A Butte College 2014-15 preview

(Butte Coach Russ Critchfield)

From Butte College Roadrunner Hoops:

The Roadrunners are coming off of a banner 2013-2014 season that saw them win the Golden Valley Conference Championship with a 10-0 record. This accomplishment was the first undefeated league record in the tough GVC by any team since the 2001 season. Finishing the with an overall 21-8 record the Roadrunners won their last 15 games and defeated San Jose City College in a home playoff game before losing in the 2nd round of the California Community College State Championships. Optimism runs high for another stellar season in 2014-2015 as the Roadrunners have a strong returning nucleus from their championship team, a talented red-shirt class, and another outstanding recruiting class coming into the program.

Returning for the Roadrunners this year is a very talented and experienced group of players poised to defend their conference crown, compete for another one, and get back to the “state championships”. Heading this list of players is talented and versatile Arthur Caldwell (6’5”), who finished last season as the team’s leading scorer. He capped off his freshman year by earning the Most Valuable Player award in the GVC, and being named to the California Community College All-State Team. Joining him are two key and outstanding combo guards in Jud Sailsbery (6’0”) and Nikolas Petruk (6’4”). They each garnered All-Conference recognition and will be heavily counted upon to lead the Roadrunners this campaign. Joining this strong three-some is Dominic Parisi (6’4”), a “do it all blue collar” player who came on strong for the Roadrunners last season. Rounding out this talented veteran returning quintet is Connor Morningstar (6’8”). Connor is a very versatile front line player who could be one of the Roadrunners pleasant surprises this season.

Also in the mix will be 3 promising players who red-shirted last season. They are led by Tyler Abrego (6’4”), a very athletic and versatile player who has a chance to become a contributor for the team this season. Along with him is Jared Wilkinson (6’8”) a post player with much potential and whom could provide some solid minutes for the Roadrunners. Last but not least is Clayton Velasquez (6’3”), a shooting guard who made great strides last season improving his overall game.

Recruiting talented players is the backbone of any good program and the Roadrunners have brought in another versatile and talented class for this season and beyond. They are led by Michael Shoemaker (6’6”), a multi-skilled stretch front line “hooper” out of Corning High School where he had a tremendous career. He is joined up front by Cameron Moore (6’7”), a savvy front line player out of Will C Wood High School High School with a good shooting stroke. In the back court the Roadrunners are getting the services of two talented and exciting players in Josh Martin (5’9”), a tremendous floor-leader and distributor out of Chico High School; and Jerry Migasi (6’3”) another clever floor-leader and combo guard out of Pleasant Valley High School in Chico.

This season promises to be another exciting and challenging one for the Roadrunners. Follow their quest to win their 4th GVC crown in 7 years and return to the California Community College State Championships! You never know what could happen there!