Pimm Still Molding His Team at Santa Barbara

The names he knew. Putting the correct faces with them, well, that’s another story.

It seemed as though everywhere Jerry Pimm looked at the Thunderdome arena in October, someone unfamiliar to him looked back. That’s not a problem on the street, but wondering who everyone is can sure slow down a basketball practice. Especially when you’re the coach.

Pimm, UC Santa Barbara’s coach, began the season with a revamped squad and lots of questions. Everything is still being sorted out, and the discovery process isn’t always fun to watch, but the players are developing and growing together.

This seems to be shaping up as one of those valuable learning experiences in life, Pimm said. His only complaint is he wishes the teacher wasn’t always so exhausted at day’s end.

“I’ve never been through anything like this,” said Pimm, dean of Big West coaches. “We have so many new faces, we’re all still learning about each other, and we’re not quite there yet. You could say we haven’t really evolved yet.”

Yep, eight new players will screw up the evolutionary process every time.

The Gauchos are 7-9 and fifth in the conference’s Western Division at 2-4 after losing their last two games. They are ninth out of 12 teams in scoring, averaging 62.3 points, while allowing 68.

Pimm spent the first few practices just trying to get everyone acquainted, something he had to deal with before the conversations could switch to zone defenses.

“We had a lot to learn,” Pimm said. “And we didn’t have much time to learn it either.”

When the miscues happen, Pimm looks skyward and counts . . . and counts . . . and counts. . . . Somewhere in the hundreds, Pimm remembers that most of the Gauchos weren’t anywhere close to the campus last season, let alone in the program.

“Sometimes it does get frustrating, but I see how hard they’re all working and that’s what I try to keep focusing on,” Pimm said.

The Gauchos aren’t young, just inexperienced. There isn’t a freshman on the roster, but five of the players were at community colleges last season, two at other Division I schools and another at an NAIA school.

Pimm got into this tough spot because of several poor recruiting classes. The Gauchos needed players this season, and the community colleges can provide a quick fix.

Several newcomers are making a contribution. Guard Raymond Tutt is the best of the bunch, with a 22.3 scoring average, good for second in the conference.

Is there enough talent for a big turnaround this season? By the looks of things, probably not.

This season’s recruiting class is Pimm’s strongest in a long time, so next season could be another big one for Pimm. Included in the group is Mater Dei center Mike Vukovich.

Pimm captured the hearts and minds of the Gaucho faithful by leading the team to five consecutive postseason appearances--including two NCAA tournament trips--in six seasons from 1988-93. But after two sub-.500 seasons, Pimm has lost some supporters.

He’s counting on the new guys to help him win them back by next season.

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Reality check: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was undefeated in the conference and beginning to buy into all that little-engine-that-could stuff when they woke up. A three-game trip produced three consecutive losses for the Mustangs (9-9, 3-3), who lack the front-court size to play with the Big West’s big boys.

One year removed from Division II, the Mustangs now realize the path to success isn’t that easy, not even in the Big West.

“We played some veteran teams and we had some problems handling them,” Mustang Coach Jeff Schneider said. “This will help us mature in the long run.”