Anteaters driven to bounce back

Barry Faulkner

First came history, then hubris. But it was humility that haunted the

UC Irvine men’s basketball program this past off-season, after an

11-17 campaign in which the Anteaters failed to qualify for the

eight-team Big West Conference tournament.

Nothing like dropping 11 of your last 13, including a seven-game

conference losing streak, to kill the buzz created by an

unprecedented three straight 20-win seasons in which UCI won two Big

West regular-season titles.

“We just didn’t get it done in so many areas,” UCI Coach Pat

Douglass said of the harrowing 2003-04 season. “The coach didn’t have

a good year coaching and a couple of players we counted on didn’t

have the type of year we would have liked. We had more deficiencies

than we realized. The makeup of our roster just didn’t fit.”

Graduation, defections and one dismissal pared nine players from

the program, leaving seven new faces on this year’s 11-man roster.

Change has also been embraced by Douglass, who, in his eighth

season, has vowed to sweat every detail in order to restore his

program to the level it had attained prior to last year’s struggles.

“I think I’m more enthused, more directed and I’ve had more

preparation for the season than I’ve probably had in a long time,”

Douglass said.

Douglass’ commitment to a more hands-on approach has already

surfaced in the team’s two exhibition victories. Before both games,

the former NCAA Division II Coach of the Decade (he guided Cal State

Bakersfield to three NCAA Division II national titles) supervised

pregame warmups from the baseline.

Also bent on redemption are returning starters Jeff Gloger, Ross

Schraeder and Greg Ethington, all of whom Douglass praised for their

leadership thus far.

“I think those guys were [ticked] off we didn’t make the league

tournament last year,” Douglass said. “They came to Irvine to be in

the league tournament, to try to compete for a [conference] title,

and to get into the NCAAs. They didn’t come to Irvine just to be

basketball players, which is a little different mind-set than we used

to have. I think this team wants to be good, more so than any team

I’ve had in a long time.”

Toward that end, Douglass will count on Ethington, a 6-foot-8,

250-pound senior who will turn 24 in January, Schraeder, a 6-5

sharp-shooting junior wing, and Gloger, a 6-4 junior who shifts from

point guard to the wing, to consistently produce.

“I think Greg is ready to break out this year,” Douglass said of

Ethington, who started eight games and averaged 6.5 points and 3.2

rebounds as a junior. He is the lone senior on this year’s roster.

Schraeder averaged 7.9 points, but 19.5 the last four games, and

led the team with 49 three-pointers. He started 13 games and the son

of a former high school coach has been the most vocal leader thus

far, Douglass said.

“At the end of last year, when we lost [Mike] Efevberha [suspended

and subsequently dismissed after being convicted of petty theft] Ross

knew he had to produce. As long as he is aggressive, he’s a scorer.

But when he’s not being aggressive, he’s just a shooter.”

Gloger, who started 26 games as a sophomore, should be an even

greater stat-stuffer, after being relieved of some of his

ball-handling chores by the arrival of new point guard Aaron

Fitzgerald. Gloger averaged 9.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and

2.1 steals last season. His 135 career steals rank No. 2 in school

annals, only 27 behind Jerry Green, who built his total in twice as

many games.

“With Jeff on the wing, now, and with the other perimeter players

we’ve added to our roster, we’re looking to fast break a little more

this year,” Douglass said.

Fitzgerald, a 6-2 junior transfer from Jacksonville Community

College in Texas, after stops at Portland State and Washington State,

has averaged five points and seven assists in two exhibition games.

“He sees the game very well and he’s very good in the spread

court,” Douglass said of Fitzgerald. “He can penetrate, shoot the

three and he plays with a lot of energy. I think he’s going to be one

of the top newcomers in our conference.”

The fifth starter for Friday’s regular-season opener against

visiting Cal State Dominguez Hills may be 6-8 freshman Darren Fells,

who has already impressed Douglass with his size and athleticism. He

was not only an All-CIF Southern Section performer in basketball last

year, but was an All-CIF tight end in football.

“He has really quick hands and feet and will be one of the top

freshmen in our conference,” Douglass said.

Fells started the second exhibition game, a 67-41 win over Cal

State Los Angeles, and has averaged 12 points, 6.5 rebounds and just

more than 20 minutes in two exhibitions.

Other newcomers include 6-2 junior guard Shamar Armstrong, a

transfer from Diablo Valley Community College, and frontline

contributors Adam Metelski, a 6-10 junior, and Andrew Bruckner, a 6-9

sophomore.

Armstrong, who averaged 12.8 points and hit 56 three-pointers at

Diablo Valley last season, has averaged 9.5 points in the exhibition

season.

Metelski, a native of Poland who played at Grayson County

Community College in Texas last season, as well as Bruckner, who

played one season at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, provide

size and strength up front.

“Like other European players, [Metelski] sees the game well and

can pass the ball,” Douglass said. “He’s strong inside, but sometimes

he prefers to spot up and shoot the ball.”

Bruckner, a muscular 260-pounder with limited offensive skills,

will be counted upon to defend and rebound, Douglass said.

Bruckner and Metelski are being asked to help offset the loss of

7-0 Adam Parada, now with the ABA’s Utah Snowbears, and 6-11

Stanislav Zuzak, both of whom have graduated.

Another “new” face is 6-6 redshirt freshman Patrick Sanders, an

Orange High product whom Douglass considers a bit of a wild card.

“I think Patrick probably has the most potential of any player in

our program and that’s a pretty big statement,” Douglass said. “But

then he could also be the 11th man on an 11-man team. Passing,

shooting and jumping, he’s very skilled an very athletic. He’s still

young and I’m hoping his mind matures as much as his body.”

Nic Campbell, a 6-6 sophomore who averaged two points in 22 games

last season, and 6-4 freshman Davis Baker, an All-CIF performer at

Capistrano Valley High last season, will add depth on the perimeter.

Douglass supports the consensus that recognizes defending Big West

tournament champion Utah State and regular-season champion University

of the Pacific as conference title favorites.

“With seven new faces, it’s tough to say,” Douglass said of his

team’s Big West hopes. “We are building for part of the year, but,

hopefully by league play, we’ve built something.”

The Anteaters were picked to finish seventh in the conference in

preseason polls by the media and coaches.

UCI opens conference play Dec. 28 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo,

after a preseason that includes games at USC (Monday) and UCLA (Nov.

27).