PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Long Beach State, 2. UC Santa Barbara, 3. UC Riverside, 4. Pacific, 5. Cal State Northridge, 6. Cal State Fullerton, 7. UC Davis, 8. UC Irvine, 9. Cal Poly
UC IRVINE - The Anteaters came on strong after a slow start last year, and they are focused on a better start as they enter the 2009-10 campaign. The team
scrambled to an 8-8 finish in league play, after opening the season by losing 11 of their first 13 games. The biggest reason for optimism is the continued
development of sophomore forward Eric Wise, who grabbed second-team All-Big West honors last year. His 14 ppg ranked seventh in the Big West and led all
freshmen in the league, and it marked the school's highest scoring freshman in the last 14 seasons. Wise also pulled down 6.0 rebounds per game. Senior
shooting guard Michael Hunter, a three-year letterwinner, is also back after posting 11.9 ppg. He ranked second in the conference in steals (1.5 spg) and third
in three-pointers made (2.2). Outside shooting was a real strong suit for the Anteaters last season, as they ranked seventh nationally in three-point field
goal percentage (.403). However, sharpshooter Brett Lauer is no longer around. The team added some much needed size to the front court by bringing in juco
teammates Pavol Losonsky (6-
and Peter Simek (6-9).
