Anteaters have one big appetite

Barry Faulkner

With 66 wins and at least a share of two Big West Conference

regular-season championships the last three seasons, UC Irvine has

fully emerged from the nether world of men’s college basketball.

Now part of at least the regional discussion that follows a

mid-major disclaimer, Coach Pat Douglass’ Anteaters long for a

postseason seat at the grown-up table, otherwise known as the NCAA

tournament.

To that end, UCI, still stinging from an NIT snub after last

season’s 20-9 campaign, as well as three straight semifinal exits in

the Big West Conference tournament, has beefed up its schedule.

The Anteaters, boasting a blend of experience and promising

underclassmen, could face as many as five participants from last

year’s Big Dance. UCI, last year’s Big West regular-season runner-up,

opens the season Saturday at the Dell Black Coaches Association

Classic against Illinois-Chicago, which was 21-9 and played in the

NIT last season.

The eight-team BCA Classic also includes 2003 NCAA tournament

participants University of San Diego, a potential second-round foe,

and Xavier.

The Anteaters play host to Stanford (Nov. 25) and visit California

(Dec. 3), both of which lost in the second round of last year’s NCAA

tournament. UCI, of course, also battles Utah State, which won the

conference tournament to earn the Big West’s lone NCAA bid last

season. The Aggies are picked to finish second in this year’s

conference race, behind defending regular-season champion UC Santa

Barbara and ahead of UCI.

“This is definitely the most challenging schedule we have faced in

[my] seven years at UCI,” Douglass said of a slate that also includes

Bracket Buster Saturday (Feb. 21) against a mid-major power to be

determined.

But with three starters and eight players back who saw

considerable action last season, the Anteaters fully expect to live

up to the label of noteworthy opponent on every schedule on which

they appear.

“This is the first time in my seven years here we’ve had so many

seasoned players,” said Douglass, whose veteran cast includes 7-foot

senior center Adam Parada, a two-time second-team all-conference

performer who was named to CollegeInsider.com’s 25-man preseason

mid-major All-American team.

Parada averaged 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds and led the Big West

by shooting 54.5% from the field last season. He is also UCI’s career

leader in blocked shots with 111 and is poised to move up the

school’s career list in scoring (currently 16th with 977 points) and

rebounding (10th with 598).

Though he has shown flashes of brilliance, Parada has, many

believe, lacked consistency and, to this point in his career, failed

to become the dominant inside presence his size and athleticism might

suggest.

“I don’t think Adam was pleased with his productivity last year,”

Douglass said of the player tabbed by Street & Smith as the Big

West’s best pro prospect. “But I’ve seen a different motivation on

his part and I know he wants to have a great senior year.”

One of many Anteaters who dedicated himself to off-season weight

training -- a point of emphasis with Douglass, who believes his team

was pushed around in last year’s semifinal conference tournament loss

to Utah State -- Parada has added 20 pounds of muscle after playing

at 240 last season.

Parada also gained valuable experience against top international

competition in August, averaging 4.9 points and 5.1 rebounds

representing Mexico in the FIBA Tournament of the Americas in Puerto

Rico.

And while Douglass would like to see more consistency and

production from Parada, he is not being counted upon to carry the

team.

“We have a lot of different guys who can score,” Douglass said.

“If Adam can provide a defensive presence by the bucket and block

shots, he’s going to help us win.”

Sophomore point guard Jeff Gloger also returns after a strong

redshirt freshman campaign in which he set a school record for steals

(75) and ranked 14th nationally with 2.6 thefts per game. He also

supplied efficiency and confidence, shooting 52.3% from the field (80

of 153), 51.9% from three-point distance (14 of 27) and committing 20

fewer turnovers (66) than assists.

The 6-4 Gloger averaged 8.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and nearly three

assists per game and he added seasoning by competing on a college

all-star team that toured Europe in August. He also put on 10 pounds

in the weight room.

