COLLEGE BASKETBALL 1992-93 : Holland Calms Fighting Titans : Cal State Fullerton: Team that bickered under John Sneed now has a sense of togetherness with its new coach.

FULLERTON —  It’s amazing what a personable new coach can do for the collective psyche of a college basketball team.

Former UCLA assistant Brad Holland replaced John Sneed at Cal State Fullerton last spring, and phrases such as “great attitude” and “togetherness” and “respect for the coaches” are suddenly emanating from the Titan locker room.

Fullerton’s four senior starters are confident the in-fighting, bickering and petty jealousies that tore the Titans apart the last two seasons will not return this season, and, for a change, you believe them.

Why? Because the players seem to like their new coach, and that can serve as a unifying force in times of adversity.

“Everybody wants to see Brad every day just because of the way he is,” point guard Aaron Sunderland said. “I’m in his office a couple times a week, and I wouldn’t even attempt to go past the office last year. It’s real nice to have a coach you look up to, who you can talk to.”

Added forward Kim Kemp: “Last year people didn’t like each other, and you could see that early. This year there’s a lot more togetherness on and off the court. Everyone’s hungry to win, and a lot of that has to do with the coaches. You see them working hard for us, and we want to work hard for them.”

It’s a good thing the Titans are getting along, because they’ll need to harness all the positive energy they can just to be competitive in the Big West Conference this season.

This may be a close-knit and experienced group, but the Titans, picked to finish ninth in the conference, are short on talent, size and depth.

They return three starters in Sunderland, small forward Bruce Bowen and center Sean Williams, and Kemp saw plenty of action off the bench last season.

But Fullerton also lost its two leading scorers from that 12-16 team--forward Agee Ward and guard Joe Small. Shooting guard Don Leary, who made 269 three-pointers during two seasons at Mt. San Jacinto College, should ease the loss of Small, but the Titans will have trouble replacing Ward’s inside scoring punch.

In Williams, a 6-foot-11, 210-pound senior, and Kemp, a 6-8, 200-pound senior, Fullerton has two very athletic front-court players who are excellent defenders, rebounders and shot-blockers. But they’re not the kinds of players who can post up, receive an entry pass, put a smooth move on and score.

Bowen, a 6-7, 185-pound senior who averaged 14.6 points and 7.0 rebounds last season, is a streaky outside shooter who is most effective on the offensive boards. Sunderland, who averaged 11.1 points and 6.5 assists, is an explosive playmaker who will have to assume more of an outside scoring role.

Holland will likely use an eight-man rotation with inexperienced 6-7 junior Todd Satalowich backing up Williams and Kemp, junior Greg Vernon swinging between the point and shooting guard positions and Dijon Bernard, a 6-3 junior from Ventura College who was a redshirt last season, backing up Bowen and Kemp.

To be successful, the Titans will have to play great defense, run the fast break whenever they can, choose their shots wisely, make a high percentage of their open shots and be scrappy on the offensive boards.

They must be in excellent physical condition, and their starters must avoid injuries and foul trouble.

“Any one of those three situations could dramatically affect the team,” Holland said. “We have some quickness and athletic ability, but we also have some limitations. We need to play an up-tempo style, quality defense and make great decisions.”

Holland said he won’t measure his first Fullerton team’s performance by victories and losses.

“I’ll judge them on how they come together and how consistently hard they play,” Holland said. “Hopefully the rest will take care of itself. I want the players to come out of the season feeling good about themselves.”