Fix Is In, Temporarily At Pepperdine, Transfers Are Handy, Not Permanent
Transfers are normally the quick-fix of choice for college basketball coaches desperate to rebuild.
They arrive, usually from junior colleges, physically mature and capable of immediate contributions. They arrive having been nourished, trained and conditioned for two years at someone else’s expense and angst.
And they arrive, quite often, with an extra suitcase or two under their arms.
Lorenzo Romar knows all about that extra baggage - the bad-grades and bad-attitude stigmas, warranted or not. But he proved willing to accept the risks when he signed on three years ago to resurrect the men’s basketball program at Pepperdine.
Those risks, all meticulously calculated, have paid off in a remarkable turnaround that rivals any in the country in terms of expediency.
In his two-plus seasons at Pepperdine, Romar has lifted the Waves from the West Coast Conference cellar back to the level of prominence they enjoyed under Jim Harrick and Tom Asbury, prior to the crash of 1994.
That was the year Tony Fuller took over a successful program and flushed it. Pepperdine had won eight WCC regular-season titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament seven times in the previous 15 seasons. The Waves finished 8-19 in 1994-95 and 10-18 and last in the WCC the following year when Fuller was replaced at midseason by Marty Wilson.
The next year, Pepperdine turned to Romar, then a much-heralded assistant under Harrick at UCLA, to polish its tarnished tradition.
Romar’s first season as a collegiate head coach was a 6-21 bust. But last year, behind a solid base of transfers, the Waves finished 17-10 overall and second in the WCC. This year, they’ve been picked to finish first or second.
“Our first priority was to try to get some talent in here that would make us competitive and allow us to compete for a conference championship,” said Romar, whose Waves (10-6, 1-0 WCC) wash into Martin Centre tonight for an early-season showdown against defending WCC regular-season champion and co-favorite Gonzaga (11-4, 1-0).
Much of that talent arrived in the form of transfers. But because of Pepperdine’s rich tradition, splendid facilities and idyllic campus setting near the ocean in Malibu, Calif., Romar has been able to be extremely selective about which ones he accepts.
As a result, three of the four transfers who start come from high-profile Division I schools rather than the JC ranks.
Senior point guard and leading scorer Jelani Gardner played a year at California. Senior guard Tommie Prince did his Prop 48 penance at Arizona State before transferring to Pepperdine in 1996. And sophomore forward David Lalazarian is coming off a redshirt season after transferring from Notre Dame, where he averaged 5.3 points and two rebounds as a freshman.
In addition, junior backup center Nick Sheppard has become a key role player after transferring from Louisiana State two years ago.
“They’re good players and they have a ton of talent,” Gonzaga coach Dan Monson. “But the other thing is, (Romar) has done a good job of getting them to mesh. That’s not easy, because every kid that transfers thinks he’s transferring to be the guy.”
According to Romar, background checks are the key.
“I don’t think you can afford to just answer the phone and (tell) whatever transfer calls to send you his release and accept him,” Romar said, “because when someone transfers, nine times out of 10, there’s something wrong with the guy.
“When a guy is really doing well and wants to leave for some reason, you’ve got to wonder what that reason is. So you’ve got to do your research and make sure you’re comfortable that this person is going to try to do what you ask him to do.”
In addition, each of Pepperdine’s D-I transfers was recruited by either Romar or one of his assistants out of high school. Only UCLA transfer omm’A Givens, who quit the team because of personal problems last season, has not worked out.
Yet Romar insists he would rather do it another way - like Gonzaga, which has only two transfers. He would rather build with high school recruits who could spend four or five years in the program learning his system and his demands.
“At Gonzaga, they know how hard each guy breathes,” Romar said. “Richie Frahm knows everything about (Matt) Santangelo, and the coaches know everything about everybody. Those guys have been together forever. They’re in synch, and right now they’re the class of the league.”
Romar is attempting to follow GU’s blueprint. Five of the players on his current roster are freshmen, and he has signed three high school recruits for next season.
“Next year, 10 of our 13 scholarship guys will be guys we’ve had since Day One,” Romar said. “All the transfers that came in, that’s not something that is going to be consistent with us. But when we finished our first year, we only had six players and only one over 6-6, so we had to do something.
“It helped us. It allowed us to get back on our feet. And now we can afford to bring in players who are younger and who can have more time with us.”
Pepperdine at Gonzaga Tonight: 7 p.m. Radio: KKPL 630