“Last year, Jeff was a big surprise, especially the way he played

the passing lanes,” Douglass said of the Big West all-freshman

selection. “This year, we need Jeff to be more sound, fundamentally,

to make up for the loss of Jordan Harris and Mike Hood.”

Harris, a first-team all-conference pick as a senior, averaged a

team-leading 12.7 points last season.

Hood averaged 10.3 points and led the team with 54 three-pointers.

Helping fill the void left by Harris and Hood will be 6-5

sophomore Mike Efevberha, who has sparkled in the Anteaters’ two

exhibition wins. Efevberha averaged 5.0 points and shot just 35.9%

from the field while making the transition to the collegiate level

after a prolific prep career at Ganesha High in Pomona.

He scored a game-high 28 points in a 94-91 exhibition win over the

EA Sports Southwest All-Stars Nov. 1, then had a team-high 13 points

in 22 minutes in a 75-49 romp over Cal State Los Angeles, Nov. 6. He

made half of his 26 field-goal attempts in the two games.

Douglass believes Efevberha is ready for a breakout season.

“He can bounce it on you, post you up, or shoot the three,”

Douglass said.

Joining Efevberha and Gloger in the three-guard starting lineup is

6-5 sophomore Ross Shraeder, while 6-8 junior forward Greg Ethington

has, at least for the opener, replaced 6-11 senior returning starter

Stanislaus Zuzak in the lineup.

Schraeder’s 31 three-pointers last season were second-most on the

team and he converted 43.1% of his attempts from beyond the arc, en

route to averaging 4.3 points as a redshirt freshman.

Ethington averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 2002-03, his

first after serving a two-year church mission in Canada. Douglass

said the two-year layoff (missionaries are seldom allowed to devote

time to sports) hurt Ethington all last season, but he has already

shown he can help provide the inside presence the ‘Eaters will need

to achieve their goals.

Ethington collected 16 rebounds, nine offensive, and scored 18

points in 29 combined minutes during the exhibition season.

Zuzak, a native of the Czech Republic who turns 23 in February,

averaged 7.9 points and 2.7 rebounds as a junior, a decline from his

sophomore season in which he averaged 8.2 points and 3.8 rebounds.

Douglass believes Zuzak, who for the first time in his UCI career

lifted and did individual skill workouts on campus during the summer,

is ready to take a step up.

“He has played very well in preseason practice,” Douglass said at

the Nov. 5 conference media day.

Zuzak’s 73 career three-pointers rank 10th in school annals.

Senior Matt Okoro, a high-flying 6-7 senior forward, and 6-4

senior guard Aras Baskauskas should both contribute heavily off the

bench.

Okoro, whom Douglass calls the best team player on the squad,

could be a defensive demon. He averaged 5.1 points and 4.6 rebounds

as a junior and his energetic play and thundering two-handed dunks

have made him a crowd favorite.

Baskauskas, a graduate student who started the first two games of

last season, provides valuable depth at point guard. His defensive

intensity has also provided a spark throughout his career.

Nic Campbell, a 6-6 freshman sharpshooter from Australia, received

a medical redshirt for last season, when a back ailment limited him

to just three games and eight points.

A sprained ankle sidelined Campbell for both exhibition games, but

he is back at work and Douglass believes his three-point prowess will

come in handy off the bench.

Mark Hill a 6-5 freshman, was a star in football (18 touchdown

catches as a receiver, Douglass said) and basketball at Bishop Gorman

High in Las Vegas last year. He had five points and five rebounds in

20 combined exhibition minutes and Douglass believes Hill’s

athleticism and toughness give him a chance to contribute.

Junior J.R, Stephens and senior Ryan Snook, both walk-ons, round

out the active roster, while freshmen Jim Paullin, a 7-1 center from

Washington, and Patrick Sanders, a 6-6 forward from Orange High, are

slated to redshirt.

UCI opens the Big West season Jan. 3 at home against Cal Poly San

Luis Obispo.