All-new Pirates eager for conference start

First-year Porterville College men’s basketball coach T.J. Jennings brought up an uncontested point about his young Pirates during Thursday’s practice.

“You look at our two wins and you would think our season has been absolutely horrible,” he said, point blank.

It’s true that the Pirates, 2-10 thus far in preseason, are struggling as they enter tonight’s Central Valley Conference-opening showdown with Reedley (slated for 7 p.m. at Pirates Gym) on a four-game losing streak.

So why watch, you ask?

To begin with, they’re entertaining. Despite having lost 10 games this season, the Pirates tend to keep things close with a trigger-happy, run ‘n’ gun style that crowds love.

“We shoot a lot of 3’s, we like to get up and down and we like to run,” Jennings said. “You can’t compare us to the Phoenix Suns, but we like the up-tempo game.”

Of the 600 shots the Pirates have attempted in 12 games, 266 were from beyond the arc with 94 of them sinking at a healthy 35 percent clip. (On a side note, the NBA’s Suns shoot 42 percent from outside; the Pirates’ rate, however, would still rank in the NBA’s top 10 on par with the similarly-styled Golden State Warriors.)

“I think we live and die by the 3,” said Oscar Velasquez, who leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game.

Velasquez and guard-turned-forward Karrmell “Freeway” Stone, who averages a second-best 11.2 ppg, have each hit 20 of 46 treys for a rock-solid 44 percent. Those two, along with Bryant Jackson, are the team’s only three sophomores.

“Those three sophomores are the heart and soul,” Jennings said. “We call them ‘The Three Musketeers.’ Everyone else is new.”

Ten freshman, including recent Monache graduates Jordan Howard and Omar Saleh, join the squad after the majority of last year’s roster neglected to return following a 9-19 season. Velasquez is the only one remaining from that group.

PC’s coach for the past four seasons, Greg Lanthier, was unceremoniously released after his contract was up at the end of spring semester. The college chose to cut back on full-time athletic faculty during pressing economic times, though Lanthier’s record likely didn’t help his cause for renewal.

When Jennings was hired two weeks before school began, he inherited Lanthier’s recruits as well as a tough schedule that ranks top 10 in the state among community colleges.

“I had to get kids into classes, get ‘em ready for practice and get ‘em on board for what we’re doing,” Jennings said of the rushed start.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before some of last year’s top players, including leading scorer Keith Viliamu, jumped ship. Several of those players failed to meet academic standards.

“Some players had to red-shirt because of various issues and some decided this wasn’t the place they wanted to finish their careers,” Jennings said. “Some kids didn’t buy in. They weren’t doing some of the things we asked of them.

“That’s OK, too,” he added. “We’re trying to instill some of the basic principles of hard work, discipline and integrity — in the classroom and on the court. It’s just like bringing in a new ship; some stay off, some stay on.”

The result is a hodge-podge of local talent as well as a few stars from Long Beach (Stone, Jackson) and Fresno: Alton Williams, Harold Reed, Anthony Hidalgo and Curtis Glover.

Jennings, who played at Fresno Pacific himself, says he’ll take his current group over anyone else’s.

“I’ve found out that they have a never-quit, never-die attitude, whether we’re up 20 or down 20,” he said. “Effort is not an issue with this team.

“That’s something you can always have control over,” he continued. “Mistakes are gonna happen, the ball may not drop, but you can always control your effort.”

Velasquez, who also averages a team-best 2.4 steals per game, says the team relies on a scrappy mix of defenses to fluster opponents. The Pirates average 12 steals per game — more than conference-leading Fresno City College.

“We mix it around so other teams don’t know what we’re doing,” Velasquez said. “Man, 3-2 zone, 100s (full-court press) and 50s (half-court). We’ve kinda figured out if we’re not hitting our 3s, we’ve gotta play defense regardless.”

Reed is often PC’s designated shut-down man, assigned to the other team’s best player.

“He’s our defensive stopper,” Jennings said of Reed, a 5-foot-10 shooting guard. “He applies the pressure. He’s also a slasher; he’s not the tallest but he can get up out of the gym.”

Stone, who played two seasons along with Jackson, previously played guard. But at 6-foot-4, he’s one of the tallest on the team and is forced to play at the 4.

“Karrmell should be playing the 3, but that’s what he has to do,” Jennings said. “He’s gotta make a sacrifice for us to get the job done. Our biggest concern for us is size.”

PC averages just 24 rebounds per game — 13 below Fresno’s average. Coincidentally, the Pirates defeated the heavyweight Rams for the first of their two wins this season on Nov. 27.

“Fresno was my first win as a college coach and it couldn’t have been a better one,” cracked Jennings.

Another weakness for PC is turnovers. The squad typically plays at such a hectic pace that mistakes are inevitable, Jennings said.

The Pirates average a whopping 21 turnovers per game.

“We’ve gotta get our point guards to make better decisions,” Jennings admitted. “We can put up points with the best of them, but if we’re cold, it makes it tough. We have to take care of the ball.”

But Jennings is confident the wins can will start rolling in soon enough.

“We’ve been competing in 90 percent of the games,” he said. “I’m excited because hopefully we learn from those experiences for conference.”

The Pirates hope to build on last season’s 5-7 conference record.

“I expect our team to come out and battle for a (conference) championship,” Jennings said. “There’s no reason why we can’t finish first place in this league.

“You can’t count us out yet,” he added. “This season is wide open.”

2009-10 Porterville College Glance

 Last season’s record: 9-19 (5-7 Central Valley Conf.)

 2009 preseason record: 2-10

 Head coach: T.J. Jennings (1st year)

 Assistant coaches: Tim Wilkins, Simon Heller

 Roster: Pos. Height Class

 10 - Alton Williams G 5-10 FR

 12 - Anthony Hidalgo G 5-8 FR

 20 - Bryant Jackson F 6-4 SO

 21 - Oscar Velasquez G 5-11 SO

 24 - Karrmell Stone F 6-4 SO

 30 - Harold Reed G 5-10 FR

 31 - Curtis Glover G 6-0 FR

 32 - Omar Saleh G 5-10 FR

 34 - Thomas Nelson G 6-1 FR

 41 - Justin West G 6-0 FR

 44 - Damian Sotelo F 6-1 FR

 50 - Damian Bilbo F 6-4 FR

 52 - Jordan Howard F 6-3 FR