UCI’s Mumford Looking Forward to Reunion With Massimino

IRVINE â€”  Rollie Massimino’s arrival in the Big West Conference will mean a reunion with former Villanova guard Lloyd Mumford, now at UC Irvine. The two didn’t part amicably.

“I can’t believe it,� said Mumford, who transferred from Villanova after Massimino dropped him from the team last summer. “I’d like to beat him probably as bad as anybody could be beaten, on a professional level.�

Massimino was sharply criticized in Philadelphia for dismissing Mumford from the team after Mumford was arrested on suspicion of breaking into two suburban Philadelphia houses in July.

A judge later dismissed charges of criminal trespass and criminal mischief after Mumford argued that he had been looking for the home of a girlfriend who lived in the neighborhood. The judge found Mumford guilty only of misdemeanor disorderly conduct and imposed a fine.

Mumford, who led Villanova to a near-upset of North Carolina in the 1991 NCAA tournament, sat out this year as required by NCAA transfer regulations, and probably will start at point guard as a junior for Irvine next season.

“I’m happy to have a chance to play against him, look him in the eye,� Mumford said. “He called me once, but I wasn’t here. I don’t know what that was about. I never thought I’d get a chance to play against him. I didn’t think he’d ever schedule a game with us. I look forward to playing him twice a year.