11/6/09: Men’s basketball enters the season rated No.7 in south
The men’s basketball team had a tremendous run in the state tournament in 2008-09, making it all the way to the finals before falling in overtime to Riverside College and finishing second in the state. The Gauchos return a handful of players from the runner-up team and enter the season at No. 7 in the coach’s poll.
 Saddleback lost a couple of key components from last year’s team but appears to have reloaded quite nicely. With top scorers Kevin Menner and Franklin Session off to four-year programs, the Gauchos have added size and strength inside and appear to have a team with a completely different personality. Rather than playing the cutting and slashing style that Saddleback fans became accustomed to in 2008-09, the Gauchos will likely have one of the biggest lineups in the state with the addition of three more 6-foot-9 players to go along with returning big man Sarunas Jackson.
Robert Curtis, Wendell Faines and Vincent Hatter-Roland along with Jackson will give the Gauchos a major size advantage inside on most teams they play and with five guards returning to the program, Saddleback appears versatile enough to play any style of basketball.
The Gauchos enter the season at No. 7 in the south and No. 13 in the state in the Coach’s Poll, which came out on Sunday. Riverside, the team that defeated the Gauchos in the state title game, opens the season at No. 5 in the south and No. 10 in the state to open the season. Fresno City College opens the season as the top-rated team in the state while Citrus College comes in at No. 2 in the state and No. 1 in the south.
Saddleback opens the regular season on November 18 when they travel to Fullerton College four a four-day tournament against some of the top talent in the state.
A brief look at the rankings from the Coach’s Poll:
Southern California Rankings
1) Citrus
2) Mt. San Jacinto
3) San Bernadino Valley
4) Antelope Valley
5) Riverside
6) LA Trade Tech
7) Saddleback
8) Bakersfield
9) Mt. San Antonio
10) Ventura
Brummel Classic pairings announced
The 2009 Brummel Classic is set in stone and the opening round games have been decided. The Gauchos will open against Long Beach City College in a tournament that features two other Orange Empire Conference foes and three teams that were rated in the top-25 in the state last season.
 Saddleback will look to defend its Brummel Classic crown after taking the title in 2008 when they defeated Schoolcraft College (MI), San Bernadino Valley College and Mt. San Jacinto College. If they are going to defend, however, they will need to beat some solid programs along the way.
“It is a very balanced tournament this season, with some of the top programs in the state,” Saddleback head coach Andy Ground said. “It should send us into the holidays with a good idea of where we stand as a team.”
The Gauchos will open up against a Long Beach City program that finished 15-14 in 2008-09 and has a new head coach in Barry Barnes. If successful on the opening day, Saddleback would face the winner of the Santa Monica College/Cypress College matchup in the semifinals.
The other bracket pits OEC rival Irvine Valley College versus Los Angeles Trade Tech in the opening game of the tournament to be followed by Miramar College versus San Bernadino Valley in the other quarterfinal. Miramar finished 23-7 in 2008-09 and was rated No. 24 in the final state RPI rankings while San Bernadino was rated No. 9, finishing 25-8.
The 2009 Brummel Classic gets underway on Thursday, December 17, with Irvine Valley tipping off against LA Trade Tech at 1:00 PM. The Gauchos will play the last quarterfinal game of the day at 7:00 PM.
Archives:
2008 News
2007 News
|
Accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Community and Junior Colleges, of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
