Anteaters take the acid test

Steve Virgen

The biggest test of a men’s college basketball season usually

takes place in March. Yet, for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team,

it appears the Anteaters will receive their toughest challenge right

from the get-go.

UCI Coach Pat Douglass’ basketball team opens its season tonight

at 5:15 (PST), when it takes on Oklahoma, ranked No. 7 in the nation,

in the Sooner Invitational, which also includes Princeton and Western

Michigan.

Oklahoma will be the highest-ranked team UCI has faced since the

Anteaters’ 114-86 loss at No. 1 UNLV Feb. 23, 1991. The Sooners

opened the season ranked No. 3 in the nation, but lost to No. 8

Alabama, 68-62, in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square

Garden Nov. 14.

Oklahoma, which returns four starters who helped the Sooners reach

the Final Four last season, has won 22 of its last 23 regular-season

home openers and went 16-0 at home last season. The Sooners are

104-16 at home under ninth-year head coach Kelvin Sampson and have

won 22 straight at the Lloyd Noble Center.

Oklahoma is led by its experienced and battle-tested backcourt of

senior point guard Quannas White and All-America candidate Hollis

Price, a senior guard, as well as senior Ebi Ere. Coach Sampson calls

them the best backcourt he’s ever assembled in his nine years at

Oklahoma.

“This is a proven backcourt, but the challenge for them is to get

better,” Sampson said. “We’re not going to allow them to rest on

their laurels. Do I think they’re the best backcourt I’ve coached?

Absolutely. Do I think they can get better? Absolutely.”

UC Irvine, on the contrary, is trying to develop its young

backcourt. Jerry Green, a two-time Big West Player of the Year and

the Anteaters’ all-time leading scorer, is now playing pro in

Germany. His departure has left a high standard at UCI, yet the

guards, including senior Mike Hood and junior Aras Baskauskas are

asked to meet that standard quickly.

“All our perimeter guys are young,” Douglass said. “We need game

experience. Our first three are on the road, but that’s the way it

is. We’re going to have to push our buttons a little harder and try

to get ready. It’s a tough assignment. It would probably be best to

start out with three or four home games. But that’s the way we have

it: on the road.”

Baskauskas, who is projected to start Friday, is looking forward

to the challenge that is Oklahoma.

“Anytime you get a chance to play a top-ranked team it’s

exciting,” he said. “Those guys have proven themselves, so it’s going

to be a challenge. But once the ball goes up, it doesn’t matter where

they are ranked, we’re just going to go out and play. Those guys are

good, but we can’t worry about this and that and their rankings. We

just have to play our game.”

The Anteaters, also featuring four returning starters who helped

UCI win its second straight Big West Conference regular-season title

last year, have more experience in their frontcourt.

Junior 7-foot center Adam Parada, who did not start in UCI’s final

exhibition game last week because Douglass said he was outplayed in

practice, is projected to start, as is junior forward Stanislav

Zuzak, who led the Anteaters with 19 and 21 points in UCI’s two

exhibition games. Jordan Harris, a senior forward who injured his

knee in the summer, is nearing 100% and has shown progress,

especially in the Anteaters’ final exhibition game Nov. 15, when he

scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 77-67 victory over Team

Ezybonds (Australia).

The Anteaters were originally set to open the season against

Princeton in the Sooner Invitational, but a schedule change came

because Douglass said Western Michigan did not want to play against

Oklahoma.

The Western Michigan Broncos will face Princeton Friday, with the

winner meeting the Oklahoma-UCI winner Saturday. If UCI loses, it

will play against either Western Michigan or Princeton, Saturday

morning.

Broncos’ Coach Robert McCullum said the original schedule was a

mistake and there was miscommunication in the scheduling process.

“I think (the tournament schedule) was supposed to be the way it

is now,” McCullum said. “There was a breakdown in communications,

that was my understanding. It might have been because the coach (Ray

Lopes now at Fresno State) that used to handle the scheduling is

gone.”

Western Michigan, which finished 17-13, 10-8 in the Mid-American

Conference last season, is led by senior point guard Robby Collum,

the team MVP and a preseason All-MAC pick.

Princeton, coached by John Thompson, finished 16-12, 11-3 in the

Ivy League and shared the league title with Yale and Penn. The Tigers

are led by senior Kyle Wente, a two-time honorable mention Ivy League

selection.

ZOTS: The game can be heard on KUCI Radio/88.9 FM,

starting at 5 p.m. Mark Roberts, who is in his ninth season as voice

of the Anteaters, will be calling the play-by-play. ... Oklahoma was

ranked No. 1 by ESPN.com’s preseason power poll ... Oklahoma leads

the series with UCI, 3-0, including an 80-68 win over the Anteaters

in the championship game of the Sooner Holiday Classic Nov. 27, 1999.

One player on UCI’s current roster played in that game, that being

forward Greg Ethington, who is now a sophomore after serving a

two-year church mission. ... UCI has never faced Princeton or Western

Michigan. ... Over the past two seasons (62 games) UCI is 20-8 in

games decided by five or fewer points. The Anteaters are 46-16

overall during that stretch.