COLLEGES:

Where Adam Folker comes from, crashing the boards and hitting the glass are the end result of chasing a puck or finishing a check.

But the 6-foot-8 freshman from Markham, Ontario, Canada is providing a different version of board play for the UC Irvine men’s basketball team.

Folker, whose emergence has helped UCI solve a rebounding problem that plagued the team during its 0-6 start, has started the last six games. And while his per-game average in 13 games this season is a mere 3.1, an astounding 24 of his 40 rebounds this season have come at the offensive end.

“Every time you grab and O-board, you’re just adding another offensive possession, which is huge,� Folker said after Saturday’s convincing 80-63 Big West Conference win at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Folker said he played some hockey growing up and his Canadian heritage is obvious in his pronunciation of out and about (as ohwt and abohwt).

And as far as his penchant for offensive boards, the national anthem is, after all, “Oh, Canada.�

 UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball coach Bob Williams is among those impressed with Folker and fellow UCI freshman Eric Wise, who leads the team in scoring at 13 per game and is second in rebounding with 5.8 per contest.

Williams, during his pregame radio comments before the Gauchos’ 68-61 home win over the ’Eaters Thursday, said that night’s game would feature four of the top five freshmen big men in the conference: Wise, Folker, 7-2 UCSB center Greg Somogyi, a native of Hungary, and James Nunnally, a 6-5 starting forward for the Gauchos.

Williams said Wise, a 6-5, 235-pounder, reminds him of former four-year starter Darren Fells, who completed his eligibility with UCI last season. Fells was listed at 6-7, 255 as a senior.

“He’s a shorter version of Fells, but I’d say Wise is about three Big Macs heavier than Fells,� Williams said. “He’s strong and crafty inside and he’s a legit low post guy in the Big West.�

 The Anteaters (4-11, 2-1 in conference) are tied for second with Pacific and Cal State Northridge. Long Beach State leads the race at 4-0.

UCI plays host to Pacific Thursday at 7 p.m. and UC Davis Saturday at 1 p.m.

The UC Davis game will be televised live on FSN Prime Ticket.

 UCI freshman Joe Eberhard, a former star at Corona del Mar High, is out indefinitely with a sports hernia. Eberhard had three points and three rebounds in four games.

 The UCI men’s volleyball team’s fifth-place showing at the UCSB tournament Friday and Saturday included wins over perennially strong BYU and UCLA.

Carson Clark, a 6-5 freshman opposite, earned all-tournament honors for the Anteaters. Clark, who redshirted last season, had a team-high 19 kills in a tournament-opening loss to Long Beach State Friday. He had four kills against BYU, hitting 1.000 in the process, and collected 13 kills, seven digs and five aces against UCLA.

The all-tournament team also included Scott Slaughter, a 6-7 sophomore middle blocker at UCSB, who starred at Corona del Mar High.

The Anteaters begin Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play Wednesday at UCSB.

Cal State Northridge visits the Bren Events Center Friday at 7 p.m.

 While still stirring the preseason ingredients to what most people believe will be one of the elite teams in the nation, UCI baseball coach Mike Douglass will test his culinary chops against rival collegiate coaches in a friendly cooking challenge Jan. 24 at the ESPN Zone in Anaheim.

Former UCI Coach Dave Serrano (Cal State Fullerton), Chad Kreuter, Gillespie’s son-in-law who succeeded him as coach at USC, and former UCI assistant Jason Gill (Loyola Marymount) are among the coaches set to take part.

Coaches, along with assistance from an on-site chef, will have 75 minutes to prepare specialty dishes that will be presented to a panel of about six community representatives.

The UCI baseball season opens Feb. 20 at Hawaii.

 After a sizzling start for his Kentucky Wesleyan men’s basketball team, former UCI assistant Todd Lee has hit a rough patch in the beginning of Great Lakes Valley Conference play.

Lee’s squad, which opened the season 9-1 and ascended to No. 11 in the NCAA Division II rankings, has lost two straight and is 2-3 in conference. It fell to No. 20 in the rankings last week and is in danger of falling out of the top-25 poll that comes out today.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].