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2008 Boys/Girls Basketball Camp

July 14 - 16, 2008
Grades: 5-12, no experience necessary
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(Camp will be limited to 40 participants, each session. Sign up early)

2007-08 Basketball Outlook

By Jim Richards
September 10, 2007

A year ago, a very youthful South Mountain men’s basketball team came within one game of reaching the NJCAA national tournament, matching the closest the team has gotten to the Big Dance in school history.

They’re back. They’re a year older. They’re a year more experienced.

How good might they be?

“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.”

Resources 


Contact Information 

Dan Nichols
Head Coach
602.243.8243

Daven Vo
Assistant Coach
405.326.9709

Corey Wallace
Assistant Coach
480.797.6233


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.

SMCC Athletics News

April 21, 2008
Kelly, Cuen Fuel Arizona All-Starts Upset

Basketball Update

By Jim Richards

Tyrone Kelley and Dave Cuen were both instrumental in getting SMCC to its first NJCAA national tournament this season and they went out in the same manner.

Kelley scored nine points and Cuen had eight with seven rebounds in the Arizona All-Stars’ 101-97 upset victory over the NJCAA Division I All-Stars in the NJCAA National Men’s Basketball All-Star Game at Scottsdale Community College Sunday afternoon. More Moore

#7 In The Nation

Congratulations, Cougars!

#7 Team in the Nation, 2007/2008

March 9, 2008

Cougars to Nationals

2008 Region I Champs

As the only Division II team with a winning record in the ACCAC, the South Mountain Community College men's basketball team figured to capture the NJCAA Region I Division II Tournament.

Behind 34 points from Tyrone Kelley, 17 from B.J. Dotson and some clutch shooting out of freshman Chris Rizzo, the Cougars pulled out a tense 81-75 overtime victory over visiting Phoenix College in overtime. More Moore

March 1, 2008
Basketball Update

By Jim Richards

The top prize is still out there, but the awards keep coming in for the SMCC men's basketball team.
 
One week before they'll will play for the right to go to the NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship Tournament, three Cougars were honored this week by the ACCAC.
 
In awards selected by the coaches of the ACCAC, head coach Dan Nichols picked up the ACCAC's Coach of the Year award while SMCC forward Dave Cuen was named to the conference's 1st Team and guard Tyrone Kelly to the 2nd team. 

Nichols, in his sixth season at SMCC, guided the Cougars to a 16-6 conference record that was good for third place in the overall standings and a convincing eight-game bulge over Phoenix College in the ACCAC Div.II race. The Cougars also maxed out at No.8 in the NJCAA Div.II rankings.  More Moore

February 22, 2008
SMCC Men's Basketball update
Kelley wins again

By Jim Richards

Good things happen to good people and good awards to go good players.

SMCC guard Tyrone Kelley notched his second ACCAC Div.II Player of the Week Award (for the week of Feb.17) after a magnificent week that included a career-high 41-point performance in a triple-overtime victory over Cochise College.

With his ability to get the foul line at crunch time --something he's done over and over again this season in helping the D-II Cougars (20-7, 14-5) to third place in the D-I dominated ACCAC--Kelley hit an astounding 26 of 30 foul shots in the amazing 119-114 win over Cochise, and nearly single-handedly kept the Cougars in the game before fouling out late in the third overtime. More Moore

Jan 11, 2008
Basketball Update

By Jim Richards

SMCC lowered the boom on host Yavapai College Wednesday night, showing the Prescott area what the No.9 team in the nation looks like in a convincing 71-54 victory.

The Cougars led only 30-28 at the half, but broke open the game with a suffocating defense and some strong outside shooting with a couple of hot hands off the bench.

Chris Rizzo came off the bench to hit both 3-point attempts as did Tim Williams. SMCC coach Dan Nichols is hoping the strong outside shooting continues in Saturday night’s key ACCAC meeting with Division I No.20 Eastern Arizona (6-0 ACCAC), in a game that could determine SMCC’s overall conference title hopes. More Moore

Jan 3, 2008
South Wins Tourney

By Jim Richards

Behind Tyrone Kelley’s clutch free-throw shooting, Roy Prieto’s hot hand from the outside and an explosive offense overall, the SMCC men’s basketball team captured the Scottsdale Community College/Day’s Inn Classic for the second consecutive year.

The No.11-ranked Cougars defeated perennial powers Eastern Utah, Monroe (NY) College and Snow (Utah) College in an exciting finale to capture the tournament, their last tournament until what will likely be a trip to the NJCAA Region I Division II tournament and, hopefully, a trip to the NJCAA Men’s Division II Basketball Championship Tournament in Danville, Ill.

“Anytime you’re beating those teams it’s good because they are good programs and (their players) are taught well,” SMCC coach Dan Nichols said. More Moore

For previous stories, go to Sports New!

 
 

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South Mountain Community College

7050 South 24th Street - Phoenix, Arizona 85042

Phone: 602.243.8000 Fax: 602.243.8329 TDD: 602.245.5727


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