Hoops
hopes high for Reynolds and 49ers
Matt
Brown/Sports Information
Basketball:
The Long Beach State men's basketball team
will look to rebound from a disappointing
5-22 season a year ago as they infuse young
talent, transfer students and returning
seniors for head coach Larry Reynolds second
season.
By
Karl Peterson
On-line Forty-Niner
Wins
were hard to come by for the 49er men's
basketball team last season, but some new
faces and another year of experience is
what second-year head coach Larry Reynolds
points to as the reason his team should
perform better this year.
Entering
his second year as head coach Reynolds is
expected to revitalize the program that
has had 24 NBA players and 14 All-Americans.
Although
the team lost leading scorer and sharp-shooter
Tony Darden, the 49ers will look to seniors
Kevin Roberts, Antoine Jackson and Marcel
Jackson to lead the team.
Roberts
was the team's most consistent player last
season, averaging 12 points and six rebounds
per game, and will play the power forward
position this year while the two Jackson's
will split time at center.
The
team's biggest weakness last year was at
point guard. Without a primary ball handler
the team was unable to successfully run
Reynolds' motion offense. Freshman Jibril
Hodges was thrown into the fire at point
guard, which is not his natural spot on
the floor. This season the team expects
sophomore Mark Bowens, who missed all of
last season with a left knee injury, and
freshman Kevin Houston to fill the void
at the point.
Bowens,
from Peoria, Ariz., played in only nine
games his freshman year after posting impressive
numbers in high school. Houston, one of
the teams top recruits, averaged 20 points
and nine assists last year while leading
his high school team to a 27-3 record last
year.
Reynolds
said the team should run the court more
this season under the direction of the speedy
point guard combination.
The
Beach was picked to finish near the bottom
of the Big West Conference this season but
Reynolds said he does listen to preseason
predictions saying that nobody predicted
the Florida Marlins to win the World Series
in baseball.
The
Big West will be led by the usual suspects
of UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Utah
State University and it may be another year
before the 49ers are in the upper eschelon
of Big West teams.
"Can
it be done, yeah." Reynolds said of
his teams chances to finish in the top four
conference teams. "Will it be done,
that is another story."
Reynolds
joined the team with high expectations after
successfully rejuvinating the Cal State
San Bernardino program. He said that the
expectations put on him by fans, boosters
and the school are nothing compared to pressure
he puts on himself to run a successful team.
Roberts,
the team captain, is positive about the
upcoming season. He said that the team has
more comradarie because the players have
dropped their egos and come together as
a team. He said the team's goals this year
will be to prove the doubters wrong.
Roberts
added that after the relief of finishing
the miserable 22-loss season last year,
the team was refreshed and went immediately
to the weight room to get ready for this
season.
Among
those who are in better condition are Marcel
Jackson who likely will start at center
and Hodges who added weight to his thin
frame in the off-season.
Among
the other key additions to the 49er squad
are Anthony Coleman a transfer from Xavier
University and Lucian Graham a freshman
from Houston.
Coleman
received numerous accolades as a player
at Centennial High School in Carson while
averaging 12 points, 14 rebounds and three
and a half blocks during his senior. Unhappy
with only receiving a few minutes per game
at Xavier Coleman transferred to Long Beach
State last year and will be eligible to
play Dec. 23.
Graham
was perhaps a recruiting steal for Reynolds
because he played in only a few games his
senior year due to injury. In limited time
Graham averaged 18 points, six assists and
six rebounds.
The
49ers will start the season this Wednesday
at The Pyramid in an exhibition match against
Reynolds' former team Cal State San Bernardino.
The
49ers' preseason schedule is filled with
challenges that will prepare the team for
Big West competition. The Beach plays San
Diego State, Pepperdine University and the
University of Minnesota on the road and
Loyola Marymount and Southern Utah at The
Pyramid before Big West Conference play
begins against conference favorite UC Santa
Barbara at home Jan. 3.
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