A Merritt College basketball update

Checked in with Merritt College Coach Keenan McMiller on how his Thunderbirds are doing and he mentioned a pair of players specifically.

Kareem Ransom

Ransom, a 6-foot-3 sophomore out of Inderkum High in Sacramento, is averaging 10.6 points per game, shooting 54% (19-35) on trey attempts and 75% at the foul line.

Per McMiller, "Kareem has really stepped it up in the last three games" (scoring 14, 26 and 15 points respectively in a tournament at San Jose City College, where Merritt beat SJCC and Monterey Peninsula College before falling to City College San Francisco and finishing second).

"He was an all-tourney selection and his shooting well and playing well in front of a lot of coaches will help his recruiting. He has the grades so there's no question there. Kareem took a while to transition but he's a gym rat with a great work ethic who wants to be coached and get better."

Nick Capiti

A 6-foot-2 sophomore from Bishop O'Dowd, "Nick has a 3.5 grade point average and is leading us in scoring with 14 points a game. He's another one with a strong work ethic who worked this past spring and summer. Nick played really well in the Southern California Showcase during summer."

Capiti is shooting 58% overall and 45% on 20 trey attempts.

Plus, McMiller also offered that freshman point Josh Amey possesses a 5/2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

In talking overall, McMiller said "We're still learning how to close out games because we had a number of guys who didn't play a lot last year and are still transitioning from high school."