Starting To Get Hot

There wasn’t much time for embarrassment to set in. Sure, California’s leading scorer Geno Carlisle (17.9 ppg) had been removed from the starting lineup after 27 straight starts.

And, yes, a freshman, Dennis Gates, who was averaging all of 3.3 points, was in the senior’s place.

But Carlisle, who wound up on the bench after shooting 27.6 percent in the first four Pac-10 games, never got a chance to get red in the cheeks.

Because after 5 minutes, Gates took a charge and an injury that took him out of the game. Carlisle came in and had his first double-double (20 points and 10 assists) of the season. The Bears, who were losers of two straight, rallied from a first-half deficit to beat USC, 89-75.

“I think Geno worked his way back into the starting lineup,” said Cal coach Ben Braun, whose team is 11-4 overall and 2-3 in the Pac-10. Washington’s Bob Bender doesn’t believe it really matters if Carlisle is a starter, as long as he has a quick start when he does enter the game.

“The way he scores and the way they play when he’s scoring, whether he starts or not, depends on how he gets off,” said Bender, whose Huskies will take on the Bears tonight in Oakland. “If he comes off the bench and he’s on, then it’s the same as if he started.”

It wasn’t just the poor shooting that pushed Carlisle to the bench. Braun, who spent an hour in a one-on-one meeting with Carlisle before the benching, was trying to send a message about leadership to his fifth-year senior.

“There are so many things he can do for our team in addition to scoring,” said Braun. “I hope Geno sees his contribution potential for our team.

“He’s got to help us with experience and leadership.”

As for the rest of the Bears starting lineup, Braun may continue to juggle players and egos.

“On our team, you can be a good player, but it doesn’t mean you have to be a starter,” the coach said. “Carl Boyd, Michael Gill, Sean Lampley - somebody is not going to start.”

That somebody may be Lampley against Washington and Washington State this week. Despite averaging 12.6 ppg and 9.9 rebounds, the sophomore is not listed among the projected starters. But the 6-foot-7 Lampley, who is trying to become the first Bear since Brian Hendrick (1991-92) to average double figures in rebounding, has been effective off the bench in five of 14 games.

Cal center Francisco Elson, who suffered a concussion in a 72-61 loss to UCLA and missed the first game of his career against USC, should be back in the starting lineup this week. Gates should also be back.

The Bears will need him to try and slow down Pac-10 player of the week Todd MacCulloch. The Washington senior torched the Oregon schools for an average of 23.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in two wins after having only two field goals in a two-point loss at Arizona the previous week.

Sharpshooter showdown

The Pac-10’s two best 3-point shooters, Stanford’s Arthur Lee and Washington State’s Jan-Michael Thomas, will square off tonight in Maples Pavilion. Lee is shooting 47.2 percent from behind the arc, while Thomas is shooting 47.1 percent.

But the WSU junior has attempted more 39 more 3-pointers than Lee, 121 to 72.

Thomas is also on pace to shatter the Cougars 3-point shooting record. He has already made 57 3-pointers (3.8 per game). Staying on his current rate, Thomas, who missed a game with a stomach virus, would break the season record of 83 set by Eddie Hill in 1994 in the next eight games.

He also has a shot at breaking the conference record of 114 set by Steve Kerr in 1988. In his last nine games, Thomas has averaged 4.3 3-pointers per game. In order to break Kerr’s record, Thomas would have to average 4.38 3-pointers per game through the last 13 games.

“He’s a guy you better not give any room to,” said Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. “If we give him clean looks we know he is going to hit.”

The key to stopping Thomas may be more than just limiting his sight line to the baskets. In fact, the key to stopping Thomas is not allowing him to touch the ball.

“If he misses, it’s usually something he’s done wrong with mechanics, not something you’ve done on defense,” said Oregon State’s Deaundra Tanner, who played high school ball with Thomas at Inglewood. “You can’t let him get the ball, because if he gets it he can make it from anywhere.”

“That’s pretty true,” said Thomas. `Unless, of course, somebody blocks my shot.”

Thomas also leads the Pac-10 in free-throw shooting at 85 percent. He is sixth in scoring at 16.3 ppg.

Sun Devil woes

The Arizona State Sun Devils are experiencing heartbreak on and off the floor. On the floor, ASU has lost three Pac-10 games by a combined six points. First, the Sun Devils lost on the road by 2 to USC, then by 3 to UCLA and at home by 1 against UCLA.

Prior to the Arizona game, Alton Mason learned that his father had died. The sophomore guard, who is averaging 9.5 ppg over the last 11 games after averaging 4.3 for the first six, still played against the Wildcats.

“He’s a pretty tough kid, as you saw in the Arizona game,” said ASU coach Rob Evans. “He had probably one of his best games on the day he found out. I know it’s weighing heavily on him.”

Mason had 13 points, but missed a crucial free throw with 25 seconds to go in the game.

The next day, point guard Eddie House was involved in a one-car accident. House, the Sun Devils’ leading scorer who has had nine 20-point games this season, was a passenger in a friend’s car when it hit a slick spot and hit a pole.

While House did not suffer any major injuries, his knee swelled up, and that has kept him out of practice.

Making matters worse is the fact that ASU has not won the front end of a Pac-10 road trip since Feb. 15, 1996, when it beat USC. And Oregon State is 7-0 at home, 2-0 in the Pac-10.

Pac-10 parity

Every team in the Pac-10 has a .500 or better record going into tonight’s play. This is matched by only the Atlantic Coast Conference. In addition, each team has won at least two league games. Only two other conferences have had each team win at least twice, the Mid-Continent and the Missouri Valley.

The Pac-10 is ranked fourth in this week’s Sagarin rankings behind the ACC, Big Ten and Southeastern.

The RPI rates eight Pac-10 schools in its top 60: No. 2 Stanford, No. 14 Arizona, No. 23 UCLA, No. 26 Oregon, No. 29 Washington, No. 50 Cal, No. 58 Arizona State and No. 60 USC.

Eleven conference games have been decided by three points or less.