The Guardsman editors Bonta Hill and Aaron Turner will be covering the Rams’ competition in the state basketball championship, held in Fresno, Calif.
(state brackets from http://www.coasports.org)
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By Bontã Hill
Editor
Both men and women’s basketball teams went on the road to play in tournaments over the Dec. 4 weekend.
The women’s basketball competed in the Contra Costa Tournament on Dec. 4-6 and took home a championship by winning all three games with a combined total of 82 points.
Sophomore Monique Calvello and freshman Mone Peoples were selected for the all-tournament team. Freshman Jazmin Holmes took home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award as the record of the state’s No. 2 team moved to 11-0 for the season.
During the preseason, the Rams have taken three tournament championships. Next, they will compete in Santa Rosa Junior College’s invitational tournament on Dec. 11-13. In two weeks, the Rams will be back at home when they host the Golden Gate Classic Dec. 19-21 in the Community Health and Wellness Center.
The men’s team lost to the No. 4 ranked San Joaquin Delta Mustangs in the first game of the 71st Modesto Tournament 86-69. The Rams took out their frustrations in the next two games by smacking Sequoias College 77-60. In the fifth place game, the Rams blew out Chabot College 92-77 to move their record to 9-3 for the season. The Rams’ men’s basketball team will play at the San Jose City College tournament Dec. 11-13.
City College’s Bennie Rhodes goes up for two points in City College’s game against Merritt College. The Rams would go onto win the match 81-64. ANNE-MARIE STARK / GUARDSMAN
By Bontã Hill
Editor
Due to some players missing practice, City Colleges men’s basketball team started the game with a different lineup. The result was a slow start, prompting Rams Head Coach Justin Labagh to call a quick time-out.
Whatever was said, worked. The Rams came out of the time-out and quickly went on a 19-4 run that set the tone for a 81-64 rout over Merritt College.
“We disciplined a couple guys for missing practice,” Labagh said. “We didn’t start our normal guys.”
Bennie Rhodes and Da’Ron Sims set the pace for the Rams’ offense, helping them into halftime with an 18-point lead, leaving Merritt in a daze. The Rams kept offensive rebounds from Merritt, allowing Rams to do what they like to do most: Get up and down the court.
“Early on, our defensive rebounding was suspect, but we made some minor adjustments,” Labagh said.
For the second game in a row, the Rams let up in the second half after gaining a big lead. The Rams got a little sloppy in the second half, eventually allowing Merrit to lead, cutting a 20-point deficit to 11, with a little more than six minutes left in the game.
“We’ve got to make it a priority to finish,” said Labagh. “It was a good win, but we got to play for the entire 40 minutes.”
Sims took it positively, knowing the season is still young. “It was a good learning experience, and in the long run it’s going to help us,” said Sims.
Despite having a brutal schedule, the Rams, ranked sixth in the state, moved their record up to 7-2 for the season.
By Bonta Hill and Nick Squires
Editor and Staff Writer
Justin Labagh, reigning California Coach of the year, has no expectations for the new season. With 10 new players, one sophomore transfer, and only two returning players, Labagh hopes his team will be considered the underdogs, which is almost impossible after winning the Coast Conference four seasons in a row.
The Rams will have to replace Roburt Sallie, named 2007 California Player of the Year, who moved on to play for the University of Memphis in Tennessee, and 1st team All-State member Justin Brownlee. Both players combined to average over 32 points, 14 rebounds, 9 assists, and 4 steals per game.
Playing a successful season won’t be an easy task, but Labagh likes what he has this year. “I expect them to work hard as hell,” Labagh said. “[It is the] first time since our first year coaching [at City College] that nobody knows what’s going to happen. [But] I like this year’s team. They would have given our team last year trouble.”
What we do know so far is that the new team is deeper than last year’s. This year, Labagh says he is planning to have a rotation of 10 players, instead of a rotation of only seven players, which was the case last season.
After an off-season which saw the Rams working out twice a day in two 8-week stints with another 6-week stint in the weight room, the team will continue to play at the high-octane pace it’s accustomed to.
“The post players play well together, we mesh pretty good,” sophomore point guard Andre Davenport said. “We can put any guy in any position.”
Labagh credits returning center, sophomore Milos Nikolic, for a great off-season and noted that Nikalov almost lived in the weight room.
Forward Deron Sims is looked upon to become the glue and leader for the Rams.
“Milos Nikolic had an unbelievable off-season, I like where he’s at,” said Labagh. “We’re going to look for Sims to be our leader, to anchor our defense.”
The Rams are facing the toughest schedule in Northern California. Most opposing teams will be feasting on their inexperience. Still, there is a quiet confidence they will be able to go as far as last season and go even further than the elite eight teams.
“At this level there’s going to be inexperience every year, which is going to be a factor,” Labagh said. “No one has a tougher schedule in northern California than us. But we’re going for it.”
Right away these Rams will be put to the test in this weekend’s Marines.com Tip-Off Classic, which will be hosted in the Community Health and Wellness Center on Nov. 7-9.
“As long as we play together and don’t get selfish, we should be straight,” Sims said. “We know we can score, but defense is going to win us a championship.”
“At the end of the day it’s just basketball and we’ve been playing for a longtime,” Davenport said. “I’ve been to the state tournament, and I’ve gotta get back there. I know what it takes to get past that.”
By Nick Squires and Bonta Hill
Staff Writer and Editor
City College women’s basketball team is ready for another spectacular season. With players who are determined to capitalize on last season’s record and return to the State Playoffs, the team is stronger, faster and focused on winning.
“Every year we have expectations,” Head Coach Jamie Wong said. “Setting the goal this year was simple…come in first place and win our Conference championship.”
The team has been working hard during the off-season, developing their speed by training on the track, building up strength in the weight room and increasing their skill and confidence in tournaments over the summer.
“Our post players are in much better shape than in years past. They are returning sophomores who worked hard during our off-season and now run the floor well and are extremely physically strong. This will play perfectly with the up-tempo style that we like to teach [at City College]. It isn’t a philosophy, it’s a prerequisite,” Wong said.
With the loss of assistant coaches Marissa Evans-Ling and Duane Bell, the program has gone through other important changes in the off-season. Even with the coaching staff cut in half, the team appears stronger than ever.
“We still have two powerhouse coaches with Derek [Lau] and Jaime, and we feel confident,” forward Monique Calvello said. “Having two coaches puts more pressure on players to pick things up quicker than they did last year. We’re a lot smarter.”
With many new players, the cooperation shown by the team in off-season practices energizes the team’s outlook on the upcoming season. Within the team made up of returning sophomores and freshmen, Wong expects sophomore forward Mary Afuhaamango, sophomore guard Stephanie Truong, and freshman guard Jazmine Holmes to assume leadership roles.
“Stepping out of high school, many of these young women are used to scoring most of their team’s points,” Wong said of the new freshman. “Now, they are on a team with a diverse set of talented players working together to be successful.”
With a record of 26-8, 2007 was one of the most successful seasons in school history, even though it ended in disappointment after losing in the first round of the state championships. Now, with a new crop of talent and experienced post players, the Rams are expecting to make this season their best yet.
“As always, expectations are always high with our sophomores because they know what to expect with 30 plus games under their belt. However, I am also very optimistic about our new talent and their ability to contribute to the team’s success right away,” said Wong.
As their opener in the Pasadena Tournament on Nov. 7 draws nearer, the motivation of the team appears to to centered on a common goal: “We’re not going to get to the very end and come up short,” sophomore guard Stephanie Truong said. “My personal expectation? To win.”
