Mark Gottfried acknowledged he faced a rebuilding challenge when he was hired as Cal State Northridge’s head basketball coach 10 months ago.
To jump start a team with five consecutive losing seasons, Gottfried reworked the schedule. He added New Mexico, San Diego State and Yale, while reducing the number of non-Division I opponents from three to one.
“We changed our schedule in the nonconference, and tried to make it a lot tougher than it has been,” Gottfried said. “I think that’s helped us a lot. We played some tough schemes against tough teams. I think that’s how you get a little better.”
The Matadors are 8-10 overall, but they closed the nonconference schedule with two losses — to San Diego State, after leading by double digits in the second half, and to Yale in overtime. But the Matadors are 2-0 in the Big West after opening conference play with road victories. The Matadors host Hawaii today at 5 p.m. Hawaii time.
Gottfried began his coaching career as a 23-year-old graduate assistant at UCLA under Jim Harrick. As head coach at Murray State, Alabama and North Carolina State, Gottfried reached the NCAA Tournament 11 times in 20 years. After being fired after six years at North Carolina State and working as an NBA scout after that, he succeeded Reggie Theus at CSUN.
“I think the word is potential,” Gottfried said of CSUN’s situation. “We sit right here in the (San Fernando) Valley. We’ve got the city of Los Angeles in our backyard. There’s 600 high schools in California. I was at UCLA for seven years, so I’m very familiar with Southern California. I loved living out here in the ’90s. I thought it would be exciting to come back.”
But he cautioned: “This is a monumental challenge. Everywhere I’ve been, we’ve had to turn programs around that were down, and this is another one. But this is probably the biggest challenge I’ve had.”
To ease the transition, Gottfried coaxed 80-year-old Harrick out of retirement to serve as an assistant coach. “He lives about 20 minutes away,” Gottfried said. “It kind of just fit perfectly for him.”
Gottfried also hired Mo Williams, who played 14 NBA seasons and won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
“I’m having a great time,” Gottfried said. “Our players have been phenomenal. They’re excited every day to come to practice. Their attitudes have been terrific. They bought into our new staff. That just makes coaching fun.”
UH post player Zigmars Raimo said the Matadors have many dimensions.
“It’s not just one guy on the team,” Raimo said. “They’ve got a lot of good players. It’s going to be a great matchup.”
It also has helped that post player Lamine Diane (pronounced Luh-meen Jah-neh) and Terrell Gomez are having breakout seasons. Diane, who redshirted as a freshman last year, is averaging league highs in scoring (23.9 per game) and rebounding (11.1).
Gottfried said 6-foot-7 Diane is playing “at a high level. He’s seen a lot of different things this year. Teams have tried to double him, run at him at different times. He’s done a nice job learning as a young player.”
Gomez, who is 5-8, was last season’s Big West freshman of the year. He is averaging 19.4 points while connecting on 43.2 percent of his 3s.
“He’s only small in size,” Gottfried said. “Other than that, he’s big in everything. He’s got a big heart. He’s got great character. He’s a winner. He practices hard. It just never ends. We’re excited for him. He’s had a really good sophomore year.”
UH MEN’S BASKETBALL
Today, 5 p.m., at The Matadome
>> Hawaii (10-5, 1-0 Big West) at Cal State Northridge (8-10, 2-0 Big West)
>> Streaming Video: ESPN3/WatchESPN app
>> Radio: KKEA 1420 AM
