Sunday, Jan. 17
Former UCD coach trying to turn things around at UCSB
RENO, Nev. -- Dribbling upcourt, the point guard held his fist over his head to signify the game's first offensive play. The remaining players took their positions at the four corners of the key and set the offense in motion. They worked the ball around to the left wing where a player flashed to the corner for just an instant. At the same time, his teammate faked a pass, causing the defender to bite. A backdoor cut toward the basket and a perfect bounce pass yielded an open layup.
Vintage Aggie basketball.
Except it wasn't.
On this night, Thursday at the Lawlor Events Center, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos were playing host Nevada in a Big West Conference game. Looking dapper in a blue sportscoat, tie and gray slacks -- as opposed to his usual white sweater on the road -- UCSB coach Bob Williams didn't react. He immediately started yelling the style of defense to play.
Williams, of course, coached UC Davis for the last eight years, culminating his tenure in 1998 with a 31-2 record and a national championship. Two days later, he accepted the coaching post at UCSB replacing Jerry Pimm.
Williams did not step into a pretty situation. The players had revolted against Pimm and lost their last eight games of the season. He had to start over from scratch.
``I knew I was walking into a difficult situation,'' Williams said. ``I knew it was going to take a couple years to recruit our guys, and I knew I was taking over a program where not one kid had won, so there isn't anyone to preach the way you have to do things to win.
``On the flip side, these guys are really trying to do what we want them to do to win.''
This season began just as awful as last season ended, if not worse. The Gauchos lost their first eight games, four by one point. That brought the losing streak to a Sac State-like 16 games in a row. Making matters worse, UCSB wasn't losing on lucky desperation shots. Three of the four one-point losses came on last-second layups.
``We were losing by a point and not defending a lick, so we hoped that when we started defending we would start to turn that around,'' Williams said. ``We had to at least make them shoot for it.''
Ironically, that's exactly what happened Friday. The Gauchos built a nine-point lead midway through the second half, but the Wolf Pack whittled it away and finally took a one-point lead with less than two minutes to go.
Unlike earlier in the year when that would have been it, UCSB battled back. Running another Aggie play, the Gauchos sent an alley-oop to B.J. Bunton, who between three defenders somehow managed to pop the ball up, and it fell through the basket. Earlier in the game, he was wide open for a dunk on the play, the same one we've seen Jason Cox or Stephen Smith finish time after time.
With 7.4 seconds to go, the Gauchos led 66-64. It could have been a three-point lead, but a missed free throw gave the Wolf Pack a chance to win it with a bomb. Guard Derrick Anderson quickly dribbled upcourt and threw up an off-balance 3-pointer with a defender in his face. It clanged off the back iron and UCSB had won at Nevada for the first time in school history.
Williams genuflected on the sideline and pumped his fist a couple times. That win gave the Gauchos four in their last five games after the awful start.
``It's getting better, but I won't lie,'' Williams said. ``It's not like coaching my guys the last four or five years at Davis. The seniors convinced the younger guys how they needed to play, and our job was just mentally preparing them.
``Here, there's an awful lot of teaching, an awful lot of selling, an awful lot of feeling our way through the jungle. We're making some good decisions and a whole lot of bad ones.''
At least the players are solidly behind him. Bunton, a senior and the team's leading scorer and rebounder, said the atmosphere is completely different with Williams.
``Coach Williams is awesome,'' Bunton said. ``It's much more fun, and we work a lot harder. Last year, a whole lot of guys were doing their own things. It's exciting getting things done as a team.''
Assistant coach Jon Wheeler has also seen the transformation. He was Williams' top assistant at UCD before Brian Fogel, then moved on to Pepperdine and finally UCSB two years ago. He witnessed first hand the problems in the program.
``Let's just say there was a communication problem that came to a head in December,'' Wheeler said. ``The guys not quitting this year after such a difficult start has been a wonderful coaching experience. That's a tribute to both Bob and the kids.''
Wheeler's admiration for his boss oozes from his lips.
``It's been difficult. He's gone from 31-2 and a high level of expectation and commitment,'' Wheeler said. ``It can't happen in one day, one week, one month or one season. It's something that has to be built over time. The last five years in Davis were gold; now you're in the coal mine.
``He's handled it as well as anyone could expect to handle it. I've been through tough times with Bob at Davis, too. I've never seen a better manager of people or a crisis manager than Bob.''
Outside of basketball, Williams likes his new community. His main priority is getting his guys into the program so that community can cheer on a winner.
``I love the town, the town's awesome,'' Williams said. ``I love the people. They're so hungry for a winner down there. The administration is tremendously supportive, from the chancellor to the vice chancellor to the athletic director to the assistant athletic director. I could not ask for better people to work for. If we can't manage to turn it around, it won't be their fault.''
But like Wheeler said, it's going to take time.
``What did it take, five years at Davis?'' Williams asked, and indeed, that's when he won his first conference title. ``It's going to take three years here to really have everyone in the program and believing in the aspects we want to do.''
After witnessing what happened at UCD, there's every reason to believe that when he builds it, the wins will come.
-- Marc Erwin is sports editor of The Enterprise. Phone: 756-0800, ext. 249. Fax: 756-1668. Mail: 315 G Street, Davis, CA 95616. e-mail: marcjerwin@aol.com
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