Three standing out at COS

College of the Sequoias Coach Rusty Smith has some talents on hand this season who will be bringing a large number of four-year coaches to the COS gym in Visalia.

The 6-foot-7 Smith, who has averaged 21 wins a season during his tenure, himself played at El Camino College and then Montana State before playing-for-pay abroad. After a successful assistant coaching tenure at Cal State Northridge, he's become a fixture at the community college level.

There's a trio of Coach Smith's players standing out in particular:

 * Bill Borekambi

The 6-foot-6 smooth-as-silk wing averaged a team-leading 14.6 points per game last season, shooting 51% from the floor and 89% at the foul line. He also grabbed 8.6 boards each time out, also tops on the team. Borekambi was named to the All-Central Valley Conference squad as a frosh. According to Coach Smith, Borekambi "is a natural, finesse  mid-range scorer, someone who is athletic and can put up numbers in bunches." He's from Germany.

At the Foothill JUCO Summer Slam earlier this month, Borekambi would receive a pass, use a dribble or two to maneuver and rise to get his shot off. It was very difficult for defenders to prevent him from getting good looks.

* Troy Norris

As Reggie Jackson said (about himself), the 6-foot Norris is the straw that stirs the drink for COS. Last year, he averaged 7.7 points while nabbing 62 steals best on the team and earned an honorable mention All-Central Valley Conference selectionfor his play. Norris was a Cal Hi Sports all-stater in 2011 while at Atascadero High as well as being the San Luis Obispo Tribune's County Player of the Year as both a junior and senior.

Per Smith, Norris "is a point guard who can also score. He does a lot for us with ballhandling, distributing and scoring and is an integral part in making us go."

Norris was very impressive at the Summer Slam, controlling tempo while connecting from outside and on dribble-drives. It was apparent he was in charge.

Smith added, "so many guys with skills at his size so it's important to find  something that separates you from the other guys and Troy showed that at Foothill."

* David Love

A transfer from San Francisco State where he averaged 5.5 points and 4.8 rebounds as a freshman, the 6-foot-6 Love played for Tulare Union High. According to Smith, Love returned home to try and earn a D-I scholarship.

During the Foothill event, Love displayed good strength and inside toughness, with the ability to pop facing the basket.

Also, Phil Ward, one of the few sophomores on last season's squad, has landed a scholarship at Cal State Stanislaus. The 6-foot-6 Ward endured an injury-riddled season and eventually had to shut down early but impressed Stanislaus Coach Larry Reynolds enough.