Apb: Sbc Seeks Cbp In Wcc

Dan Fitzgerald hasn’t gone as far as taking out a personal ad soliciting help.

SBC (struggling basketball coach) desperately seeks CBP (clutch basketball players) for mutually satisfying relationship and maybe a victory or two.

No ads, yet, but “I’m certainly open to all suggestions,” the Gonzaga men’s basketball coach said in the wake of his team’s four-game losing streak.

Fitzgerald’s club is 11-5 - and winless in four West Coast Conference games. After Saturday’s lackluster loss to Saint Mary’s, the veteran coach hinted at a lineup change.

He seems to be easing off that threat now, heading into two more conference games at Saint Mary’s Friday and at Santa Clara Saturday.

Still, he concedes that he’s got to come up with an altered approach. “I just don’t know what. You still have to start five guys.

“And I’m sensitive to making wholesale changes and putting blame on kids because this is still the kids’ game.”

The Bulldogs have led deep into the second halves of all four league losses. Missed free throws or turnovers have been the biggest troubles late in those losses.

Problems go deeper than that, though. Guard John Rillie, who opened his senior season with brilliant outbursts of 25 and 31 points in two of the first three games, has not scored more than 12 points in any of the past six games.

Sharp-shooting guard Jon Kinloch hits 46 percent of his 3-pointers, but has been an erratic scorer - 19, four, 20, six and nine points in the past five games.

Junior-college transfers Kyle Dixon and Paul Rogers have been carrying the team and displaying promise for the future, but they combined for nine turnovers against Saint Mary’s.

“We have to try to keep their heads above water,” Fitzgerald said. “What frightens me the most is wondering how competitive and how nasty these kids are going to be. We said that at the beginning of the year: we had to find out if they could compete.”

The key, from this point, Fitzgerald said, is that the team “is mature.”

“You’ve got to be careful that the peaks and valleys are not too high or too low,” he said. “It’s a question of us, collectively, not letting the wheels come off and start pointing fingers.”

Two 20-win seasons in the past three years have given Fitzgerald enough security that he doesn’t have to worry - beyond reason - about a short losing streak.

“I’ve been through this before and, fortunately for me, I’m not having to sit here worrying about my job,” Fitzgerald said. “Now, though, is the true test to see if some character comes out. Now, we’ll find out some things.”

Scouts’ honor

In a move aimed at cost-containment, the NCAA ruled that basketball coaches could not scout opponents in person. Instead, they were to rely solely on video exchanges.

“If you’re winning, you probably say it doesn’t make any difference; if you’re losing, you probably say it’s a big deal,” Santa Clara coach Dick Davey said.

Fitzgerald has no such ambivalence on the issue.

“I don’t like it at all,” Fitzgerald said. “I think we won games with it, it was something that was an integral part of our program. Some places it’s not a big deal. (UCLA’s John) Wooden did very little scouting, but we always did as much as we were allowed.”

The move saves GU “hypothetically, $2,000 or $3,000, maybe,” Fitzgerald said. “But that (expense) was worth it.”

WCC policy allows for the exchange of a maximum of five films per team.

Banner year, maybe

Gonzaga has set aside the Feb. 4 game against Pepperdine as the time to hang the banner that honors the 1994 Bulldogs as WCC titlists.

Except, they don’t really have the banner, yet.

The Bulldogs had no reason to know this, considering they hadn’t won a men’s league title in 15 years of conference membership, but the WCC does not provide those banners.

Schools must have them made themselves.

And GU’s hasn’t arrived.

“I hope the thing shows up,” Fitzgerald said. “Or I might be out there with the old crayons and poster board, like in high school.”

WCC bits

Portland’s winning streak has reached seven, its longest since 1979. The last loss was a four-point decision to Michigan.

The Pilots’ 4-0 WCC start under first-year coach Rob Chavez - is the school’s best.

Why the success? For one, the Pilots are the only team in the league with a positive turnover margin. Largely, that’s a product of their league-high average of 11.3 steals a game…

Loyola Marymount’s Ime Oduok is the only player in the league averaging a double-double - 13.2 points and 10.1 rebounds….

Santa Clara’s Steve Nash, who poured in a league-high 40 points against GU, shoots better outside the 3-point arc (43.8 percent) than inside (40.0)…

San Francisco center Art Wallace, who missed the game against GU to go home to Chicago to be with his ailing grandmother, blocked nine shots against LMU in his first game back…

Pepperdine is 0-6 on opponent’s courts this season.