THE GOOD NEWS
WCC schools usually get coaches on their way up, but teams have done well with coaches on the way down the status ladder -- Paul Westhead at Loyola Marymount being the prime example. Tom Asbury moved to Kansas State after his success at Pepperdine, and he knows the school, the area and the conference. He has a lot of young talent with which to work, especially Tyrone Shelley and Malcolm Thomas, and nearly every key player returns from a team that finished relatively well.

THE BAD NEWS
Tom Asbury is 62 years old, so his best years may be behind him. Rico Tucker sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament and there is always concern whether a player can return to full speed the following season. The team will have its third coach in a matter of months, and young players have trouble adjusting to that kind of instability. The Waves lost 21 games and finished in the bottom half of the standings for the fourth straight season, so a change in attitude is required.

KEY RETURNEES
Everybody of significance will be back, with Tyrone Shelley and Malcolm Thomas being the most significant returnees, because they are capable of being all-conference players. The Waves have signed only one player for next season, but he's a pretty good one, F Paul George.

ROSTER REPORT

--Freshman Tyrone Shelley, the Waves' highest-rated recruit in years, averaged 20.6 points over the final five games, scoring at least 16 in all five.

--Malcolm Thomas was selected to the WCC's five-man all-freshman team.

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