Fourth-year coach Miguel Johnson entered the 2009-10 season with strong hopes of improving the men’s basketball team’s disappointing 4-23 last year finish, which placed them seventh in the Bay Valley Conference.
The young Comet squad, which consisted of eight first-year and four returning players, responded well by finishing the season 13-14 overall and 8-8 in the Bay Valley Conference, falling to fourth place and barely missing playoff contention.
Contra Costa College opened up the season roughly, starting off with a 3-9 record, as the team had a hard time meshing together due to its lack of experience that caused inconsistency.
“We started off pretty slow,” freshman guard Justin Hamilton said. “We were a young team. However, as the season progressed we got better.”
The Comets displayed some growth during preseason play, as they reached the championship game in a tournament, notably beating out College of the Sequoias, who made it to the postseason.
Yet, CCC still struggled during conference play, losing both of its games against Solano Community College and Los Medanos College.
Johnson said that another key factor to the Comets early struggles was the lack of a true point guard on the court.
Hamilton, however, stepped up to Johnson’s challenge of a point guard leader and established his role, averaging 7.4 points and 2.3 assists a game.
“As the season progressed, Justin understood his role at the point guard, which was one thing we were lacking,” Johnson said.
CCC began to make a run for a playoff contention spot during conference play, going 3-1 following its first two conference losses.
The Comets relied on outside shooting and a solid fast break offense to garner a majority of their victories, something that the team was lacking last season.
Sophomore guard DeShaun LeGree served as a key member for the young squad, as he led the team in points with 19.5 a game, shooting 41 percent from 3-point range.
Both LeGree and Hamilton were named to the First-Team All-Conference.
In some games, the Comets displayed their inexperience, as they were unable to close games, such as a tough 79-72 home loss against Merritt College.
“We had issues with our consistency because of our youth,” Johnson said.
Despite its youth, however, CCC showed strong effort, bouncing back in the second half to take an emotional 68-62 road win against the College of Alameda in which Johnson was absent due to the loss of his mother.
“The team was resilient and my assistants helped out a lot,” Johnson said. “The athletic department also showed support although it has been a difficult year.”
Being one game shy of making it to the postseason, which they have not done since the 2005-06 season, the Comets suffered a disappointing 80-73 final game home loss to Yuba College, which ended their playoff hopes.
“We lost to Yuba twice this year,” LeGree said. “Those games hurt us, and we needed those games to reach the playoffs.”
Johnson said the team had about three tough losses in crucial games this season to swallow.
“When it comes down to the final game (of the season) and the game is in your hands, it’s tough,” he said.
Contact Malcolm Lastra at mlastra.advocate@gmail.com
Be the first to comment on this article!