2007-2008 OUTLOOK MEN'S BASKETBALL
By Jim Richards
“This should be the best team that South’s ever had,” said Cougars coach Dan Nichols, entering his seventh season as head coach at SMCC. “I really believe we have a chance to take it all the way.”
A year ago, the inexperienced Cougars surprised just about everyone when they captured the ACCAC Division II regular-season title with a 14-8 record, four games better than Phoenix College, which had risen as high as No.5 in the national rankings at one point during the season.
The season was a joy for the Cougars until the final 6 ½ minutes of the ACCAC playoff title game when they let an 11-point lead slip away into a 55-54 Phoenix College victory that sent the Bears to nationals.
“Obviously, we were disappointed at the way it ended,” Nichols said.
But this is the season the Cougars are supposed to be a hot commodity in the ACCAC. In the conference’s pre-season coaches poll, the Cougars received the only first-place vote of the seven DII teams in the ACCAC. DI schools Arizona Western received eight first-place votes and Eastern Arizona three.
“We’re hoping to take it beyond where we went last year,” Nichols said. “We brought back the major core of players. I think we added a couple of transfers that will really help us.”
Led by the 2006-07 leading scorer David Cuen (11.2 points per game), SMCC returns six players off last season’s roster. Nichols said Cuen and B.J. Dotson will likely start at forward while transfer Tyrone Kelley and Freddie Franco could make up the “best guard tandem in the conference” in Nichols’ words.
“We should have a nine-man nucleus,” said Nichols, who added that Chris Rizzo, Mike Johnson and Tre Golston would also receive heavy playing minutes.
“All the guys have improved their skill level a little bit,” Nichols said. “I think they’re all going to step up.”
Nichols liked what he saw of his team in last week’s 2007 ACCAC Jamboree at Scottsdale Community College, featuring each of the conference’s teams. The Cougars defeated Yavapai and Glendale in their two games.
“I thought the sophomore played really well,” Nichols said. “They just got out and did their things. They were pretty impressive.”
Fans can get their next look at the Cougars when they’ll scrimmage host Luke Air Force Base on Tuesday Oct.16. They’ll open the season November 7th against Grand Canyon University JV and conference play against Glendale on November 28th.
Nichols expects Phoenix College (last year’s division champ) and Scottsdale Community College to be the Cougars’ stiffest competition.
NOTE: the Cougars will conduct a basketball clinic in early November; check back for details.
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