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LOCATION: Malibu, CA
CONFERENCE: West Coast
LAST SEASON: 19-13 (.594)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 9-5 (2nd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Waves
COLORS: Orange, Blue & White
HOMECOURT: Firestone Fieldhouse (3,104)
COACH: Jan van Breda Kolff (Vanderbilt '74)
record at school First year
career record 127-100 (8 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Chris Walker (Villanova '92)
Gib Arnold (BYU '95)
Damon Archibald (Boise St. '96)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 8-10-6-17-19
RPI (last 5 years) 213-196-262-114-110
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Pepperdine was once a feared program on the west coast, but that's ancient history. Jim Harrick and Tom Asbury left their marks and moved on. The Waves still have Malibu is that a recruiting advantage or what? but they haven't won a WCC title since the 1992-93 season. They haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since the '93-'94 season. Lorenzo Romar got Pepperdine back on its feet, then he took the money and ran to Saint Louis. The new man on campus is Jan van Breda Kolff, who resigned under pressure at Vanderbilt but quickly resurfaced to take on the task of keeping the Pepperdine revival alive. Van Breda Kolff used to stay up nights wondering how in the world he could beat Kentucky. Now his problem is Gonzaga and Santa Clara. It's all relative. The Waves were more than respectable last season, and they secured the school's first tournament berth (NIT) in five years. Van Breda Kolff arrived in April and was pleasantly surprised to find that he had four starters back from a team that came within five points of making the conference final. "I view the program on the cusp of where Jim and Tom had Pepperdine basketball in the 1980s and early 1990s," van Breda Kolff said. "Lorenzo and his staff did a terrific job of rebuilding. . . it is my intention to keep that momentum going." Just three seasons ago, Pepperdine was 6-21, its worst record since 1965-66. Romar's teams went 17-10 and 19-13, knocking off the likes of Fresno State, Gonzaga and Rhode Island in the process. But last year's Waves were inconsistent in the crunch. They couldn't score at crucial times. They lost six of their final nine games.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C- BENCH/DEPTH C-
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES B
Pepperdine basketball appears to be in good hands. Coach Jan van Breda Kolff's Vanderbilt teams made four postseason trips during his six years. The 1974 SEC Player of the Year and nine-year NBA veteran was also the head coach at Cornell and served five years under legendary Princeton coach Pete Carril. The Waves won't win a championship this year, but they could cause a stir in the conference tournament. Preseason polls have them picked fifth. That sounds about right. |
"The goal of any team is to be playing its best basketball at the end of the year," van Breda Kolff said. "I think what happened last year will be a tremendous motivating factor for the returning players." With enigmatic All-WCC point guard Jelani Gardner (13.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 147 assists) gone, this is a team without a superstar. That may not be a bad thing. Too often the Waves put too much pressure on Gardner to take over late in games. Pepperdine also lost forward Marc McDowell (9.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and freshman forward Ross Varner (2.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg). Varner is taking a rather unusual one-man road trip. He's serving a two-year Mormon mission in Lithuania. The Waves weren't exactly run-and-gun last season. They rarely tried to force the tempo and scored just 65.7 points per game. The defense was good (No. 2 WCC at 63.2 ppg), but van Breda Kolff would like to see more up-and-down play. "There's no reason we can't put more points on the scoreboard," he said. Pepperdine's top player is 6-6 junior forward Kelvin Gibbs (11 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 39 ssists, 35 steals, 34 blocked shots), a player gifted with a muscular frame and tremendous strength. He is an active rebounder who shot .500 from the floor and scored in double figures 21 times. "He has all the makings of being an outstanding college basketball player," van Breda Kolff said. "He can help us in so many ways. I expect Kelvin to be a leader on this ballclub." The Waves' other forwards include 6-7 junior transfer Greg Berry (14 ppg. 6.0 rpg, 3.0 apg), 6-7 junior David Lalazarian (6.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and 6-8 freshman Greg Ethington. Berry transferred to Pepperdine from L.A. City College. A product of nationally renowned Crenshaw High, Berry was recruited by Iowa State, UMass and Providence. "We expect him to be an impact player," van Breda Kolff said. Lalazarian started 19 games for the Waves after transferring from Notre Dame. He struggled all season with his shooting touch, particularly from beyond the three-point arc. The Waves need Lalazarian to improve on his .387 shooting (.292 from long range). "If Dave and Greg can play to their potential, we have the makings of a solid basketball team," van Breda Kolff said. "David has the ability to be a legitimate outside shooting threat. We need to design some plays that get him open looks at the basket." Nick Sheppard, a 6-11 senior, will battle 6-11 sophomore Cedric Suitt (58 minutes played) for the starting center spot. Sheppard (5.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) is a transfer from LSU who started 23 games last season. Despite his size, he never fully asserted himself on the block. His minutes were often curtailed because of foul trouble. "I coached against Nick when I was at Vanderbilt, and I know he has the physical tools to help the team," van Breda Kolff said. "The knock on Nick has been his effort and work ethic, so hopefully we can motivate him to have a banner senior season." Pepperdine's backcourt is led by 6-5 senior Tommie Prince, the league's first defensive player of the year. Prince (6.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 65 assists, 31 steals) regained a fourth year of eligibility by completing his undergraduate degree over the summer. He is a tenacious defender with cat-quick reflexes, a big reason the Waves set a WCC record by holding opponents to .292 from the field on three-point shots. Point-guard minutes may be split between 6-1 senior Tezale Archie (4.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 70 assists) and 6-1 senior Robert Fomby (4.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 44 assists). Neither player is a major offensive weapon but both can ball-handle, defend and pass. Archie emerged as the starter late last season. He probably has the edge going into fall practice. "Robert, Tezale and Tommie are seniors who understand what it takes to be successful at this level," van Breda Kolff said. Pepperdine has an intriguing transfer waiting in the wings in 6-5 Derrick Anderson. Anderson, who will be a senior next season, transferred from Nevada. He was a teammate of Berry's at L.A. City College during the 1997-98 season and was MVP of the South Coast Conference. Anderson (11.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.5 apg) played well during his junior year at Nevada. He had a 31-point game against Cal State Fullerton.
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