Men’s basketball: Ready to roll

A glimpse of the future will be on display and a tribute to the

past will be made at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center tonight.

The UCI men’s basketball team begins the season against Saint Mary’s

in a nonconference game at 7:05 p.m. The Anteaters were 25-5 overall last

year and won the Big West Conference championship for the first time.

Tonight the Anteaters, ranked No. 1 by coaches and media in the Big

West preseason polls, will take the first step in molding their future.

The past will also be a focus during tonight’s event. UCI will honor

Bill Mulligan, who coached the Anteaters from 1980-91.This season, the

Anteaters have won exhibition games against Korabel (Ukraine), 105-71,

and Cal State Bakersfield, 81-56.

UCI is 3-3 against Saint Mary’s in career matchups. The two schools

faced each other last on Jan. 3. The Anteaters came out on top, 57-37.

The Anteaters’ tentative starters for tonight’s game are Stanislav

Zuzak, Jordan Harris, Adam Parada, Jerry Green and Mike Hood.

Zuzak, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, scored six points and had five

rebounds against Korabel.

Harris was a big contributer offensively in UCI’s exhibition games.He

had 17 points and eight rebounds against Korabel. The 6-5 junior forward

chipped in with 21 points and made 12 free throws of 12 attempts against

Cal State Bakersfield.

Parada, a 7-0 sophomore center, had 10 points in each of UCI’s

exhibition games.

Green, the Big West Player of the Year last season, led the Anteaters

in points in both exhibition games. The 6-3 senior guard scored 34

against Korabel and 24 against Bakersfield. He made a combined 25 of 26

free throws.

Hood also had solid performances in exhibition play, scoring 17 points

against Korabel and 11 against Cal State Bakersfield. The 6-4 junior

guard also made a trio of three-pointers in each game.

The Gaels lost their first exhibition game earlier this season to EA

Sports, 71-64. Teohn Conner, a 6-3 senior guard, scored a team-leading 18

points. Ethnie Stubbs, a 6-5 senior forward, had 15 points.