PEPPERDINE: WAVES HOPE TO WIN ON THE RUN.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE  Staff Writer

It looked for all the world to be a blowout. Washington was opening its season at home with a bunch of highly touted recruits. By the middle of the second half, the No.17Huskies were starting to pull away. The lead swelled to 27 points. The crowd grew delirious.

Too bad little old Pepperdine still thought it had hope.

That's right, hope, down 27 midway through the second half.

In first-year coach Vance Walberg's run-and-gun offense, a 27-point deficit is little more than an inconvenience. If the team is executing correctly -- full-court high-pressure on defense, attack, attack, skip, attack on offense -- 27 points can be made up in ... five minutes or so.

Sure enough, the Waves lost by just eight points, and there was the feeling they might have come all the way back if they had another five minutes to work with.

``I can promise you this,'' Walberg said. ``We're not going to be boring.''

But the question still remains: Will entertainment translate into victories?

Walberg admits that the Waves don't yet have the ideal personnel for his offense. The prototypical player for Walberg's offense is either long, lean and athletic with a knack for slashing to the basket, or a fantastic outside shooter.

The team Walberg inherited from Paul Westphal wasn't exactly built that way. But when you're coming off a 7-20 season, people are willing to try just about anything to win, including running so much in practice that your legs feel like gum everyday.

``The first week, we were like, `Oh my God, we got Coach Carter in here,' '' said senior guard Marvin Lea, who is averaging 19 points on the young season. ``But you have to be in top-notch condition to play this way. I feel like, if this is how I feel every day after practice, imagine how teams will feel after they play us.''

Lea estimates he's lost about 10 pounds since August, despite a challenging weight-training program. Junior center Jarrad Henry (6-foot-11, 245 pounds) has lost about 15 to 20 pounds.

``It's the Vance Walberg Diet,'' Lea joked.

For Pepperdine to get back into the top half of the West Coast Conference, it'll take more than being in shape.

Sophomore Michael Gerrity is the top returning scorer. He averaged 14.1 points as a freshman. But he's out for at least the next two weeks with a foot injury.

Lea has been a reserve most of his career, but has been thrust into a major role this fall because of his ability to slash and score. So far, he's responded well, but consistency could be an issue.

Chase Griffin will also playing a bigger role. He averaged just 6.4 points as a junior last season, but has earned more playing time with his work ethic on defense and outside shooting.

Senior Jason Walberg, the coach's son, has been invaluable because of his leadership and knowledge of the offense.

If all four are playing well, Vance Walberg won't hesitate to use a four- guard set. But playing time shouldn't become an issue. Because of the physical demands of his system, Walberg regularly plays 11 or 12 players and rarely leaves a player in for more than 28 or 30 minutes.

``It's a dream come true,'' Lea said. ``You get a lot of shots up and the quicker you get back on defense, the quicker you get back on offense. It's just non-stop shots, trying to score 100 points a game. He's only opened up about 15 percent of it so far, though.''

FIVE FACTS

1. Junior guard Kingsley Costain and junior forward Willie Galick were part of Canada's Young Men's National Team that won the bronze medal at the Under-21 World Championships in Mar del Plato, Argentina, during the summer of 2005.

2. Junior guard Rico Tucker's 46-inch vertical leap was the highest of any player at the 2004 NBA Players Camp, the NBA pre-draft camp.

3. Senior guard Jason Walberg is the son of new head coach Vance Walberg. He transferred to Pepperdine after two years at St. Mary's, but is familiar with his dad's up-tempo offense, having averaged 20.5 points in two seasons at Fresno City College.

4. Assistant coach Eric Bridgeland was a roommate of Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash while a member of Canada's 1992-93 national team.

5. Walberg's teams averaged 104 points a game in his four seasons at Fresno City College, but as a player, Walberg made his mark on the defensive end. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in both his seasons at Cal State Bakersfield and ended his career at De Anza Community College as the school's all-time steals leader.

INTRODUCING ...

