Strong leadership from returning players and fruitful recruiting classes have the men’s and the women’s basketball teams looking to hang conference championship banners this year.
Both teams are coming off disappointing seasons in which they fell short of their goals.
The men finished 10th in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, grabbing only five conference victories and the women didn’t get invited to the NCAA Division-II tournament for the first time in six years after only earning the fifth spot in the CCAA.
Men’s head coach Greg Clink and women’s head coach Brian Fogel, both in their second year in their positions, have gained some experience and expect their teams to perform at a higher caliber than last year.
Clink’s first year as head coach proved to be more than he expected after being away from the CCAA for five years.
“Being re-introduced to how deep you need to be to be successful in this league was a learning experience,” Clink said. “Being able to compete on Friday and Saturday nights is something that obviously we didn’t have last year.”
To make things worse, last year’s leading scorer and starting center Andy Bocian graduated, taking his 19.6 points per game and formidable inside presence with him and leaving a glaring hole in the front court.
Clink is trying to fill that hole with a recruiting class that includes three men who are over 6 feet 7 inches, Including the 7-foot freshman and former McDonald’s All-American candidate Jason Conrad.
Conrad is still getting used to his position, but looks to have a major impact on defense and help on the boards this year, Clink said.
Brian Seals, a Division-I transfer from Fresno State, who measures 6 feet 8 inches, and Terrence Pellum, who measures 6 feet 7 inches, give the Wildcats the size they lacked last season.
But the fate of the men’s season may rest on the shoulders of junior guard Zach Graves.
“Zach is so important to the team,” Clink said. “He’s a guy that works extremely hard all year round and we expect him to have really big year.”
Graves came on strong at the end of last season and has moved into a leadership role for the Wildcats.
“Coach wants me to be a leader, so that’s what I want to be,” Graves said.
Going from 10th in the conference to contending for the CCAA championship is a big stretch, but Graves is undaunted by the task.
While a conference championship is the first goal for Graves, a national championship isn’t too far-fetched.
“We beat Pomona and they lost in the championship game last year, so why can’t we do it?” Graves said.
Clink has brought an overall toughness to the team that has everyone believing in each other, Graves said.
“Guys are willing to put their bodies on the line and do anything to win basketball games,” he said.
Though Graves has set his sights on a national championship, Clink is far more hesitant to make that leap.
“I’m not at the point where I would put an expectation in terms of wins and losses but I expect to be competitive,” Clink said. “We are a lot more talented, I believe, but extremely young and inexperienced.”
Outside shooting specialist Jon Baird is back for the Wildcats after a two-year absence that stemmed from academic problems and will add some much-needed outside accuracy as well as senior leadership.
This team is more athletic and talented and, just as importantly, the team has a better sense of unity, Baird said.
Returning impact players such as senior Nick Lonnegren, defensive specialist Joshua Jackson and last season’s leading rebounder Roderick Hawkins will round out a much improved men’s team.
In his second year, Fogel, head coach of the women’s team, faced the same dilemmas as Clink. Fogel needed size and strength in the paint and an upperclassman to take on a leadership role.
All-CCAA selection from last season Natasha Smith has stepped up as a leader on the team and is an integral part of the three-guard system that Fogel plans to implement this year.
Smith is coming off a season where she led the team in points, steals and assists. But this season she will be moving to the wing to better emphasize her ability to score.
In addition to being the statistical leader on the team, Smith has naturally progressed into the vocal leader, as well, Fogel said.
“Her effort on the court is an inspiration to the other players,” he said. “She works so hard and that becomes contagious.”
Being a team leader isn’t something Smith has shied away from.
“My personal goal is to be a verbal leader and pick people up,” Smith said.
Much like Graves, Smith has her sights on not only the conference championship but also on going deep into the national tournament.
“We feel like we let everyone down last year and we let ourselves down and we don’t want the same thing,” Smith said. “We want to bring back the name of Chico State being a winning team and I think we can go really far on the national level.”
Speedy transfer point guard Quanisha Turner and sophomore Synchro Bull will join Smith to push the ball and create problems for challenging defenses, Fogel said.
In his first recruiting class as head coach, Fogel addressed the lack of size and brought in 6-foot- 2 inch Pauline Ferrall. He is a Division-I transfer from Eastern Washington University.
Senior forward Christine Vest has welcomed Ferrall to the front court.
“Pauline adds height and strength and that will help the defense,” Vest said. “Everything you want a tall girl to do, she does.”
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