POINT(S) AND SHOOT WALBERG PROMISES WAVES WILL BE UP-TEMP.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE  Staff Writer

MALIBU - Vance Walberg claims he hasn't had his "welcome to the big-time" moment just yet, but his wife Rose sure has.

During her husband's 28-year coaching career, Rose Walberg has been the unofficial staff photographer for his teams. She would sit under the basket at most games with a better-than-average camera, taking action shots for a season-ending scrapbook.

They don't exactly have staff photographers at Fresno City College, where Walberg went 133-11 over the past four seasons, or Clovis West High, where he won six Central Section titles in 13 seasons.

But Rose Walberg isn't expecting her talent with a lens will be quite as valuable here at Pepperdine, where her husband was introduced as head men's basketball coach Thursday afternoon.

"I'm sure they have photographers here," she joked. "I'll still bring my camera, but I probably won't sit under the basket anymore."

So begins the Vance Walberg experiment at Pepperdine, and it appears things will be different than they were under Paul Westphal, who was fired March 15 after a 7-20 season.

For one, Westphal was a career NBA guy before coming to Malibu. The closest Walberg has been to the NBA is when he buys a ticket to a game.

But Walberg made it clear Thursday that he's willing to work as hard as it takes to be successful here.

"You still gotta pinch yourself because this kind of think doesn't happen every day," Walberg said. "But I know that for the past 28 years, I've busted my tail."

Each of the past 19 years, Walberg has spent a week at a different college program, learning from legendary coaches like Bobby Knight, Lute Olson, Rick Pitino, John Calipari and Gonzaga's Mark Few, who now will be one of Walberg's West Coast Conference rivals.

"I bet (Few) didn't know back then that I'd be here someday," Walberg joked.

Sophomore point guard Michael Gerrity said the players were most impressed with Walberg's enthusiasm for the game during the interview process. Gerrity also liked that Walberg seemed to have something to prove, much like the team does.

"You want to play for a guy like that," Gerrity said. "He's just like us. ... We can't wait to get out there and get started."

Playing time shouldn't be an issue next season. Walberg's high-octane offense averaged 104 points a game at Fresno City. He said he expects to use anywhere from 11 to 13 players every game.

Asked to describe his offense, Walberg said: "Shoot, shoot and shoot some more."

Loren LeBeau, an assistant with Walberg at Fresno City who will join his staff in Malibu, compared Walberg's style to the infamous "40 Minutes of Hell" defense played by Nolan Richardson's teams at Arkansas.

"A lot of people bring up the Loyola Marymount teams, but it's not a good comparison. They were like, 'We can give up 2 if we get 3.' We're actually trying to play some defense. But if you score, we're not going to worry about it, because we'll attack you right back before you can attack us."

ramona.shelburne(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Vance Walberg takes over a Pepperdine basketball team that went 7-20 last season.

Photo courtesy of Pepperdine