches wouldn’t want a nationally ranked opponent in the first round. But Baker doesn’t mind drawing New Mexico State.

The Aggies have won 11 consecutive against the Anteaters and are 16-4 in the overall series. New Mexico State also has a five-game winning streak.

Still, Baker likes his team’s chancesfor two reasons:

New Mexico State 76, UC Irvine 74.

New Mexico State 72, UC Irvine 67, overtime.

“We’ve demonstrated an ability to play against them,” he said. “Maybe I’m stupid, but there are some other teams in the conference that I wouldn’t want to be playing in the first round.”

Baker also mentioned Irvine’s 88-67 victory over top-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the first round of last season’s tournament. Irvine played the Gauchos tough in two conference losses (80-74 and 61-59) before pulling the upset.

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Keeping the faith: Baker figured it would take a miracle to get injured senior Jeff Von Lutzow back for his final two home games.

He got it.

Von Lutzow missed a day of practice last week with a sprained left foot he suffered against Cal State Long Beach. He was limping and Baker waited a day to decide whether he could play against Nevada Las Vegas.

The next day, Von Lutzow ran with little pain at a shoot-around before the UNLV game. Baker was suspicious.

“I know our trainers aren’t that good ,” he said.

Von Lutzow’s explanation: The night before the game, he had his foot blessed at a local church. The next morning, he felt good enough to play.

Added Baker: “I don’t know if he dunked his head in there too. But it worked. It’s a miracle.”

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Stat of the week: Point guard Lloyd Mumford has 147 assists this season, three shy of the school’s season record set by George Turner in 1982-83.

Anteater Notes

Baker paid a Sunday visit to New York City to watch prep star Ed Elisma play. Elisma, a 6-foot-9 center, has narrowed his choices to UC Irvine and Georgia Tech, eliminating Seton Hall and Pittsburgh from consideration. . . . The Anteater women’s basketball team finished 2-24 and 1-17 in conference, failing to qualify for the tournament for the third consecutive year.