You half expect Bobby Knight to come walking around the corner when you see the rows of college and high school coaches from across the country parked along the sidelines at Firestone Fieldhouse these days. But the General is still off in Lubbock, Tex., chasing Dean Smith's career wins record. These crowds are for first-year Pepperdine head coach Vance Walberg, who has become an up-and-coming name in college basketball because of his run-and-gun offense, despite having never coached in Division I basketball before this season. Walberg got the job last spring after thoroughly dominating the high school and junior college ranks. His teams at Fresno City college averaged 104 points a game. He racked up a 133-11 record in four seasons. Walberg developed his innovative style by studying some of the best coaching minds on their own turf. Every year for the past 19 years, he has made a one-week trip to a different college program. One of the coaches he visited was Memphis coach John Calipari, who was so impressed by Walberg's ideas that he decided to use them last year on his own team. The result: Memphis was one of the highest-scoring teams in the country and advanced to the Elite Eight.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Dec. 2: The Waves have a chance to earn national recognition with a game at Oklahoma State.

Dec. 7: National scoring records could fall when the Waves get together with Long Beach State, the No. 1 scoring team in the nation last year. the 49ers averaged 83.3 points last year, topping 80 points 16 times, 90 points 10 times and 100 points three times.

Jan. 8: The road to the WCC title has gone through Spokane, Wash., the past eight years. Pepperdine will open conference play on the road at Portland (Jan. 6) and Gonzaga (Jan. 8)

THE SEASON'S A SUCCESS IF..

The Waves average 80-85 points a game ... finish in the top half of the West Coast Conference ... Lea emerges as a go-to scorer and one of the top slashers in the conference... Gerrity adjusts to the new offense and stays healthy ... Oakes stays healthy and starts living up to the form that made him a hot recruit out of Castlemont High of Oakland three years ago.

THE SEASONS A FLOP IF..

The Waves never take to the new offense and average 65-70 points a game, no one emerges as a go-to scorer and Pepperdine finishes near the bottom of the WCCagain ... Gerrity struggles to adapt to Walberg's system ... Oakes has a mediocre year and no other big steps up.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

GUARDS

Fourteen of the Waves' 18 players are guards, which is just the way Walberg likes it for his fast-paced offense.

Michael Gerrity is the key to the backcourt and probably the offense. He was one of the top freshmen in the WCC last year and probably would have earned more postseason awards had he not missed the last six games with an ankle injury. His biggest challenge will be cutting back on his dribble penetration. Walberg's offense is predicated on quick passing and spacing. Dribbling too much causes the system to bog down.

Gregg Barlow and Chase Griffin will be counted on as long-range threats and defensive stoppers. Marvin Lea is the best slasher on the team and should lead the Waves in scoring.

Kingsley Costain and Tomas Pranciliauskas are 3-point specialists, but need to become more consistent.

Jason Walberg adds senior leadership and had two years of experience with Vance Walberg's offense at Fresno City College.

FORWARDS

With so many guards on the roster, the Waves are already thin in the frontcourt and can't afford any injuries.

Walberg's offense favors smaller, athletic big men in the 6-6 to 6-9 range over taller, slower post players. Don't be surprised to see Pepperdine go with a four-guard lineup from time to time.

Oakes is the key to the frontcourt. He's big, athletic and fast. Normally, his size (6-9) would be a hindrance against the taller post players in the WCC, but in Walberg's system, he'll be able to exploit taller, slower defenders with his speed.

Galick started 14 games last year and should be a mainstay in the front court. He is big and athletic with a solid all-around game.

Henry might have the hardest time adjusting to the offense because of his size, but he'll play a lot of minutes because of his potential to be an impact defensive player. Henry should lead the team in rebounding and shot-blocking.

CAPTION(S):

7 boxes

Box:

(1) PEPPERDINE

(2) FIVE FACTS (see text)

(3) INTRODUCING (see text)

(4) MARK YOUR CALENDAR (see text)

(5) THE SEASON'S A SUCCESS IF... (see text)

(6) THE SEASON'S A FLOP IF... (see text)

(7) ROSTER BREAKDOWN (see text)