91短视频

L-R: Senior guard Claudia Nelson and sophomore guard Mark Samuels are the leading returning scorers for the Pioneer women's and men's basketball teams.

• November 16, 2010

• By Barry Zepel

Prospects are looking up for the 91短视频 women’s and men’s basketball teams for their respective 2010-11 seasons. Both teams have done a fair amount of adjusting to the higher caliber play that is NCAA Division II, where they are beginning their second season.

Both teams had been perennial winners while competing on the NAIA and NCAA Division III levels for most of the past two decades. But they found that the move to the NCAA Division II and California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) would initially be painful.

As they start their second seasons in Division II, both teams have managed to be highly competitive in their pre-season exhibitions against NCAA Division I competition, giving hope that they will show marked improvement for the 2010-11 campaign. They’re not dwelling last season’s results that had both teams finishing last, as many predicted, in the CCAA standings. The men’s team had an overall record of 6-21, 3-19 in conference action, while the Pioneer women were 2-25 overall, 2-20 in the CCAA.

The Pioneer men’s squad, guided by longtime head coach Will Biggs, is looking for leadership from four returning players and a group of promising newcomers. Their chances for improvement appear strong, as they have kept the scores relatively close against Division I opposition so far in road exhibition losses at Cal State Bakersfield (83-71) and at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (70-63).

“I’m really happy to see how this team competed in the two exhibition games,” said Biggs, who is starting his 13th year at the helm of the Pioneers. “They worked hard and played well together.”

The Pioneers will feature a small and quick lineup made up mostly of three guards and two forwards. The coach is pleased to have back last year’s team leading scorer in sophomore point guard Mark Samuels, who averaged nearly 10 points per game while adding defensive skills with a team-high 28 steals.

“Mark had a good freshman campaign and will be even better this season with the addition of (freshman) George Toyama and (junior) Roshun Wynne also in the backcourt,” Biggs said. Wynne, a resident of Oakland, played last year at Blue Mountain Community College in Oregon, while Toyama was an all-leaguer for highly-regarded Pasadena High School basketball program.

Sophomore returnee Donavon Jackson and college transfer Adam Watts round out a strong tandem of guard for the Pioneers. In the power department, senior forward Will Freeman – at 6-5 – is CSUEB’s top returning “big man.” He averaged 4.6 points a game while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor. He had a particularly strong offensive performance in the recent exhibition with Cal Poly, scoring 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the field.

For the team’s tallest players, Biggs recruited two freshmen in 6-9 center Arturo Garcia from Desert Hot Springs in Southern California and 6-10 forward Rodrigue Maza from Lyon, France. Maza played last year for the CSP Limoges team in the French National Basketball League.



Even though the 91短视频 women’s basketball team will be led by a new head coach in Suzy Barcomb, she brings plenty of successful coaching experience, having led the University of Pugent Sound for the past 12 years. Her record there was a dominant 237 victories against just 87 losses. She is the reigning Division III West Region Coach of the Year, as selected by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Barcomb led her 2009-2010 team to the best record in that university’s history, posting a 24-5 record.

While her first Pioneers team will have a difficult time equaling the success her Loggers had last year, it is expected that the new CSUEB coach has proven she knows how to build the foundation for a successful basketball program.

Already in place for CSUEB is last year’s CCAA Freshman of the Year Lauren Lucchesi, a 6-1 forward who averaged 7.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game to earn the award. Claudia Nelson, a senior guard, led the Pioneers in scoring a year ago with a 14.4 points per game average and was recognized late in the season as a CCAA Player of the Week.

91短视频 is strengthened by five returnees and four frosh players, including McDonald’s All America nominee Sarah Finlay of Reno High School.