usd beats irvine

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SoCalHoops College News

Chris Ferguson Sparks
USD Win Over UC Irvine--(Nov. 21, 1999)

Chris Ferguson (6'-2" Fr. PG/SG) who signed with the University of San Diego Toreros last spring from Irvine High proved to his hometown fans from Irvine that he can play at the D-I level, as he came off the bench and led USD to a 75-62 win over UC Irvine Friday night at the Bren Events Center. Ferguson scored 10 points in the first half sparking the Toreros who shot 51.1 % from the field, and holding the Anteaters to jsut 38.1% of their shot. San Diego led by 12 points at the half, and stretched that to 19 points early in the second quarter.

Ferguson was not the whole story in the San Diego win, and the Anteaters had more than enough to do with it. Call it stage fright, call it nervousness, but whatever you call it, Irvine shot miserably and played poorly on defense. We managed to find several different views of the game from a couple of different internet sources. The first is from the Orange County Register by sportswriter Gage Harter. Here it is:

UC Irvine stumbles in first real test

UCI: The Anteaters shoot poorly in a 75-62 home loss to a red-hot San Diego.
November 20, 1999

By GAGE HARTER
The Orange County Register

IRVINE — UC Irvine entered Friday night's game with so much hope and promise for this season. After enduring three years of hardship that produced a 16-63 record, the Anteaters thought they had seen the light. But San Diego exhausted UCI and outran the young Anteaters, 75-62, in front of 1,261 at the Bren Center in the season-opener for both teams.

The Toreros held the Anteaters to just 38.1 percent shooting while burying 51.1 percent of their shots. San Diego stretched a 12-point halftime lead into a 19-point bulge with four minutes gone in the second half. Then the Toreros controlled the game with the dribble and broke down the UCI defense with penetration. San Diego was 24 for 37 from the free-throw line.

Is it last season again?

"It looked like we had stage fright," UCI coach Pat Douglass said. "People who normally shoot well couldn't get off their shots. Our frustration has to be credited with what they did defensively." San Diego's defense was stellar. It caused the Anteaters offense to jerk and crumble from the perimeter. UCI shot 7 of 21 from behind the arc and turned the ball over 16 times. The Toreros threw in a few backcourt traps and mixed in a 2-3 zone defense to disrupt the Anteaters a little more. Every time UCI tried a pick and roll, San Diego switched effectively.

The Toreros virtually eliminated newcomer Sean Jackson from the game with great switches and help. Jackson finished with no points on 0-for-7 shooting after scoring 34 points in two exhibition games. Jackson hadn't played a regular season game in two years. He sat out last year after transferring from Cal. Other shooters like Ben Jones and Jens Jensen either couldn't find a good shot or couldn't find the stroke to make a shot. "We knew their offense (the flex) because we worked on it at practice every day," said San Diego guard Dana White, who finished with a game-high 23 points. "We did a good job of helping each other on defense." It was a six-point game with 2:37 remaining in the half. Green's 17-foot jumper capped off an Anteaters' 7-0 run that gave UCI the momentum. But Chris Ferguson, an Irvine High School graduate, hit two foul shots, then slashed to the hoop for a fast-break basket and finally drilled a three-pointer from the wing.

Ferguson's solo rally stretched San Diego's lead back to 33-23 with 1:32 before the intermission. Ferguson scored all of his 10 points in the first half. "I came in with the idea of playing him because he has been one of our best practice players," San Diego coach Brad Holland said.

The second report comes from the San Diego Union Tribune, and has a decided San Diego-flavor:

By Hank Wesch
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

November 20, 1999

IRVINE -- Turns out that if you're Chris Ferguson, you can go home again. Ferguson, a freshman out of Irvine High, came off the bench to score 10 points in the first half of his first college game and helped spark USD to a 75-62 victory over UC Irvine last night before 1,261 at the Bren Events Center.

Not that Ferguson was the whole show. He was part of a cast of 12 -- everybody on the Toreros traveling squad -- who contributed to a season-opening effort that was a pleasing sight for coach Brad Holland. "I liked a lot of things I saw tonight," Holland said. "We played a much-improved Irvine team tough on the road. Our depth and perimeter defense was a big factor. Pretty much the entire game we were able to keep pressure on them and it showed."

Offensively, the Toreros took advantage of an up-tempo game they had been working on in preseason practices. They consistently beat UCI down the floor and, when not converting on fast-break opportunities, used their quickness to get high-percentage shots or draw fouls.

