49ers on the Rebound : Cal State L.B. Enters Basketball Season Less Experienced but More Determined

With Morlon Wiley now a pro and Andre Purry recovering from knee surgery, the Cal State Long Beach basketball team enters the 1988-89 season with a new, inexperienced look.

“The fans didn’t expect us to win last year, and I know they don’t this year,” said Coach Joe Harrington, who believes the 49ers will do better than the 8th-place finish that has been predicted for them in the Big West Conference by media and coaches.

Harrington is starting his second season after guiding the 49ers to a 17-12 record, best at the university in 8 years.

“We’re not starting from scratch because we rekindled an enthusiasm for the program that had been missing for years,” he said. “We’ve set a standard as far as work ethic and the rewards of hard work.”

The 49ers, who lost their opener, 100-53, to Purdue on Tuesday night in West Lafayette, Ind., probably won’t be able to replace Wiley, the 6-foot-4 guard who averaged 19.9 points last year and became the first 49er since 1982 to make the all-conference first team.

“He made the big plays when we needed them,” Harrington said of Wiley, now with the Dallas Mavericks. “But it was not only Morlon . . . we had so much experience.”

There was Billy Walker, the university’s all-time leader in assists; center DeAnthony Langston, who averaged 11.4 points a game; and Rigo Moore, a 3-point shot specialist. But they, along with Wiley, ended their collegiate athletic careers last March in an 80-77 loss to Stanford in the National Invitation Tournament.

Of the players who had been counted on to return, the best was Purry, a 6-5 forward who as a junior averaged 14 points and 5 rebounds. But Purry severely injured his knee during a summer game and will not play this season.

“That was the real blow,” Harrington said last week.

Academically Ineligible

Then, 6-6 guard/forward Jeff Eastin, the team’s top defensive player, became academically ineligible for the first semester. Eastin will rejoin the team Dec. 26, as will Tyrone Mitchell, a 6-4 guard who transferred from Arizona State.

“We’ll be a pretty good team when they become eligible,” Harrington said. He described Mitchell as a strong guard and fierce competitor--”that’s what we need because Purry was our best competitor.”

Until Eastin and Mitchell join the team, the 49ers will have only 9 players.

The starting lineup is expected to consist of 6-9 John Hatten at center, 6-5 Rudy Harvey at small forward, 6-7 Rolf Jacobs at big forward, 6-1 Darrell Faulkner at point guard and 6-4 Brian Jones at shooting guard.

Harrington does not foresee any player being a dominant scorer like Wiley, and expects only 3 or 4 points to separate the top 6 scorers.

The 6-9 Hatten averaged 6.4 points and 4.4 rebounds while splitting time with Langston last year as a junior. Down to 240 pounds from 268, he is expected to be more explosive under the basket. He also can shoot from outside.

Harvey, a part-time starter a year ago as a sophomore, is known for his creative dunks. But in two seasons his average is less than 6 points a game.

Jacobs is a 6-7 senior and a newcomer to Long Beach. “Smart, he’ll step in and play,” Harrington said of Jacobs, who two years ago played at the University of Arizona.

A Better Shooter

Harrington may have to depend on the back court for most of the points.

The 6-1 Faulkner, who led the team in scoring against Purdue with 10 points, does not push the ball up-court as quickly as Walker did but is a better shooter. A junior who redshirted last year, Faulkner played two seasons at the University of South Alabama.

Jones, a 6-4 redshirt freshman from Fremont High School in Los Angeles, will be counted on for 3-point baskets. He scored 25 points last Saturday night in a 112-98 exhibition victory over Athletes In Action.

The reserves are 6-8 Marco Fleming and 6-3 Mike Matsuno, both lettermen; Bobby Sears, a 6-2 freshman guard from Inglewood; and Walker Moore, a 6-4 junior guard from Santa Barbara City College.

Reflecting Harrington’s personality, the 49ers last year were an aggressive team that finished 4th in the Big West by using a pressing defense to fluster opponents.

“The system remains the same,” Harrington said. “We’re committed to playing 40 minutes of run, press and shoot basketball.”

A tough December schedule probably will enable the 49ers to become better by the time they meet Nevada Las Vegas on Jan. 3 in the Big West opener. Among the opponents: Georgia at the Amana-Hawkeye Classic in Iowa City on Friday night; Alabama Birmingham in Birmingham on Dec. 26; USC at the Long Beach Arena on Dec. 5, and Texas at the arena Dec. 14.