CAL POLY SLO TURNS IT AROUND.

Byline: Peter J. Wallner San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune

When the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo basketball job opened, Jeff Schneider heard words of caution from his peers.

"A lot of coaches were afraid to come into a program that went 1-26," he said. "A lot of them said, 'Man, after two years you're going to be 10-46."'

Schneider, a former assistant at Washington State and Tulsa, took the job anyway. He promised an up-tempo game and non-stop full-court pressure defense - a style unlike others on the West Coast, he vowed.

He brought in eight newcomers from around the country to a program that lost by an average of 30 points in its first year at Division I, didn't beat a Division I team and lost its top two freshmen recruits to suspension and ineligibility within two months.

Then the season began at 1-3, and suddenly Schneider felt those gentle pats on his back, the same kind that tried to console previous coach Steve Beason.

"I'm not real big on moral victories," Schneider said. "And I remember thinking, 'Heck, we're going to win some games here."'

Indeed. The turnaround this season has been amazing. Cal Poly, heading into Saturday's home finale against Southern Utah, was 15-10, on a six-game winning streak and chasing the biggest single-season turnaround in NCAA history. If they win their final four games, the Mustangs would improve by 17 games, a half-game better than the record held by three others.

Home crowds, which averaged 925 last season, are up more than 100 percent. The average of 2,156 is on pace for a school record and includes three games over 3,100 in the 3,500-seat Mott Gym.

And the newcomers have performed remarkably well, relying on effort as much as raw talent.