Titans' Ward Does Best When He's Up to Speed : Basketball: Junior center can be an offensive force. But when fatigue sets in, he has sometimes done a disappearing act.

By MIKE DiGIOVANNA

March 8, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

FULLERTON — The jersey numbered 33 is appropriate for Agee Ward. As life moves along at its 45-r.p.m. pace, the Cal State Fullerton forward seems content to live it at 33.

Maybe it’s his leisurely gait or those droopy eyelids, which make him look as if he just woke up, but Ward, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior, never seems to be in a hurry. Some prefer life in the fast lane, and others like the slow; Ward takes surface streets.

“He’s just an easygoing, big teddy bear,” Titan Coach John Sneed said. “The way he walks across the court is the way he walks across campus. He’s slow-moving Agee.”

With 1 minute 27 seconds remaining in Fullerton’s 104-83 loss to Nevada Las Vegas on Saturday, Sneed took an exhausted Ward out of the game. As he sauntered toward the bench, Fullerton radio commentator Kent Briggs said, “He might make it there by the final buzzer.”

Ward says he isn’t totally aware of the image.

“It’s just my body language,” he said. “I try to be mellow, but I can’t really explain it, because I can’t see myself. It’s just what I do.”

There’s nothing wrong with being laid-back, but Ward runs into problems when he sometimes plays basketball--a game that often demands a frenetic effort--at his slower pace.

Ward has had several outstanding games this season, including a 26-point, 15-rebound effort in a victory over New Mexico State; 25 points and 12 rebounds in a victory over Butler; 14 points and 12 rebounds in a victory over UC Santa Barbara, and 16 points and 15 rebounds in a loss to New Mexico State.

When Ward is on, he can lift his short, turn-around, baseline jumpers over bigger players, out-jump others to convert offensive rebounds into baskets and play tenacious defense.

But some nights, Ward, a Los Angeles Washington High School graduate who used to play summer ball on a team called the Watts Magicians, has done a disappearing act.

Seven points and eight rebounds in a loss to San Jose State come to mind. So do six points and two rebounds in a loss to Santa Barbara and six points and eight rebounds in a loss to Cal State Long Beach.

Even on his good nights, the son of Gary Ward, who played for the Detroit Tigers last season, has gone through nonproductive stretches.

Every player has his hot and cold streaks, but Ward’s are more noticeable because he usually takes them to the extremes: He’s either very good or, well, not very good. Seldom is he in between.

“I guess I’ve hit some dead spots,” said Ward, who will be in the starting lineup when Titans play Pacific in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament at 1 p.m. today in the Long Beach Arena.

“During the course of the season, basketball takes its toll. Sometimes I catch myself pacing myself during a game, and I try to get out of that mode and to the next level. But it’s hard when fatigue sets in.”

Fatigue is the root of almost all of Ward’s shortcomings. He simply doesn’t have the stamina other players have. It’s not that he’s out of shape--Sneed says Ward works as hard as anyone in conditioning drills--but what’s fit for Ward might not be fit for others.

“A doctor described it as having a low body tolerance level,” said Ward, who averages 12.6 points and 8.1 rebounds and is shooting 52% from the field. “When I get to a certain level, my system breaks down. And when I get tired, I feel it in the thighs, and I’m not able to jump as high.”

Compounding the problem is the fact that Fullerton (14-13) has virtually no front-court depth, and Ward has had to play a lot more minutes than Sneed would like.

When center Aaron Wilhite injured his knee, and reserve center Ron Caldwell was suspended from the team in mid-January, Ward moved to center and played 35 minutes or more in four consecutive games. He has averaged 27 minutes this season.

Too often, Ward has had to play tired, and his performance has suffered.

“Knowing the prolonged minutes he has to go, there’s a tendency to pace yourself,” Sneed said. “Agee tries, but I don’t think he’ll ever be first in the sprints or the long-distance runs. But it’s all about effort and how close you can get to your full potential.”

There have been times this season when Ward has played to his potential, but those moments have served to increase expectations among Titan followers. When they see what Ward can do, they want more. When Ward has an off night, they get frustrated.

“People tend to see only his big games, but he can’t do that all the time,” Sneed said. “He runs in cycles, just as all players do. Agee is not that athletic up and down the floor, and when he gets caught in a running game, he gets fatigued. Most of his big games have come out of half-court situations.”

Ward begins to drag, both mentally and physically, during those trying, tiring times, but when he’s feeling strong and playing well, he doesn’t even think about the fatigue factor.

“It’s like being unconscious, like a natural high,” Ward said. “You don’t know what you’ve accomplished until after the fact. I’ll be so wrapped up in the game, I don’t know how much energy I used until after the game or the next day. Then I’ll feel kind of drained, and I’ll have to give my body a chance to recover.”

If the Titans, who split two games against Pacific, win today, there will be no rest for the weary. They’ll play again Saturday night and, if they somehow reach the championship game, they’ll play again Sunday afternoon.

Three games in three days would be a formidable task for a team that, because of suspensions, must use a seven-man rotation that includes only three legitimate front-court players: Ward, Wilhite and reserve Kevin Ahsmuhs.

“There’s not much you can do about that,” Ward said. “We’ve just got to keep motivated and keep the spirit. We haven’t had anything to lose since the start of the season, when we were picked to finish last, and we don’t have anything to lose now. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people in the tournament.”