CSUN NOTEBOOK : BRASWELL BRINGS BE-ALL-THAT-YOU-CAN-BE STYLE TO CSUN.

The first thing you notice is the shirts. Every single one is tucked in.

Then there are the matching shoes, compliments of the new shoe contract. Every player's water bottle has his name on it, and all the bottles sit in a perfect row.

Players run between drills. Run to get water. Run to run.

There is one person in charge, no question. He yells a lot, and you had better look at him when he is speaking. Mess up on a task, and receive a demerit.

Cal State Northridge men's basketball practice under new coach Bobby Braswell is like boot camp, only Braswell doesn't curse.

``It's very different,'' junior guard Trenton Cross said. ``Everyone has a job to do. Everything is real organized. It's hard, but in the end I know it's going to be good for us.''

Braswell has wasted no time in letting his players know he was not fibbing when he said they would work hard. And there is no nonsense.

Braswell and his three coaches watch every movement players make in practice and yell out mistakes - such as not boxing out or playing proper defense - in the middle of drills. A manager keeps track of the missteps, and players pay the price for their foibles by running - and running and running - at the end of practice.

``The system we're going to run, you've got to be really focused on details,'' Braswell said. ``You can't just throw young men out in a war without any direction.''

War? This is boot camp.

Fresh: One thing lacking on the men's basketball team in past years has been freshmen. The team always needed experienced players, so junior colleges is where former coach Pete Cassidy and his staff went looking for help.

One thing Braswell is doing in an attempt to rebuild the program is bring in the young kids. Already on the team is 6-foot-5, 210-pound forward Jeff Paris, who is challenging for a starting spot. And three high school seniors have committed to play at Northridge next year.

``One of the things we're trying to do in building this year is to recruit freshmen,'' Braswell said. ``We're going to suffer a little bit for that next year. But one thing I will never have to do again is to take a whole team over and teach them. That's what you have to do when you recruit JC players. We're trying to get some consistency.''

Coming back: Cassidy, who was fired last spring after 25 seasons, said he plans to attend a few games this year.

``I have an interest in some of the people who will be on the court,'' he said with a smile.

Cassidy is teaching six physical education classes at Northridge this semester.

Competition: Football coach Dave Baldwin said Wednesday that senior running back Chad Marsalek, out the past three games with a hairline fracture in his right foot, will return as the starter. When he returns.

Marsalek has practiced the last two days and was expected to play Saturday at Sacramento State. But he twisted his ankle Wednesday and is questionable for this week.

``Chad will go back as the No. 1,'' Baldwin said. ``But Chad's got to prove he's healthy. I don't expect Chad to be healthy enough.''

In Marsalek's absence, junior Norman Clarke will start with freshman Jeramie Thomas backing him up. Baldwin said Thomas, who began the season as a receiver, will stay at running back.

Other injuries: Hernan Santiago, who separated his shoulder against Montana State last weekend, practiced Wednesday and will play against Sacramento. . . . Defensive end Mike Greslie will miss his fourth game with a fractured left shoulder, Baldwin said.

Rebounding: The football team has practiced in pads the past two days and will do so again today. Coaches have been pleased with the intensity.

``We've been pretty physical in practice,'' Baldwin said. ``It goes back to last week. I probably didn't prepare them well enough. Our kids didn't come out excited.''

Baldwin said the ``I'' on the team's now-infamous ``I Believe'' T-shirts is for ``Intensity'' this week, something that was lacking in last Saturday's fall-from-ahead 24-17 loss to Montana State.

``All of a sudden they thought they were favorites, and they got beat,'' Baldwin said of his team. ``We can't ever be favorites.''

Linebacker Marc Goodson said something good can come out of the Montana State loss.

``We had fat heads,'' he said. ``Guys will say we didn't, but we did. (The loss) just put us in our place. We've had the hardest practices we've had all year these past two days, and we'll keep practicing like this. And we'll win our last four games.''