San Diego College Review / Rick Hazeltine : UCSD Ready to Play Ball, Finally : With Exams Over, Team Can Concentrate on Basketball

SAN DIEGO —  Usually it’s the students who can’t wait for finals to end. But there was probably no one more eager for the two-week trauma to end than Tom Marshall, UC San Diego men’s basketball coach.

“When finals roll around I don’t see our 6-10 player, Andy Jedynak,” Thompson said. “I don’t see him for 10 days. Not even at practice. A Division III team can’t afford to lose a player like that too long.”

But with finals over, the Tritons are concentrating on basketball.

UCSD (9-5) knocked off two of the nation’s top 10 Division III teams last week and has won three straight.

“We’re starting to play some basketball,” Marshall said. “We had a little slowdown around finals week, which is typical for UCSD.”

UCSD beat previously undefeated Nazareth College of New York last week and then defeated another unbeaten team, Clark College, in the final of the La Jolla Tournament. Nazareth was one of 10 teams mentioned in a preseason Division III outlook by the NCAA News, and Clark was ranked No. 1 in the Northeast Region by United Press International.

The Tritons will play in their fourth and final tournament of the season this weekend at the Whittier Tournament. UCSD finished second at the Redlands Tournament and at its own Triton Tipoff and won the La Jolla Tournament.

Marshall, however, is hoping that UCSD can get into one more tournament. The Tritons are trying for their first berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament. UCSD has not been in a postseason tournament since the basketball program switched from the NAIA three years ago. Marshall, in his sixth year, had coached the Tritons to the NAIA regionals his first three years.

But the Tritons have a tough road to make the tournament. Only four teams are selected from the West and three are automatic qualifiers, leaving just one berth for independents such as UCSD. The West Region includes all schools west of the Mississippi.

“I don’t think we can lose more than three games,” Marshall said. “We need to win the tournament this weekend and at least split with Southern California College and Point Loma Nazarene (both NAIA schools).”

The Tritons have been led by their three high-scoring guards. Brian Backens is averaging 21 points a game and Greg Kamansky 18.5 points. John Saintignon, a transfer from Santa Cruz, is averaging 16 points. The three are also unselfish with the ball, as Saintignon has 51 assists, Backens 50 and Kamansky 49.

Earnest Riggins, San Diego State women’s basketball coach, is looking for a little more offensive production from his guards. Just in case he can’t find it with his current players, the Aztecs are expected to announce, possibly today, the eligibility of freshman guard Demetrice Davis from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.

Davis has spent the first semester improving her grades at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Riggins said he hopes that Davis, who is 5-foot-8, can use her speed to help the Aztec offense.

Riggins had hoped to have Davis eligible Dec. 29, but the holidays moved the date back. Davis has apparently scored well enough on her ACT tests to be admitted, but she is still considered to be under SDSU’s special admissions policy. As soon as Davis clears the admissions department, she will be eligible to play.

The Aztecs have always used a fast-paced, high-scoring offense under Riggins, but this season SDSU is 3-6 and its lack of scoring was evident in the team’s opening Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game, a 50-48 loss to UC Irvine Saturday.

Two UC San Diego athletes have been named All-Americans. Adriene Clark, a senior forward from Danville, Calif., was named to the NCAA Division III women’s soccer first team. Tom Moore, a senior from Santa Cruz, was named an honorable mention All-American to the NCAA Division I water polo team.

When the San Diego State men’s golf team opens its 1987 season Jan. 17 at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational, it will have its fourth coach in four years.

However, the Aztecs figure this one will stick around. John Klein, who has coached the women’s team the past five seasons, has added the men’s team to his coaching duties, making Klein a full-time coach.

“I know the system and I can work with it,” Klein said. “It should be interesting. Right now, I am trying to get everybody off their rear ends and start playing.”

Klein takes over for Merle Schlosser, who took over the Aztec program last year. Schlosser moved to San Diego after retiring as golf coach at Western Michigan, where he coached for 16 years. He resigned from SDSU at the end of last season because he said coaching took up too much of his time.

The coaching changes are unusual for SDSU, which had Frank Scott as its golf coach from 1948 to 1983. Under Scott, the Aztec golf program was nationally recognized and produced such professionals as Gene Litler, Lennie Clements, Long Hinkle and Greg Twiggs.

SDSU hosts 12 of the top women’s teams in the West this week. The Lady Aztec Invitational includes USC, UCLA, Arizona State, Stanford, United States International University and San Jose State. The three-day invitational will be at Singing Hills Country Club begining Wednesday. Tee times are at 8 a.m.