Another test for Parada

Steve Virgen

On the surface, it appears the UC Irvine men’s basketball team

will be able to regain confidence and some rhythm today at 3:05 p.m.

at Saint Mary’s.

However, take one look, preferably inside and down low, and you’ll

find the Anteaters have a big challenge in front of them. It is also

a sizeable test for 7-foot junior center Adam Parada, who scored

seven points before fouling out in UCI’s 84-57 loss at Stanford

Thursday.

Parada only played 15 minutes against the Cardinal and never

established himself as an inside presence, mainly against 6-10,

275-pound center Rob Little.

Today, Parada will have to take on 6-10 freshman Daniel Kickert,

who is one of the key players for Saint Mary’s. Kickert, a forward

from Melbourne, Australia, is second on the team averaging 13.7

points per game.

Kickert figures to challenge Parada’s defensive abilities, which

have caused the ‘Eaters’ big man to get in foul trouble in three of

UCI’s six games this season.

“Parada is the guy people know about,” said Randy Bennett, in his

second season as coach of the Gaels. “But they’re more than just

Parada. Their trademark is that they’re good defensively. This will

be a good challenge for us to see where we’re at and what we can do

against one of the top five mid-major teams in the west.”

Bennett is working to get his mid-major team on the college

basketball map.

He served as the top assistant under Lorenzo Romar two years ago

at Saint Louis and also with Romar at Pepperdine. Now Bennett is back

in the West Coast Conference determined to turn the Gaels around.

They were picked to finish sixth in the conference that had

co-champions last year in Gonzaga and Pepperdine.

With players like Kickert, the Gaels figure to improve this season

in the WCC. Along with Kickert, Saint Mary’s is also led by 6-5

junior guard Tyler Herr, who leads the team averaging 13.9 points per

game, and 6-8 junior forward Chase Poole (12.7 points per game).

Saint Mary’s has won three of its past four, losing to Stanford,

76-58, Dec. 14.

UCI (3-3) is 2-0 this season against WCC teams, having defeated

Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. The Anteaters saw their three-game

winning streak snapped at Stanford Thursday night, when the Cardinal

used a hard-nosed man-to-man defense to throw the ‘Eaters off their

rhythm.

UCI shot a dismal 38.2% from the field, more than 10 percentage

points below its season average.