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Patience Finally Pays Dividends
by Curtis Zupke, Orange County Register
March 12, 2007
.LONG BEACH While most of Long Beach State's players remember the
dismal 2003-04 season from newspaper clippings and the team's media
guide, Kevin Houston and Louis Darby remember it from the dorm and
hotel rooms they shared.
So many nights ended with Houston and Darby going to sleep after
another loss, 21 times in 27 games, including 10 in a row to end that
season. It didn't get much better the next season when the 49ers lost
20 out of 30 games.
The two look back on those dark nights with a smile that speaks to the
road they've traveled.
"We had a lot of conversations about that," Houston said. "We
had a
lot of conversations when we were doing bad. Now we have a lot of
conversations about remembering when we were so terrible."
Houston and Darby are the only three-year lettermen remaining whose
loyalty during the ugly years of Coach Larry Reynolds' tenure was
rewarded Saturday when Long Beach won the Big West Tournament.
The 12th-seeded 49ers will play fifth-seed Tennessee on Friday in the
opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. It is the
school's first NCAA appearance since 1995.
It also is redemption for Houston and Darby.
Four years ago, the two came to Long Beach hoping to bring the 49ers
back into the spotlight. They were the future pieces under Reynolds,
whose debut 5-22 season in 2002-03 was somewhat excusable given the
team was mostly inherited.
Then the program sank to depths not seen since the mid-1980s. From
Jan. 31, 2004, to Jan. 22, 2005, the 49ers lost 25 of 27 games.
Rumblings began about Reynolds' employment status. In a time when
college players transfer at the mere suggestion of reduced playing
time or exposure, Houston and Darby stayed put -- amid uncertainty.
"There was a lot of doubt in the beginning because it wasn't really
(Reynolds') team," Darby said.
Houston acknowledged there were moments he thought it was a mistake to
come to Long Beach.
"I thought about that because I'm a competitive player and I want
to
play and I want to be a part of something," Houston said. "It
went
through my mind, but I stuck with it. I'm not a quitter. I don't quit
on my teammates."
The 5-foot-10 Houston, from Highland, has played a big part of Long
Beach's success. He followed up his selection to the All-Big West
second team with a combined 28 points and 11 assists in two tournament
games. His three-pointer with three minutes remaining against Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo all but sealed the championship.
Houston is six assists shy of becoming the school's No. 3 career leader.
Darby's career had been marked by stops and starts. He sat out his
freshman season as a non-qualifier out of Sylmar High and made
all-conference after his first season.
Darby then missed half of his sophomore year because of a broken bone
in his left foot and eventually found his role as a big guard who
draws tough defensive assignments.
His averages of 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds are modest, but his
contribution extends beyond statistics.
"A lot of people don't realize that he could start for us,"
guard
Kejuan Johnson said.
More important, Houston and Darby command a certain respect.
"They've been here for four years," Johnson said. "They
know more of
the program. They know more of what the coaches expect."
Saturday night was a far cry from those first two years, when Houston
and Darby shared a dorm with Travon Free, the team's only other player
remaining from the 2003-04 season.
Darby had been recruited by USC out of Sylmar. When he saw the
resurgence that was taking place up the freeway he didn't wonder what
it would have been like to wear cardinal and gold.
He just wished his former teammates could have seen it through with him.
"I finally understand what the term `bittersweet' means," said
Darby,
who still talks with Houston about that first season.
"It's still in my memory," Darby said, "but I think this
is going to
last longer than the losing record here."
Caption: Worth the wait: 49ers guard Louis Darby, who averages 5.4
points and 2.6 rebounds but contributes beyond his statistics, has
been through the worst of times at Long Beach State. `I finally
understand what the term "bittersweet" means,' said Darby. |
