The NCAA tournament has dozens of starting forwards, each a little different from the others.
One forward, Santa Clara’s Pete Eisenrich is more than a little different.
How many forwards speak German? It’s Eisenrich’s minor field of study (he’s majoring in finance).
How many forwards wanted to play at Northwestern? Eisenrich liked the mix of academics and Big 10 athletics.
How many forwards transferred because their school wasn’t demanding enough academically?
“I had a (perfect) 4.00 grade-point average at Boise State, and it wasn’t really that challenging,” the junior said. “I don’t want to downgrade Boise State, but I was looking for something else.”
Every March produces a great story, and this weekend it is Eisenrich and the Santa Clara Broncos, who stunned the nation by upsetting mighty Arizona Thursday night in the opening round of the West subregional. The Broncos, winners of the West Coast Conference tournament, became only the second 15th seed to win in tournament history.
Few outside of Eisenrich’s hometown of Boise, Idaho, had ever heard of the 6-foot-9-inch, 215-pounder until he led the upset of fifth-ranked Arizona. Eisenrich scored 19 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and helped put Wildcats star Chris Mills in foul trouble midway through the second half.
Eisenrich also blocked four shots, or nearly half as many as he did all season.
If Santa Clara’s victory was a miracle, then Eisenrich’s decision to transfer to the Northern California school was simply good fortune.
“Being from Idaho, there weren’t that many scouts knocking down my door,” he said.
Eisenrich knocked at Santa Clara’s door, but head coach Dick Davey wasn’t interested. “He only weighed 175 pounds and was anemic-looking,” Davey said.
Davey was relieved to have changed his mind. Eisenrich was named to the All-West Coast Conference first team this year after averaging 14.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and shooting 48 percent from the field. And his 3.67 grade-point average made him a second-team GTE All-American.
When Davey originally shunned him, Eisenrich gave in to local pressure and enrolled in Boise State. But he decided to transfer after the 1990-91 season because Boise’s academic standards didn’t meet his own.
“I was looking for a smaller school with high academic standards,” Eisenrich said. “I really liked the integrity, the way academics were viewed at Santa Clara. Academics were really stressed in my house. My mom’s a teacher.”
Eisenrich also made known his interest in Northwestern, but the perennial Big 10 doormats didn’t reciprocate.
Davey eventually came up with a scholarship, but Eisenrich couldn’t accept it until Boise State released him from its own scholarship. The school refused. That meant Eisenrich had to pay his own way during the year he had to sit out during NCAA transfer rules.
“I just think they were a little vindictive,” Eisenrich said. “It was kind of a bizarre situation.”
Eisenrich is on scholarship now. At least he has that in common with the other forwards playing this weekend.