The result: 51 percent field-goal shooting and 37 free-throw attempts (making 24) to UCI's 12. Junior point guard Dana White led the way with 23 points and backcourt mate Andre Laws had 11. UCSD transfer Tyler Field, making his USD debut, had 10 points and nine rebounds and Cameron Rigby eight points and nine rebounds as USD took control midway through the first half and maintained a double-figure lead the rest of the way.

It was a game that afforded Holland a chance to take a look at what he has, in its many forms and permutations. Briefly, he had freshmen Roy Morris and Ferguson in the backcourt together. More often he had one or the other in a combination with White and/or Laws. All 12 players saw action, nine of them getting double-figure minutes in assemblages too numerous to mention. "A lot of it for me is by feel," Holland said. "I go by the matchups and what I think will be best for us. But I wasn't afraid to play a lot of different players and a lot of different combinations."

Asked if he came in planning to get time for Ferguson because it was a homecoming, Holland shook his head. "I came in with the idea of playing him because he's been one of the best players in practice," Holland said. "For his first game, and at the Division I level, I thought he did a nice job."

Ferguson counted 25 family and friends in the house last night. And he made it memorable for them, and himself. "I was nervous, it being my first college game and all," Ferguson said. "But once you get out there and start competing, it all goes away. I couldn't be happier about the way it turned out." Ferguson played nine minutes and scored all 10 of his points in the first half, going 2-for-3 on three-point attempts. He played six minutes in the second half but failed to score, missing two field-goal attempts, one a three-pointer, and a free throw.

The Toreros went up by as many as 19 in the second half and came up with a response on two occasions in the final five minutes when UCI edged within 10.

Notes

USD has entered into an agreement with KCBQ radio (AM-1170) to broadcast home games starting with Dartmouth on Dec. 18. Veteran sportscaster Jerry Gross will do the play-by-play and ex-Clipper Jim Brogan the color commentary . . . USD sophomore guard/forward Steve Ross was suspended from the team on Wednesday for "academic reasons," Holland said, but is expected to be reinstated tomorrow.

And finally, one of the longer, but often insightful (and some might say, too overly pessimistic--it was after all, just a first game) reports from an Irvine perspective, was found at Robert Carden's Unofficial UC Irvine Basketball Page:

UCI Basketball: Commentary - 11/20/99
Crash and Burn

Robert C. Carden IV

Chris Foster of the LA Times writes in his recap titled Anteaters' Fresh Start Turns Stale, "That new car smell didn't last very long for UC Irvine. The Anteaters hoped to be better, thought they would be better, which led to fully expecting to be better. They are back to hoping and thinking after a 75-62 loss to San Diego Friday in the Bren Center." Gage Harter of the Orange County Register captures the emotions of the event writing "UC Irvine entered Friday night's game with so much hope and promise for this season. After enduring three years of hardship that produced a 16-63 record, the Anteaters thought they had seen the light. But San Diego exhausted UCI and outran the young Anteaters, 75-62, in front of 1,261 at the Bren Center in the season-opener for both teams."

I had also written on the Sports Only message board the following yesterday afternoon. UCI should win tonight, but it is probably going to be close. Then again, it may not. USD is pretty guard heavy and young which makes them more like us last year. The key will be defense and rebounding. Also, we need to play to win rather than playing not to lose. Sean Jackson should help instill the proper attitude. I would expect both teams to have some early game jitters, and lots of turnovers in the first half. Hopefully, most of them will be by USD, not Irvine. In my mind, this is a very important game because (1) it precedes a three game road trip and (2) we need to get a win under our belt to start putting away last year's demons.

What we witnessed instead was a train wreck. The first half started out ominously with UCI failing to score until the 15:50 mark. During that time, the Band, under orders from the Athletic Department, led the crowd in a steady chorus of clapping, a chorus which would continue until UCI scored its first point. We clapped and clapped and clapped as UCI missed its shots, committed turnovers, and eventually fouled a San Diego player. He shot his free throws as we clapped steadily and missed both of them. We were two minutes into the game and the score was still 0-0. Irvine continued to miss shots and a minute later coach Douglass called timeout. We stopped clapping and played the Fight Song. When play resumed, we continued our chorus of clapping, and several possessions later, at the 5:50 mark, UCI finally scored. By then San Diego was leading, but only by something like 7-2.

However, that wasn't the worst part of it all. San Diego shot 51.1% compared to UCI's 38.1%. Where was the defense? When you are cold as UCI was last night, you need to shore it up by playing intense defense. San Diego did just that against UCI, and effectively denied UCI's shooters Ben Jones, Sean Jackson, and Jens Jensen good open looks at the basket. Only four players did much of anything, and one of them was freshman Greg Ethington. During much of the game, I felt like it was 1996 back when UCI played helplessly during Rod Baker's final season. This is not good.

