Sophomore point guard Andrew Hatch was awarded the CCAA Freshman of the Year trophy in his inaugural season with the Tritons last year and is now looking to lead the team to the CCAA title in 2005. This is the continuation of the Guardian’s interview with Hatch about the Tritons’ head coach Bill Carr, Hatch’s leadership abilities and the Tritons chances this season.

Guardian: Does the fact that the current team contains seven freshmen and only one senior have you worried about experience and maturity?

Hatch: Not necessarily. Last year, we had older guys, but we still lacked chemistry and leadership abilities. This year we all get along a lot better. Plus, we have people, like Robby [Peters, UCSD guard], who have been playing for three years. This is my second year now. It seems like we all just know what we need to do to win and we just go out there and do it.

G: Will the youth of the team help in years to come as you grow together and continue adding pieces to the puzzle?

H: Definitely. I think what the coach was trying to do by recruiting so many people was prepare for the future. He’s not forgetting about right now; he’s establishing a team. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.

G: Which nonreturning player from last year’s team do you feel is the biggest loss?

H: I’d have to say last year’s captain, Parker [Berling, former UCSD forward]. Parker is just such a great athlete. This would have been his fourth year playing and everyone kind of looked up to him.

G: Can you discuss why Parker didn’t return this year?

H: It’s just hard going from one coach to another coach. He got used to the system under [former UCSD men’s basketball head coach Greg] Lanthier. Carr is a lot stricter than Lanthier, from what I’ve heard, and Parker just didn’t want to play anymore.

G: On the flip side, which newcomer will have the biggest impact this year?

H: We have two newcomers; actually, we have a lot of newcomers, but there [are] two specifically. There’s a freshman named Darryl [Lawlor, UCSD forward] and he has just been turning it on big time during practice. He was a little nervous during his first game, against UC Santa Barbara, but he played well. We also have Henry [Patterson, UCSD forward], and he is a monster. He’s 6 feet 5 inches, 220 pounds, a great athlete and he’s really going to help us a lot once we hit league. Both of those guys are going to be great this year, because now we have that size, we have that strength to bump people around inside and get rebounds, and I think that’s something that we lacked last year.

G: Currently, NCAA requires that all Division II schools offer at least $250,000 for athletic grants, and UCSD remains one of the few schools in the division not offering the minimum. Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson currently has a waiver for this school year, basically meaning they don’t have to give you any money. Do you feel screwed at all?

H: I’m honored to play at a school without scholarships, but then again, we need the scholarships. Yeah, I feel screwed. All of the athletes try really hard — from softball to baseball; $500 would help.

G: Currently, the proposed plan for the athletics money would give every athlete $500, as you mentioned. Do you feel that is the best use of the money?

H: Yeah, we’re all working hard out here. I don’t think we should get more than anyone else, or somebody else should get more. If they have enough to give everyone $500, they should give everyone $500.

G: The Triton’s first four games this year are all against Division I opponents. What do you gain in facing such strong competition so early?

H: You gain confidence. Go out there, play hard, think you’re playing hard, and get thrown around by bigger guys. You go into the regular season and you feel comfortable. We’re not playing against the Gonzagas every game, so when playing against a team like that, you see what offensive sets work, and those will probably work during the season. Plus, we’re going to be playing in front of 7,000, so after that, playing in front of 500 doesn’t seem like such a big deal. You get the jitters out, which is especially important for the freshmen.

G: Following that string of D-I opponents, you stay on the road for the next eight games before your home opener on Jan. 3. Is it difficult spending so much time on the road?

H: Playing on the road is fun. You get to go out, play in front of a hostile environment. Then we get to come home and we have like 11 games at home, so we should do pretty well then, after getting the hard games out of the way.

G: What offensive and defensive style has Carr implemented in the men’s basketball program?

H: As opposed to the Lanthier system, we’re more disciplined. Offensively, we come down and we run sets as opposed to just a motion play. We’re moving the ball more, trying to get people open shots, get the ball to Robby and Clint [Allard, UCSD guard], who can pull from three-point range. And defensively, we’re bigger with guys like AJ Maulhardt and Henry Patterson on the inside, making it easier to control people. We’re going to play a lot more zone this year, because we’re bigger and we can get more rebounds now. Basically, it’s just a very formal setting, not just throwing the ball out there and saying, “Go!”

G: You and Carr are both now entering your second seasons at UCSD. How would you characterize playing for Carr? How has his coaching style differed from that of your past coaches, Tom Gregory and Ken Quinn?

H: Coach Gregory and coach Carr aren’t that different. They’re both very strict, and that’s probably why it’s been easier for me to adjust, as opposed to Parker last year. Carr seems to be focusing more on the individuals we have now. Last year, he didn’t know any of us so it took some time to get into a swing, but this year, it’s much more geared toward the players we have.

G: Last year, the Tritons beat former California Collegiate Athletic Association champion Cal State Bakersfield, the first such victory for the Tritons over the team. Who do you feel is the toughest opponent in the CCAA this year?

H: I’m going to have to go with Sonoma State. They returned a lot of their players. They’re beatable, but it seems like every other team in the conference lost a lot of their players.

G: Last spring, I asked Carr what he believed was a realistic goal for the team this year and he responded that he thought this unit could win the CCAA and that was the goal. Do you agree with that assessment?

H: Definitely agree. We are going to win the CCAA.