Men's Basketball team returns to court optimistic

The Contra Costa College men’s basketball team will be heading into this year optimistic with three of its five starters, from last year’s 21-10 season, returning.

Last year the Comets saw their season end in the 2nd round of the Nor Cal playoffs.

The vibe around the team is that they definitely feel like they can and will take the next step with the experience of their returners and new additions like freshman Larry Wiked from Vallejo high school and Joshua Bydin from Jessie Bethel who Comet coach Miguel Johnson says “can start easily.”

 The Comets believe 2012-13 can be a success, however, their freshmen players must adjust to the system in a timely manner.  CCC sophomores forward Tyler West and guard Justin Pollard return to lead by example.

“We have two players, freshman, who will probably start who will have to come on quick,” West said.

Last year’s Comets team came up short in the playoffs against City College of San Francisco because of matchup problems and a lack of experience.

“I don’t think people were ready for that type of game,” Pollard said about the 95-60 loss to the Rams. “But, we will be better this year. We’ve added size and we’re quicker on the perimeter and we have players who can knockdown shots.”

Johnson said, as of now, the Comets just need to get better fundamentally and eventually he believes the team will have the chance to compete for a Conference title and in the 2013 Nor Cal playoffs.

With good recruiting this off-season and with the possible emergence of freshmen the Comets look to pick up where they left off.

 “We are more talented than last year but we have a long way to go for younger players to be successful,” Johnson said.

Before the start of conference play the Comets will participate in four tournaments. The Comets start their season in the Las Pasitas tournament in Livermore Nov. 8.