By most estimates, the Cal Lutheran men's basketball team would appear to be ahead of schedule. If anything, that's even more true of Andrew Meier and Kyle Knudsen.

But on the inside, the CLU men simply believe they're on schedule, and the blossoming of those two freshman starters is a big reason.

Meier, who leads CLU with 13.3 points per game, and Knudsen, who leads in 3-point baskets and averages 9.4 points per game, have made a rapid adjustment to the college game, and fit neatly into a team predicated on balance to an unusual, and unusually successful, degree.

Starting five underclassmen, with no dominant offensive force, CLU is 16-5, 9-1 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Conference entering Wednesday's game at second-place Occidental.

"The whole SCIAC, there's a 25-point leading scorer," says Meier, a 6-foot-6 forward from Parker, Colo. "On our team, we don't have anybody. I have, what, 13 a game? Everyone else is at nine, eight, seven, and Zach (Miller) is at 12.

"We don't have a premium scorer, and that really helps us out."

Meier exaggerates a bit — only Redlands' Amir Mazarei is averaging more than 20 points per game — but it is true Meier is just 12th in conference scoring, and every team but La Verne has one or more players ahead of him.

"I think you don't know who's going to step up on a given night," says CLU coach Rich Rider, "so if you're an opposing team, you don't know what to do. … It gives you an advantage. You can take advantage of who's hot on a given night."

Knudsen would be a perfect example of that. On a team where eight players have had at least one night as the leading scorer, the 6-foot-3 guard from Tualatin, Ore., has done it three times, most notably with a 25-point night in a 68-66 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Jan. 24. In that game, he had as many 3-pointers (seven) as the Pomona team.

"Kyle's as good a shooter as there is in our conference," says Rider. "You don't mind him shooting anywhere at any time."

That he's now willing to display that shot — far more than he was earlier in the year — is a good indication of the adjustment process faced by a player making the jump from high school to college.

"The guys on the team and the coaches knew I was a shooter," Knudsen says, recalling the early season, "and when I wouldn't take a shot, they'd yell at me to shoot it. … I'd hesitate."

But after a 15-point game in December against the Milwaukee School of Engineering — the first time Knudsen led the team in scoring — Rider specifically told him he needed to shoot more.

"Once he did that," Knudsen says, "and I had the coach's confidence, and they're telling me to do something I know I can do, I came out and started playing more aggressive. And it's just gradually gotten better. … Knowing the team has confidence in you, it's a lot easier to up shots."

While Knudsen's adjustment was gradual, Meier says there was a specific moment when he knew he'd become comfortable. Even though he led CLU in scoring and rebounds in his collegiate debut, that moment was a while in coming.

"At the beginning, there were a lot of freshman mistakes," he says. "I had a lot of turnovers, lost the ball on rebounds, lost my man (defensively)."

But that changed with CLU's final non-conference game, a 71-66 win over Messiah on Jan. 3.

"The team just came out and played hard," says Meier. "We played good defense, and had a stretch of good practices for about a week during the winter break. And after that, I knew. I was really comfortable."

Rider knew each player would need time to reach that point.

"It's a huge adjustment from high school," he says. "So it does take time. I don't care how much you practice, you've got to play the games. You have to be put to the test, time and time again, so you have a clear definition of what it takes to play college basketball."

Both players also had to find their place on the squad among their older teammates. Even though CLU is hardly overloaded with veterans — there are just two seniors on the 13-man roster — there's still a feeling-out process that has to take place.

"At the beginning, I was worried about it," says Knudsen, "taking too many shots or trying to do too much as a freshman. But right now, it's kind of what we need. We need everyone to do their thing and come together as a team. We've been doing that, and we've been doing it real well."

Says Meier, "It's different for each guy. I've just been who I have been; just my personality brings a leadership role to this team."

On this team, at least, that works just fine.

"Our young guys have had to go to school quickly," says Rider. "It's been on-the-job training at times, but they've stepped up nicely.

"I think it speaks well to their character where we are, fighting for a conference title with this much youth."

— David Lassen, who also writes a blog for The Star's Web site, can be reached at dlassen@VenturaCountyStar.com.