Post-season dreams drive Morgan's squad

By Phil Witte
Daily Forty-Niner

Expectations are high again for the Long Beach State men's basketball team after Head Coach Wayne Morgan led the team back over the 20-win plateau and into the postseason for the first time in five years.

The Beach finished the season at 24-6 and a tough home loss to Utah State was the only blemish on a 15-1 conference record, the best Big West mark for the school in 26 years. The strong season earned LBSU a National Invitational Tournament berth, but the postseason run ended in the first round when a late surge by the Cal Bears led to a 70-66 loss for the 49ers.

"I think we had a great season, one of the best in the history of Long Beach basketball," Morgan said. "All of the kids did unbelievable jobs."

The 49ers enter the 2000-2001 season without four regulars from last season, all of whom graduated and moved onto leagues in Europe or Japan. The quartet combined for 70 starts last year and provided 55-percent of the team's Big West leading 81.2 points per game.

The departed players include three-year starter Antrone Lee, one of only two players in the conference to rank in the top 10 in blocked shots and steals; two-year starter D'Cean Bryant, who started 54 games in four years at LBSU, averaging 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game; and Charles O'Neal, whom Morgan called one of the best point guards in the conference.

Easily the biggest shoes to fill belong to the reigning Big West player of the year, 6-foot-11 center Mate Milisa. In the Big West, Milisa ranked fifth in scoring, ninth in rebounding and first in field goal percentage. Setting a bad example for centers everywhere, the big man also shot 44 percent on threes and 83 percent on free throws.

"A player like Mate comes along in college only about once every ten years," Morgan said.

The core

Nine players are returning for The Beach, including three starters, and a recruiting class ranked by Basketball Times as the 31st best in America and the best in California. Three returning starters, senior power forward Rudy Williams, and the backcourt of junior Ron Johnson and senior Ramel "Rock" Lloyd, will provide the core of the team.

Exceeding all expectations last year was 6-foot-9 forward Rudy Williams, who led the 49ers in rebounding with 7.3 a game and added a strong 12.2 points per game. A second team All Big West selection, he also led the team with six "double-doubles." Injuries have hampered Williams' pre-season training yet the big man may make his first appearance Friday against Southern Illinois.

Johnson handled the ball well after taking over the starting point guard position from O'Neal partway through last season, ranking second on the team behind Lee with a 1.4 assist to turnover ratio. Coach Morgan calls the 6-foot-0 guard the most dedicated player he has ever coached.

A second team All-Big West selection the past two years, the 6-foot-4 Lloyd has been tabbed as the pre-season conference player of the year by Basketball News, Blue Ribbon College Basketball and Lindy's Sports Annual.

The flamboyant senior saw his scoring average drop to 14.6 points per game from 18.0 the year before, but should rebound this year.

Seniors Grant Stone and Brad Smith will also provide veteran leadership.

Transfer players

In addition to the strong rating for its overall recruiting class, Basketball Times ranked the junior college transfers at LBSU the sixth best in the nation.

Competition for places on a team is a good thing, and 6-foot-2 guard Michael Darrett from Indiana will push Ron Johnson for time at the point this season. In two preseason games, Darrett had nine assists and only three turnovers.

Injuries will delay the contributions of 6-foot-8 forward Vance Lawhorn from Las Vegas and 6-foot-8 Brazilian forward Tadeu Souza. Lawhorn has been slow to recover from knee surgery and might not be ready until the new year and Souza will redshirt this season after tearing the ACL and MCL in his right knee this spring.

Expectations are very high for two "new" players this season, UCLA transfer Travis Reed and Missouri born swingman Lemi Williams.

Reed redshirted last year after transferring from UCLA and will set up shop in the paint alongside Rudy Williams this season. He played in 58 games at UCLA, including six in the NCAA tournament, averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in two years at Westwood.

"Travis is dominant in the post to say the least," Lloyd said.

With lethal shooting touch and a sly sense of humor, Lemi Williams is expected to pick up some of the scoring slack for the 49ers this season. Last season at Mineral Arts Junior College in Missouri, the 6-foot-6 forward averaged 18.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists a game. The sharpshooter notched averages of .462 from the field, .401 on threes and .732 on free throws.

The two new freshmen on this year's squad are 6-foot-6 forward Kevin Roberts and 6-foot-5 guard Larry Johnson. With Rudy Williams out, Roberts has seen extended pre-season playing time and has pulled down 11 rebounds in 38 minutes. Larry Johnson is recovering from a shoulder injury and has yet to hit the court this season.

The upcoming season

Last year's team started the season 2-3 before winning 15 in a row, and a tough early schedule will test the mettle of this year's team. The Beach has three early season games scheduled against likely top-25 teams, beginning with a visit from No. 5 Stanford to The Pyramid on Dec. 2. Having a happy New Year might be tough with a back-to-back whammy of road games against No. 23 USC on Dec. 30 and No. 12 Utah on Jan. 3. Throw in a possible match-up with No. 21 Oklahoma at the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii in late November and a visit from top-25 bubble team Pepperdine on Nov. 6, and this year's team will be battle tested and ready for Big West play in January.

Appearing on television a Big West-high nine times, either on national or regional telecasts, should increase the visibility of the team.

"It is beneficial to the program for more people to see our style of play because it will generate more excitement around us," Morgan said. "I hope it pays off with more fan support and equates to more young men wanting to come here to play."

With the departure of three teams from the Big West – New Mexico State, North Texas and the University of Nevada – east/west divisions have been eliminated and every team plays two games against every other team. This means two chances for The Beach to avenge last year's only conference loss to Utah State.

"We want to get them back for last year," Smith said. "They're picked to win so we would love to beat them twice."

The Beach was picked second in both the pre-season Big West coach's and media poll, but after last season the bar measuring a successful season has been raised by Morgan, his staff and his players. Only a Big West title and a spot at the Big Dance will be satisfactory.

"We're picked second in the conference but we will go out and do our best to finish first," Morgan said. "If we stay healthy we have a chance to get to the tournament."

Marten Lewerth/Daily Forty-Niner

The 49ers and  center Travis Reed open season play Friday in Illinois.