Uc Irvine Getting Inside

UC Irvine coach Pat Douglass is entering the final year of his contract, and there is speculation that his 13th season with the Anteaters could be his last.

If Douglass is feeling the heat, he isn't letting anyone see him sweat. He claims he is not concerned about his future and has even hired one of his rumored replacements as an assistant coach.

The Anteaters have averaged 15 wins over the past five seasons, but they went 12-19 last season, haven't had a 20-win season since 2002-03 and have yet to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Orange County Register reported "whispers" about Douglass' future during last year's Big West Conference Tournament.

The newspaper named two potential replacements with ties to athletic director Michael Izzi, including former Stanford assistant Doug Oliver, who has joined Douglass' staff after working in the UC Irvine athletic department as a special assistant to Izzi last year.

Izzi said it was Douglass' idea to add Oliver to his staff when Tod Murphy left to become head coach at Division III Gordon College in Massachusetts.

Douglass acknowledges his uncertain fate but said it is not a distraction.

"What I've got to focus on is this year, and I'm looking forward to coaching at a high level and seeing what I can do with this team," said Douglass, UC Irvine's career wins leader with a 183-173 record. "It's not a daily thought with me or anything that deters what I have to do on a daily basis."

What Douglass must do is make his team better after finishing under .500 last season for the second time in three years. The Anteaters overcame a 2-11 start and won 10 of their final 18 games, going 8-8 in the Big West Conference to finish tied for fourth place.

Douglass has three starters back to help him build on that progress, but he must develop a supporting cast to complement the inside-outside duo of sophomore forward Eric Wise and senior point guard Michael Hunter.

Hunter received All-Big West honorable mention last season after averaging 11.9 points, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals. He led the team with 67 3-pointers and ranked second in the Big West in steals per game. Wise earned second-team All-Big West and Big West All-Freshman honors last season after averaging 14 points and 6 rebounds per game.

He recorded six 20-point games and led all Big West freshmen in scoring. Wise, the highest-scoring freshman at UC Irvine in 14 years, proved capable of scoring in the paint and from the perimeter. Douglass said Wise will play more power forward after logging most of his minutes at center last season.

"I think his main attribute is his versatility," Douglass said. "He can go inside and out, and he's a very intelligent player and confident player. He has a lot of confidence in his abilities."

The Anteaters' fortunes will depend at least in part on the continued development of Patrick Rembert. The junior point guard averaged 6.9 points, 2.7 assists and 2.4 rebounds last season, up from his freshman averages of 2.8 points, 1.1 assists and 1.1 rebounds.

Rembert also improved his field-goal, free-throw and 3-point shooting percentages. He led the team with 85 assists and ranked fourth in the Big West with 3.5 assists in conference games.

The Daily Pilot reported that Rembert suffered a broken foot in a pickup game in late July and still wore a protective boot in August, but Douglass said Rembert was healthy when practice began.

UC Irvine will need Rembert and Hunter to provide perimeter shooting now that Brett Lauer is gone.

Lauer made 63-of-125 (.504) from 3-point range last season, helping the Anteaters lead the Big West and rank seventh nationally in 3-point percentage at 40.3 percent.

"We lost a good 3-point shooter," Douglass said. "We have to have some players step up and shoot the ball for us."