A Loss of Hope?

After the game, Coach Douglass said to reporters, "I'm sorry, I expected a better show. We looked like we had stage fright. You can't fault kids for being nervous. But you have to deal with your nerves and relax. People who normally shoot well couldn't get off their shots. Our frustration has to be credited with what they did defensively." In similar spirit, assistant coach Len Stevens said in his courtside chat after the game that the players were too uptight and too concerned about getting the perfect shot. He also said the team needs to relax and get into the groove of things and focus on January when the Big West play begins. While this was reassuring to me, some fans don't feel that way. DPowell writes on the Sports Only message board the following:

The Anteaters are really bad. I say this because San Diego is not a good team. And this game was not even close. Sean Jackson disappeared. Jerry Green is not a good point guard. The players seem to be overcoached to the point where all of their natural basketball instincts have been eliminated. The team that stepped onto the court in Douglass' first season was better than this one. I'm sorry but I need to take a leave of absence from UCI basketball. I get no enjoyment watching this crap every damned season. Sorry.

I am afraid that he is more correct than not. I hope that the coaches can step back and carefully examine what happened last night. They should compare their first season when they had very little talent to this season and try to figure out what the difference is. Well, I can take a stab at it. In the first season, the coaches knew they were bad and did not feel any immediate pressure to perform. Instead, they focused the team on playing intensely, particularly on defense. Last year, most of those players returned and the team seemed to expect victory to come easily. They were wrong. I have a few suggestions on what the team needs to do immediately this year to get things back on track.

Forget about the offense. Let the players play. We have talent and we need to let them find their groove. Right now, they are too uptight and probably over-coached. Focus on defense. Once the defense is solid to the point where we can take the other team out of their game, then go back and start tweaking the offense. Until then, let the players play. Relax. Make it clear to the team that the preseason is really a tune-up for Big West play. We need to play like there is nothing to lose. Teach the team how to play against the zone. More often than not, they seem to stand around, bewildered. It seems like they only
play man to man defense at practice.

Maybe the coaches will figure out how to get this team on track. If they don't, I fear the worst. Here, for instance is what we may see in the coming weeks, assuming disaster looms.

UCI travels to Oklahoma to play in the Sooner Classic. Against Southwest Texas, our opening round opponent, we lose, probably by 15 points. UCI drops to 0-2. San Diego also loses to Oklahoma, their opening round opponent. In the consolation round, UCI plays San Diego, but loses again, this time by 25 points. Now 0-3, Irvine returns to California to play at Loyola Marymount and loses again, this time by 5 points. At 0-4, UCI returns home to play St. Mary's College, another WCC school. Irvine loses again by 18 points. At 0-5, 10 days later, UCI figures to gets its first win against division II opponent Western Washington. Stunningly, Irvine loses by 2 points. The End.

If this worst case scenario happens, it will likely spell doom for Douglass and his troops. UCI will finish the season with 2 wins. Adam Parada and Matt Okoro will transfer, and Korfman will renege on his letter of intent. All the hope that had been building will be lost, forever, at least until we get a new coach.

Will this worst case scenario happen? Maybe. The team has a week to get its act together. UCI needs a win against Southwest Texas, if only to avoid having to play San Diego a second time. It won't be easy, though, since Southwest Texas represented the Southland Conference in the NCAA tournament last year and thus has a tradition of winning. UCI is still playing not to lose. Last night, you can bet that San Diego was playing to win. You can also bet that Southwest Texas will be playing to win. Basketball is a game of momentum and unfortunately, UCI is heading straight off a cliff. Please stop before it is too late. Time is of the essence.

Chris Foster writes "The Anteaters, 6-20 a year ago, figured they were deeper and more talented. It seemed a hard sell to the university's students, the first 1,000 of whom were to receive free tickets. A crowd of 1,261 showed up. Maybe those absent knew something, or were at least skeptical." Indeed we are. Cheers! was there but not really visible. The band plods along, oblivious and undaunted. We have gotten used to anesthetizing ourselves.

Personally, I entered this season with very cautious optimism. Unlike last season, where I bought virtually every magazine with a preseason preview that I could get my hands on, this year I only purchased the Sporting News. Last year I got a copy of the media guide from the Sports Information office in October. I still plan to get one this year, but I haven't gotten around to it. Intellectually, my mind tells me that the team should do better. Emotionally, I still fear the worst as I have still not recovered from last season. Last night's game has left me bewildered, wondering if there is still hope. Three years ago the men's team crashed and burned, leaving me and the band bewildered. We had the women's team to root for and that probably saved the band from suffering a complete collapse. Hope is fading and time is running out.