Community College Basketball Preview : There’ll Be No Surprises for Saddleback in Orange Empire This Season

The surprise factor is gone for the Saddleback College men’s basketball team this season.

Last year, Saddleback finished second in the Orange Empire Conference but advanced to the state championship game before losing to Ventura.

This season, opposing coaches are on to the Gauchos.

Saddleback, which was unranked and started 3-3 last season, is ranked third in Southern California and fifth in the state coaches’ preseason poll.

Saddleback is also considered the Orange Empire Conference favorite, a league that includes Cypress, Rancho Santiago, Orange Coast, Riverside and Citrus.

Saddleback opens the season in the Fullerton College tournament Wednesday against Grossmont at 6 p.m.

“I guess we can’t sneak up on anyone like last season but I would like to so I deny it when people talk to me about how good we are supposed to be,” Saddleback Coach Bill Brummel said jokingly. “We could be pretty good, I guess, but we don’t have that many guys that have played together yet so it will be tough to say for a while.”

Much of the reason for all the attention is the presence of forward Vincent Smalls.

Smalls, a 6-foot 4-inch forward from Philadelphia, averaged 16.5 points and 8.1 rebounds a game. He was voted to the all-state and all-Orange Empire Conference teams last season.

Here’s a closer look at the Orange County teams in the Orange Empire Conference:

Saddleback: The Gauchos were picked fourth in conference last season but ended up 29-7. They return three players from last season’s team.

Besides Smalls, forward John Waikle (6-9) and guard Renny Ingram (6-1) are back.

Waikle, who averaged 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds a game last season, became more of a force toward the end of the season, playing backup center. Ingram worked his way into the starting lineup in the final month and averaged nine points and four assists for the season.

Saddleback’s other two starters are transfer students. Jason Turner (6-2), a transfer from UC Irvine, will match with Ingram in the back court and Joe Hudson (6-3), a transfer from Alabama, will work with Waikle and Smalls up front.

Saddleback’s real strength last season was defense. The Gauchos allowed a state-low 59.3 points a game, even with the three-point shot and the 45-second clock, both of which will be used again this season. Offensively, Saddleback averaged 67.3 points a game.

Cypress: With six returning players, including four who started at one time or another, the Chargers are the team most likely to challenge Saddleback for the title.

All-conference forward Kris Brodowski (6-6) is expected to switch to center and Jeff Green (6-4), a part-time starter last season, will be at one forward. Freshman John Vranes from Skyline High School in Utah is the other forward.

Mike Kotzin (6-8) and John Jackson (6-3) also return and will help up front.

Jim Sammon returns to the back court and will be teamed with Greg Spruell, who started eight games last season. Mike Hetland, a freshman from Fullerton High School, will play at guard along with Karl Becker. Becker was member of the the 1985 El Camino team that won the state championship.

Orange Coast: The Pirates appeared to be the team to beat when the 1986-87 season started. OCC won its first 10 games but then struggled, ultimately losing in the second round of the Southern California regional playoffs to El Camino.

OCC returns three players from last season, including starter Rob Mase, a 6-4 forward who averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds a game. Reid Lukes (6-5) is back at center. Dave Palmblade (6-3) also returns and could play guard.

The Pirates are expected to start freshmen Derek Johnson, a red-shirt from Cal Poly Pomona, and Michael Meyers, a freshman from Marina High School. Dareck Crane, a freshman from Compton High School, could also start in the back court.

“We’re very inexperienced at guard and it’s been my experience that if you’ve got your guards back as sophomores, then you’re going to be relatively good,” said Tandy Gillis, OCC Coach. “A lot will depend on how our freshman guards come along.”

Rancho Santiago: The Dons won the Orange Empire Conference last season and advanced to the state semifinals before losing to Saddleback. Rancho Santiago’s first eight players were sophomores and Coach Dana Pagett was able to fill in some gaps with a fine recruiting year.

Forward Ralph Garcia (6-4) played some last season and is expected to start this season. Alonzo Jamison (6-6) from Santa Ana Valley High School and Kenny Ammann (6-3), a transfer from Cal State Bakersfield, will start.

Chris Aqueveque and Chris Martin join Ammann in the back court and Tony Smalley (6-4) from Servite High School joins Jamison and Garcia up front.

“I’m really encouraged so far,” Pagett said. “But we’re a really young team and we have some good all-around players. Once we play some games, we’ll have a better idea.”

The Dons will go seven deep to start the season, with freshman guards Chris Martin from Whittier Christian and Tommy Villanueva from Katella High School first off the bench.

Golden West and Fullerton join El Camino, Cerritos, Long Beach, Mt. San Antonio, Compton and Pasadena in the South Coast Conference for one last season. Golden West and Fullerton are going to the Orange Empire Conference next season.

El Camino is the conference favorite along with Cerritos and Long Beach. El Camino, which returns four starters, is the state’s top-ranked team.

But both Fullerton Coach Roger See and Golden West Coach Jim Greenfield think that the conference will be more balanced than in other seasons.

“It will be a real struggle, as always,” Greenfield said. “But after El Camino, I think it’s wide open.”

Here is a closer look at the Orange County teams in the South Coast Conference:

Fullerton: The Hornets were hurt by injuries and lack of depth last season. Depth again will be an important factor for Fullerton, which figures to run and use a full-court press much of the time.

“We’re concerned about our depth,” See said. “To use the press, we will need to go nine or 10 deep.”

Fullerton will be using a freshman back court, led by Roy Joseph of Western High School and Kellie McKinney of Ramona High School.

Joseph’s brother, Troy (6-4), returns at forward but sprained his ankle in Friday’s victory over Rancho Santiago. He should be able to practice this week.

Kevin Jones (6-5) and Kevin Patrick (6-7) also return on the front line. The first two players off the bench will be forwards Brent Harrill (6-4) and Geoffrey Adams (6-6).

“We’re not the biggest team around but we are quicker than last season and that should be a plus,” See said.

Golden West: The Rustlers (4-23 last season) appear to be the county’s most improved team, with their combination of returning players and incoming freshmen.

“We’re going to try something different this season and maybe win a few more games,” Greenfield said. “The freshmen will have some adjustment to make to this level but we are going to be better.”

In the back court, Elbert Davis is coming off a red-shirt season and Anthony Howard returns, so experience will be on Golden West’s side.

Golden West’s top two recruits are forwards Markus Muller-Stach (Corona del Mar) and Steve Moses (Ocean View). Muller-Stach (6-4) was the most valuable player in the Sea View League last season. Moses hasn’t played since 1984 when he was an all-Sunset League player.

Golden West also returns Jim Stewart (6-8). Stewart, Muller-Stach and freshman Mike Pavitt (6-7) from Washington state are expected to start up front.