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LOCATION: Long Beach, CA
CONFERENCE: Big West (Western Division)
LAST SEASON: 13-15 (.464)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 9-7 (t-2nd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 0/5
NICKNAME: 49ers
COLORS: Black & Gold
HOMECOURT: The Pyramid (5,000)
COACH: Wayne Morgan (St. Lawrence '73)
record at school 36-48 (3 years)
career record 36-48 (3 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Reggie Warford (Kentucky '76)
Tom Lewis (Pepperdine '90)
Ronnie Dean (Harris-Stowe State College '90)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 20-17-13-10-13
RPI (last 5 years) 56-126-115-251-200
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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The Beach is ready to Rock the Big West world this season. The 49ers return one of the league's most dominant perimeter players, one of its best front line players and three other starters. They finished last season on a high note. They have the talent, the experience and finally the familiarity to excel this season. So why is coach Wayne Morgan so reticent when it comes to praising his team or to talk about expectations? "I don't have any expectations," he said. None? "I expect us to play hard. That's all." What about improving on the record? Or making the postseason? "I'm not going to tell you again: I don't have any expectations," Morgan said. Point received. In triplicate. But as we all head into the new millennium this winter, please understand one thing: Morgan is the only coach in the league that doesn't speak of his high expectations for Long Beach State.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B- BENCH/DEPTH C+
FRONTCOURT B- INTANGIBLES C
Long Beach State has all the tools for a breakthrough season. It's been a wild journey to get to this point. Only one player, D'Cean Bryant, has been in uniform for each of coach Bob Morgan's three seasons and the eight returning letterman are easily the most Morgan has seen during his stay in Southern California. The 49ers know each other this season. They also know they have a strong chance at emerging from the tougher West Division and challenge loaded New Mexico State for the title. They key? Consistency. The 49ers can't have horrible nights from Lloyd or Smalls. They can't sweep then highly-regarded Idaho and get swept by lowly-regarded Cal State Fullerton in the same season, as they did a year ago. "I believe we have a chance to be a good team," Morgan said. "I don't think that's necessarily an expectation, but let's just say I'm very happy to have eight good players returning." |
Everyone else looks at point guard Ramel "Rock" Lloyd and wonders who else can compete. They look at rapidly-improving center Mate Milisa, the best big man in a little man conference, and worry about the 49ers' potent inside-outside combination. And that's just two of Long Beach State's five returning starters. "Long Beach State is going to be very good this year," Boise State coach Rod Jensen said. "They really could be something special." The key is continued progress by Lloyd (18.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg). The 6-4 junior shooting guard is a transfer from Syracuse who took the Big West by storm last season. He was a second-team all-Big West player last year after hitting the 30-point mark three times and that honor came before a brilliant performance in the league tournament upset over Idaho. "He has the ability to take over a game," Morgan said. "And when he does, there is nothing anybody can do about it." Morgan would like to see Lloyd be a little bit more like his nickname, however. Lloyd was not a "Rock" last season. He'd get hot on some nights (scoring 36 against Kansas State) and then, just when Morgan was hoping he could depend on Lloyd, "Rock's" game would slip through his fingers and he'd stumble to seven points. "He's a very talented, very skilled player, but he needs to show that every night," Morgan said. "He needs to be more consistent." Lloyd's backcourt counterpart is 6-3 senior Charles O'Neal (9.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.6 apg), who gets a lot of open looks because defenses are so aware of Lloyd. O'Neal is known for his quickness, ballhandling ability and strength. He's gradually adding the mental toughness and skills, too. In fact this fall was O'Neal's first preseason ever. In high school, he had problems with his coach. At Florida Community College, he missed one preseason to academics and another to an injury. He sat out the preseason last year because he wasn't eligible until his second semester. He missed 12 games last season because of his eligibility problems. He's only going to get better as he matures and begins to understand the nuances of the game. The 49ers return the league's most versatile player in intelligent 6-7 senior Antrone Lee (6.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg), a defensive specialist who can play either backcourt position and both forward spots. Lee doesn't get a lot of attention because Long Beach State has better offensive options, but he's a key to the team. He's always asked to guard the opponent's best perimeter player. Long Beach State learned late in the summer that 6-7 senior D'Cean Bryant (8.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) had achieved his bachelor's degree over the summer and would be eligible. Bryant is an intriguing player. He is the 49ers' best athlete, but he can also take his game outside: He led Long Beach State in three-point shooting percentage last season (.350). But, like Lloyd, Bryant needs to become more consistent. The final starter returning is the 6-11 Milisa (13.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, .500 FG). The senior from Croatia is bigger and stronger than ever and has adjusted nicely to the American brand of basketball. He missed three weeks because of an ankle injury, yet still was honored as a second-team all-league pick. This season, he'll find few league defenders who can match his combination of skill and size. Three other key players return from last year's team. Six-foot-one sophomore Ron Johnson (3.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.4 apg) played well as a freshman last year and figures to have a larger impact this time around. The Beach won't lose much when O'Neal tires. Forwards Grant Stone (3.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg) and Richie Smalls (6.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) give Morgan two more options underneath. Stone, a bulky 6-8 junior, helps out on defense. Smalls, a 6-8 senior, has added 20 pounds to the frame once so aptly described by his name. He's a solid rebounder and shot blocker. As if those eight players weren't enough to make Long Beach State the West Division favorite, consider this: The 49ers are also bringing in four players who should contribute right away. The primary one to watch is 6-9 junior Rudy Williams, a transfer from Dixie (Utah) Junior College who put up decent numbers (12.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg). He's so good that even Morgan admits he has "high expectations" for him. Williams is a great athlete, with the quickness to beat defenders on the perimeter and the size to post them up inside. The other newcomers are 6-5 junior forward Cesar Sanchez from Garden City (Kan.) Community College, 5-10 point guard Keith Felton from Highland (Kan.) Community College) and 6-4 junior Brad Smith from Cypress (Calif.) Junior College. Sanchez and Smith will probably contribute right away, especially if Smith's good perimeter shot follows him to the Pyramid. Felton won't see much playing time he has a big adjustment to make and two solid point guards are on the depth chart ahead of him.
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