By Jim Richards
SMCC men’s basketball coach Dan Nichols received a bit of a pep talk from an ACCAC coaching legend recently and he may now have even more motivation to storm through the ACCAC schedule.
Former Mesa CC coaching great and NJCAA Hall of Famer Tom Bennett told Nichols that it had been years since he’s seen a Maricopa County school win the ACCAC.
“It hasn’t been done in a long time,” Nichols said. “ If any year we could do it it will be this year mainly because we have the starch around the basket.”
With an experienced team full of sophomores and significant defense and rebounding ability, Nichols’ 2007-08 Cougars might remind a long-time fan of the ACCAC of former dominant teams like Northland Pioneer, Arizona Western and Eastern Arizona, teams that have had their share of success in capturing the ACCAC titles.
SMCC, which is playing at Div.II, will be tested this coming Wednesday at home when Arizona Western comes to SMCC. The Cougars will first host defending Region I Div.II champion and No.13-ranked Phoenix College, which has nearly a completely new team from last year’s club and was also stung by previously winless Chandler-Gilbert Wednesday night.
SMCC moved to 3-0 on the ACCAC season with Wednesday’s 79-55 at Scottsdale CC. Nichols has been impressed by the Cougars’ defense, but would like to see more of a complete game out of his club.
“We’re just having converting easy shots,” Nichols said. “ If we hit those, we could be really good.”
Nichols applauded the play of sophomore point guard Fred Franco, who came to Phoenix by way of Roswell, New Mexico, an area full of UFO believers and supporters.
“He was in town in Phoenix and he sent out some tapes,” Nichols said. “He was playing in some recreation game he was playing against some ‘old geezers.’
“Despite the tape, I thought the guy was pretty good.”
Franco leads SMCC with 6.1 assists per game.
“He’s been really steady in what he’s been doing,” Nichols said. “He’s understanding what we need to do. He’s provided some pretty good leadership. He’s doing a good job of distributing the ball and finding the right people.”
Saturday’s home meeting with Phoenix College will be the first between the two teams that played in last season’s Region I Div.II title game at SMCC.
“I think that if we play with energy, we’ll win,” Nichols said.