‘Eaters’ guard transfers

The UC Irvine men’s basketball program has added two recruits, but has lost junior wing Adam Templeton, who has transferred to Drake.

Templeton, a 6-foot-5 sharpshooter from South Dakota, averaged 8.0 points and 3.9 rebounds and led the Anteaters with 59 three-pointers last season. He started 22 games and appeared in all 33.

Templeton led UCI in scoring in five games last season, including a career-high 19 points in a 76-73 loss at Drake, located in Des Moines, Iowa and a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Templeton averaged 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds to earn Big West Conference All-Freshman honors in 2005-06, after earning first-team all-state recognition as a senior at Central High in Rapid City, S.D. He came off the bench in all 29 of his appearances as a freshman.

UCI Coach Pat Douglass declined to speculate on the reasons behind Templeton’s departure saying, “It could have been for a number of reasons.”

The additions include Brett Lauer, a 6-1 guard out of San Diego Mesa Community College, and Matt Ballard, a 6-8 center out of Trabuco Hills High.

Lauer averaged 16.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.1 steals last season, when he was named first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference.

Lauer averaged 9.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists at Los Medanos Community College in his first collegiate season, after twice earning all-league recognition at Clayton Valley High in Concord, Calif. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Ballard averaged 13.0 points and 10.3 rebounds as a high school senior last season. He had 17 games with at least 10 points and 10 rebounds, shot 57% from the field and blocked 39 shots. He played in the Orange County All-Star Game and was nominated for the McDonald’s All-American team.

“Brett is an enthusiastic, intelligent player who can play both guard spots,” Douglass said in a statement. “Plus, he is a good three-point shooter.”

Douglass said Ballard will add depth in the post.

Additional new names on the Anteaters’ 2007-08 roster include walk-ons Brandon James, a 6-7 junior forward out of Saddleback College, and Patrick Rembert, a 6-0 freshman guard from Lakewood High.

James averaged 7.3 points and 4.8 rebounds at Saddleback, helping the Gauchos finish 25-9 and reach the state semifinals. He played at Monroe High in Reseda.

Rembert averaged 18.5 points, 4.3 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals as a high school senior last season.

This year’s recruiting class also includes 6-0 guard Trey Harris, out of McCook Community College in Nebraska, Adam Rodenberg, a 6-6 junior out of Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Derrick Strings, a 6-2 freshman guard out of Leuzinger High in Lawndale.

The roster for the upcoming season, which begins Nov. 9 with a home game against Loyola Marymount, does not include Wolfgang Gieler and J.J. Cannizzaro, who played for UCI last season.

Gieler, a 6-8 freshman last season out of Bonn, Germany, who redshirted for UCI in 2005-06, played in 13 games in 2006-07. He scored 25 points and collected 13 rebounds.

Cannizzaro, a 6-3 junior transfer from Foothill Community College, played in three games last season. He did not score.

The schedule for the inaugural Anaheim Classic, in which UCI will play three games Nov. 22, 23 and 25 at the Anaheim Convention Center, will be announced Thursday.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 96-4616 or at [email protected].