An update on Diablo Valley College basketball

Spoke with DVC Coach Steve Coccimiglio yesterday in order to get an update on where his sophomores are heading. The Vikings are coming off a very successful Big 8 Conference winning 13-1/26-5 season and four players are moving on.

* 6-foot-1 sophomore Jordan (De La Salle High) Estrada is moving up to Sacramento State

* 6-foot-3 freshman Khufu (Berkeley High) Najee signed a letter-of-intent last November with San Jose State

* 6-foot-7 sophomore Zach (De La Salle High) Payne is probably going to Whitworth College in Washington but the Whitworth coach just accepted the Eastern Washington head coaching position so Payne's situation isn't definite.

* 6-foot-8 sophomore Louis (Fremont High - Oakland) Lowe hasn't decided as yet but will choose among a number of D-2 schools.

A pair of freshmen, 5-10 Brian Goins and 6-foot-8 Rafael Carter are returning. Goins was named the league's most valuable player while Carter nabbed a Big 8 Conference First Team spot.

Goins already has numerous high level colleges very interested. He didn't play ball in high school but was noticed by a former DVC player in city league ball and was told to take his talents to Diablo Valley College. He did and it's already been a fruitful marriage. The young man averaged 19.4 points, four assists and three rebounds a game, shooting 49% overall, 40% from three-point range and 85% at the foul line on 167 free throw attempts.

A native of Ohio, Carter came out west due to interest from Nevada's basketball program and Coccimiglio said that Reno will likely be Carter's next destination. He averaged 8.6 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots per contest while shooting 56% from the field.