Falling into place

Steve Virgen

Three years ago, before Greg Ethington knew he would become a part

of the UC Irvine men’s basketball team, he engaged in a bout against

doubt. Today, doubt is the least of Ethington’s worries.

Last month, Ethington, who had originally planned to play for

Pepperdine three years ago, moved into the starting lineup, mainly

because his friend and one of his roommates, Adam Parada, struggled

with foul trouble and was in the disfavor of Coach Pat Douglass.

Ethington’s move into the starting lineup helped the Anteaters

reel off a four-game winning streak. His defense and simply his

playing time allowed the 7-foot Parada to stay away from foul trouble

and motivated the junior center to improve his play. Parada, a

second-team All-Big West selection last year, went back to the

starting lineup Wednesday, displaying newfound energy that led to a

game-high 25 points in a 66-65 overtime loss at Cal State Fullerton.

Ethingtons’ four straight starts might have caused friction

between he and Parada, but that was not the case.

“I talk to Adam quite a bit,” Ethington, a 6-8 sophomore forward,

said before UCI started Big West Conference play Jan. 4. “I’m one of

his roommates. It’s pretty much the same between us from when I

wasn’t starting. He’s been working a lot harder in practice and I

think it’s going to start showing up in the games. His focus is

getting a lot better. I’m pretty sure he’s going to start coming

around and he’s going to start playing the way we all expect him, the

way he knows he can play.”

When Ethington received word of his first start Dec. 22 at Saint

Mary’s, that solidified UCI was the place that was always meant for

him. Three years ago, that was not the case. Back then, Ethington

wondered if a Latter Day Saints mission was really his calling. He

worried if UCI would be the right place for him. And, who could blame

him?

“Things happen for a reason,” Ethington says now. “At first, I

didn’t know why.”

Ethington had been planning to play for Pepperdine since his

junior year at Gilbert High in Arizona. Gilbert Coach Tom Bennett had

a son, Randy, who was an assistant coach at Pepperdine. Ethington

would play there during the summer.

As high school came to an end, Ethington decided to play for the

Waves and for head coach Lorenzo Romar since he would allow Ethington

to complete his two-year church mission amid his college years. But

Romar took a job with Saint Louis and the new coach, Jan van Breda

Kolff, didn’t want to give a scholarship to a player who would leave

for two years.

Ethington had to start over.

“It was frustrating because I had this plan and everything started

going haywire,” Ethington said. “But, looking back, it seems like a

lot of things did happen for a reason.”

Randy Bennett spoke with his friend, Todd Lee, the associate head

coach of UCI who worked with Bennett at the University of San Diego,

and Bennett also told Ethington to get in touch with the UCI

assistant coach. Things started to happen for a reason.

Ethington eventually chose to play for UC Irvine. He earned

All-Freshman honors in the Big West, starting 22 games his first year

with the Anteaters. There was excitement for the future. And then

Ethington went to Canada.

He learned to speak Cantonese. He would wake up at 6:30 a.m. study

his new language, then, for the rest of the day, he would teach and

speak to others. He had but two breaks, for lunch and dinner,

throughout the day. He did this everyday, save for one preparation

day, which was for doing laundry and running other usual errands.

Also, on Sundays, he would go to church.

What do you think he learned throughout his work in Canada?

“That taught me how to be disciplined on my own,” Ethington said.

“I had a problem with that in high school. On my mission I had to

constantly work on it. And now, coming back here and getting back

into school, it’s a lot easier.”

Ethington came back home in April and attempted to get back into

basketball mode. He had been away from the game for two years. Every

so often in Canada, with rare extra time during a preparation day, he

would play in a small basketball gym that had an undersized rim.

However, Ethington was intent on everything happening for a

reason. He used his newfound discipline to help him get back to the

game. When Parada struggled with foul trouble, Ethington found a new

role in Coach Douglass’ scheme.

“He’s a pleasure to coach because he’s team-oriented,” Douglass

said of Ethington. “The only negative is that he is a perfectionist.

He’s too hard on himself. When he doesn’t play up to par, he’s afraid

of letting people down. He needs to remain positive and not beat

himself up.”