COLLEGE BASKETBALL ‘92-93 : BIG WEST CONFERENCE OVERVIEW : They’re Hoping That Las Vegas’ Luck Has Run Out

Change has come to the Big West Conference. It once seemed as hard to believe that Jerry Tarkanian would leave Nevada Las Vegas as it was to think he would give up his short-sleeved dress shirts. Yet there he is, coach of the San Antonio Spurs, in long sleeves.

Even though Tarkanian’s successor, Rollie Massimino, replaces him as the only coach in the conference who has won an NCAA championship, the rest of the Big West sees an opening.

“I don’t think UNLV has quite as much talent, that’s pretty obvious,” Utah State Coach Kohn Smith said.

Tarkanian and UNLV brought the Big West its greatest glory, but it was accompanied by persistent controversy.

“There was always a cloud there,” UC Santa Barbara Coach Jerry Pimm said. “Hopefully, that can be lifted and we can get on with basketball and not have to spend 15 minutes talking about violations. It’s going to be refreshing that we don’t.”

It might also be refreshing to say goodby to Fresno State, with its habit of upending better opponents on its home court. The Bulldogs left for the Western Athletic Conference and were replaced by Nevada.

Big West coaches picked New Mexico State to win the title, passing over 22nd-ranked UNLV.

New Mexico State, steered by point guard Sam Crawford, has a strong group back from the NCAA Sweet 16 team that lost to UCLA.

Cal State Long Beach and UC Santa Barbara are considered the top challengers.

Massimino, who spent 19 seasons at Villanova, will find there is a definite glamour-deficit outside of the Thomas & Mack Center.

Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg put it best: “Rollie’s going from the Carrier Dome to the Gold Mine.” Syracuse’s Carrier Dome holds more than 33,000; the Gold Mine is Long Beach’s 1,900-seat gym.

A look at the Big West, excluding Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine:

NEVADA

1991-92 record: 19-10, 13-3.

Conference finish: Second in Big Sky.

The thin air and loyal crowds at Utah State have long given Big West teams trouble. Now there is a second high-altitude arena. Only two teams beat the Wolf Pack last season in the Lawlor Center (altitude 5,500 feet). However, Nevada was winless in three road games against Big West opponents--Pacific, Fresno State and UNLV--and faces a challenge in stepping up from the Big Sky Conference.

Ric Herrin, a 6-foot-10 senior, is the team’s best player, but he is suspended until the semester break for unspecified reasons. Guard play will be critical, after the departure of the starting backcourt.

NEVADA LAS VEGAS

1991-92 record: 26-2, 18-0.

Conference finish: First.

The Rebels were ineligible for postseason play because of NCAA sanctions. Still, they lost only to Rutgers and Missouri before winning their final 23 games.

Swingman J.R. Rider averaged 20.7 points last season and is the leading returning scorer in the Big West, but he has been prone to off-court tangles and recently missed practices for personal reasons. He should contend with Cal State Long Beach’s Lucious Harris and New Mexico State’s Crawford for player of the year.

Forward Evric Gray is back, as are guards Dexter Boney and Dedan Thomas.

Massimino says UNLV is going to run. But this rather shallow and small team--the tallest starter is 6-7--will need to stay out of foul trouble and rebound well to be able to do that.

NEW MEXICO STATE

1991-92 record: 25-8, 12-6.

Conference finish: Third.

Coach Neil McCarthy’s team escaped its reputation for folding in the tournament by reaching the regional semifinals.

Crawford, a relentless 5-foot-8 point guard, ranked second in the nation in assists, averaging 8.5 per game. A strong group around him should make New Mexico State a top-25 team.

Tracey Ware, who sat out because of knee surgery last season, is back at forward, giving the Aggies their typical depth at the position. Eric Traylor, Cliff Reed and community college transfer Darrin Jackson are among the others. Jackson, who played at Antelope Valley, averaged 29.6 points, breaking Rider’s single-season scoring record at the school.

PACIFIC

1991-92 record: 14-16, 8-10.

Conference finish: Sixth (tie).

The Tigers were close to reaching the NCAA tournament before falling to New Mexico State, 74-73, in the final of the 1992 Big West tournament. Coach Bob Thomason has brought the program back to respectability after inheriting a team that finished the 1988 conference season without a victory.

But without guard Dell Demps, Pacific will be somewhat less talented. The team’s top player is Tony Amundsen, who averaged 15.9 points last season and is the Big West’s third-leading returning scorer, behind Rider and Harris. Amundsen made 47% of his shots from two- and three-point range.

SAN JOSE STATE

1991-92 record: 2-24, 1-17.

Conference finish: 10th.

What a strange, trying few years for Coach Stan Morrison.

“This is my fourth year, and it seems like the fourth time we’re starting over,” he said.

Morrison took over after the program was devastated by a player walkout against Bill Berry. Since, he has lost several players in a credit-card scandal and more to injuries. The only teams the Spartans beat last year were Santa Clara and Irvine. And Terry Cannon, who was the leading scorer the last two seasons, is out this time around, recovering from knee surgery.

Two starters return, and Mike Brotherton, a standout center as a freshman, is back after missing last season because of a knee injury.

UC SANTA BARBARA

1991-92 record: 20-9, 13-5.

Conference finish: Second.

Being upset by last-seeded UC Irvine in the Big West tournament cost the Gauchos an opportunity to make the 1992 NCAA field.

Four of the five leading scorers are back, but the missing player is Lucius Davis, who was voted the conference player of the year. Davis led Santa Barbara’s regulars in scoring, rebounding and field-goal percentage.

An important addition is Paul Johnson, a three-year starter before missing last season because of shoulder surgery. Idris Jones, a clutch shooter, and Ray Kelly, a quick point guard who matured last season, are the backcourt starters. The other members of a solid starting lineup are Michael Meyer, a swingman, and center Doug Muse, the conference freshman of the year in 1992.

UTAH STATE

1991-92 record: 16-12, 10-8.

Conference finish: Fifth.

Pimm picks Utah State as the Big West sleeper. The Aggies probably have the best front line in the conference, with 6-8 forwards Carlito DaSilva and Rod Hay and 7-foot center Nathan Wickizer.

Wickizer, however, had his problems last season, fouling out 12 times.

Smith lost a very good player, Kendall Youngblood, and one he won’t miss, flashy point guard Malloy Nesmith, who left school.

“I think we’re better off without Nesmith, much better off,” Smith said. “He had a real hard time doing what I wanted him to do--like go to class.”

Jay Goodman, previously a three-point specialist, will take over at the point.