Pierce Is Expelling Problem of the Past

Before the 1984-85 basketball season, Bill Hughes, then the coach at Pierce College, was recruiting in the city but having trouble getting players to the Woodland Hills campus. When he did get players to the school, they apparently didn’t go to class.

Six Pierce players, five of them starters, were lost to academic ineligibility last season. The team finished with a 2-18 conference record. The two wins were by forfeit.

The season was not typical for Pierce, which had won two consecutive Metropolitan Conference championships before last season. This year, new coach Larry Lessett believes Pierce has seen the last of the losing record--and the academic ailments.

“Last year’s problems were last year’s problems,” Lessett said. “They don’t pertain to us. We have a good group of competitive players this season.

“Also, these guys are going to class.”

Lessett, a former assistant coach at Loyola-Marymount, said Hughes was a victim of circumstances. Hughes returned to coaching high school after last season.

“Coach Hughes was a good coach,” he said. “I think that if Hughes had stayed on here, he would have been very successful.”

Lessett’s hope for his own success is based on the arrival of new players, such as freshmen Tony Goodall and Cedric Purry.

Goodall, a 6-6 forward, was the MVP at El Camino Real last season. Purry is a 6-6 center/forward from Long Beach Poly.

“Cedric Purry will be as good as any junior college player in California,” Lessett said. “He’s about as good a basketball player as you’re going to get on this level.”

Another freshman, forward Tony Thomas, led Fairfax into the City playoffs last season.

Lessett believes freshman guard Kent Young should strengthen the Pierce back court. Young was the MVP for Hawthorne last season.

Lessett’s outlook: “We’ll be very competitive. There’s not a team, on paper, that intimidates me. We’ll be in every game down to the wire.”

His words were prophetic. In its first game of the season Tuesday night, Pierce held off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Biola University JV, winning at home, 69-67.

VALLEY COLLEGE

Coach Virgil Watson is heading into his first season with the Monarchs, replacing Bob Castagna, who is now an assistant coach at Fresno State. Watson has a relatively young and inexperienced squad this season with just three players returning.

Missing will be Larry Middleton, the all-everything guard who led the state in scoring last season. He is now playing for Clemson University.

The three returning Monarchs are the only players with college experience.

In spite of the team’s lack of seasoning, Watson is optimistic.

“We’re a lot taller than we were last season,” he said. “We’ll be climbing, not walking, toward the State Tournament. We have good quickness. Not great, but good. We will rely on the fast break and attack with the motion offense.”

Picked to lead the attack is Mario Lopez, a sophomore forward from Notre Dame.

“Mario is very aggressive and has great athletic ability,” he said. “He’s being recruited by a lot of major universities.”

Lopez (6-7, 185) played only half the time last season, averaging seven points and seven rebounds a game. He will be joined by Erik Harden and Fred Lewis. Harden, a 6-0 freshman from Inglewood, and Lewis, a 6-4 sophomore from Taft, will comprise the Monarchs’ starting lineup along with Lopez and Gary Goodrich.

“We are sort of in the middle,” Watson said. “We’re not great and we’re not bad. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, we should be right up there.”

The Monarchs were 5-5 in the Mountain Valley Conference and 15-11 overall last season.

MOORPARK COLLEGE

The Raiders, who compiled a 21-10 record last season, are hoping for a repeat trip to the state tournament. Moorpark finished second in the Western State Conference before dropping a 66-58 decision to Riverside in the state tournament.

Al Nordquist, who has been in charge of the Moorpark program since its inception, has only Steve Abraham returning. The 5-10 point guard from Westlake led the team in assists last season with an 8.7 average, according to Nordquist.

“We have a good, strong team with good outside players and a good fast break,” Nordquist said.

Danny Berryman looks like he will be playing in the backcourt with Abraham. Freshman Danny Camp, of Forest Hill High in West Palm Beach, Fla., is another solid guard. Camp (6-4) is being touted as a major-college prospect.

Nordquist believes rebounding may pose problems for the Raiders. As a remedy, Nordquist has recruited Chad Staples. Staples (6-7, 215), a freshman from Newbury Park, will share the rebounding responsibilities with Darrin Channels (6-7), a forward from Camarillo.

COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS

“The Cougars are runnin’ ,” according to a Canyons press release. And to help get the team in the fast-break mode, Canyons Coach Lee Smelser has recruited Greg Herrick, former Cleveland High coach, as an assistant. Herrick was successful with the run-and-gun on the prep level. The Cougars relied on a half-court offense last season when they won the Western State Conference.

Canyon may have no choice but to run.

“We have a lot of question marks,” Smelser said. “My biggest concern seems to be in the middle.”

Freshman Anthony Hines, out of El Camino Real, is battling for the starting center spot with sophomore Jerry McNulty. McNulty played reserve center last season.

“We’re going to try and up tempo the game because we don’t have that big thrust inside,” said Smelser, who led the Cougars to a 22-7 record last season.

The Cougars open at home Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against Glendale College.