UC Irvine Briefs: UCI has Starring guard

Daman Starring, a 6-foot-4 guard, is transferring to UC Irvine from Centenary (La.) College, UC Irvine Coach Russell Turner announced.

Starring has signed a written offer of financial aid and will be eligible immediately with the Anteaters since Centenary is reclassifying its athletic program from NCAA Division I to Division III. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

“Daman is an experienced player who has had success at the D-I level,” Turner said in a release. “He helps fill some of our needs with his versatility and the ability to play all three perimeter positions.

“He gets to the paint, is a solid ball-handler and a good three-point shooter. He sees himself as a shut-down defender.”

Starring played for El Toro High as a senior.

As a redshirt freshman this past season, Starring averaged 11.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Centenary. He posted 16 games of double-figure scoring with a high of 27 points in a 95-76 win over Texas College. He scored 19 points against Louisiana Tech, hitting 5 of 7 threes, and added seven rebounds and four assists.

Starring hit double digits in each of the season’s final seven games and 11 of the last 13. He started 28 games, played a team-leading 33.1 minutes per game and also led the Gents with 46 steals.

Starring was named the state of Louisiana’s Freshman of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Assn. in a vote that included candidates from schools such as LSU, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Lafayette.

As a senior at El Toro in 2006-07 Starring was named first team All-Sea View League after helping lead the Chargers to the league title and the second round of the state playoffs. Starring led the team in rebounding at 5.8 boards per game and he also averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 assists for El Toro, which was 24-4 overall and 9-1 in the Sea View League.

Starring attended Summit College Prep in Simi Valley in 2007-08 prior to joining the Centenary College program.

Turner’s UC Irvine squad will open the 2010-11 regular season facing Big Ten Conference member Illinois Nov. 8 at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill.

The Regional Round game is part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and will be the first meeting between the universities. No matter what happens in the game, the Illini will join Pittsburgh, Texas, and Maryland in the championship rounds of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City Nov. 18-19.

UCI will host a Sub-regional Round at the Bren Events Center Nov. 19-21 with opponents and times to be announced later. The team’s full 2010-11 schedule will be announced in the near future.

Turner is entering his first season as the Anteaters’ head coach after serving the past six seasons on the staff of the Golden State Warriors. He previously served on the coaching staffs at Stanford and Wake Forest.

— From staff reports

UCI’s Chin an All-American

UC Irvine senior John Chin has been named to the Division I PING All-America first team by the Golf Coaches Assn. of America.

He is the first UCI men’s golfer to earn the award in the university’s 33-year NCAA Division I history.

Chin, three-time Big West Conference Golfer of the Year, was one of 11 players named to the All-America first team.

He led UCI this season with a 70.05 average and 11 top-10 finishes (eight top-5s). He finished first in four tournaments, including winning his second Big West individual title. Chin currently ranks No. 1 in the Golfstat Cup and is second in the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings.

UCI won its sixth Big West championship by 17 shots May 3-4 at Mission Viejo Country Club. The Anteaters advanced to NCAA regional play for the ninth time in the past 10 years.

UCI placed eighth in the NCAA Southwest Regional at Carlton Oaks Golf Club in Santee, Calif., and Chin finished ninth.

Chin will compete for the United States in the Palmer Cup at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland, June 24-26.

— From staff reports