Don't count Yuba out

Bryan DeMain was on press row for host Yuba College's 89-60 victory over Contra Costa College.

CCC tops Chabot

In the initial round of the Chabot Classic:

Contra Costa 64, Chabot 51

Contra Costa College

Justin (St. Mary's) Pollard 5 0-0 13 (three treys)
Dasieon (Jess Bethel High) Cole 3 4-4 10

Chabot College

Greg Brown 6 9-12 24 (three treys)

Meet Jason Maples

 photo by George Morin

Jason Maples is a third-year assistant working with Contra Costa College Coach Miguel Johnson. But as a youngster, entering the coaching field wasn't a consideration for him -- although the appropriate personal elements were always there -- because his vision of the future, like that of so many others, was all about playing.

So how did his hoops journey bring him to CCC?

He entered organized hoops at age nine. Later on at Berkeley High, Maples played for the late Michael Gragnani.

He took time off after high school before being 'discovered' working out in the weight room at Contra Costa College by Johnson. After a successful stint as a Comet basketballer, including being an All-Conference selection, Maples headed down to Bethany University in Scotts Valley (outside of Santa Cruz) to earn his degree and play shooting guard and wing for Coach Andrew Snelgrove.

"When you're young, you never think about coaching," Maples explained. This despite, at least for him, positions of leadership captaining his high school, community college and four-year college teams.

As Maples put it, "I'm loud and I'm talkative. I always tried hard and gave it my all. I may not have been the most skilled guy but no one ever questioned my heart and effort. With leadership comes responsibility and I accepted that."

Also, playing defense was "my calling card as a player" and that focus certainly registers high on the core principles appropriate for entering the coaching ranks.

Currently attending University of Phoenix in working for his Master's Degree, Maples teaches pre-school and kindergarten in El Cerrito in addition to his position at CCC (hey, just wait for the other coaches in the Bay Valley Conference to claim that's an unfair early recruiting advantage).

Speaking of his work at CCC, Maples said, "I'm learning a lot and Coach Johnson -- he's the captain of the ship -- is allowing me to put my imprint on the team."

Continuing on, Maples offered "the first couple of years were tough because I'm young (he turned 27 last month) but my authority is established. Coach Johnson always stresses 'these are my assistant coaches so when they talk, it's me talking.'"

But his youthfulness also has advantages.

"In reaching out to local guys, they relate to me because I'm not too far removed. I can say I played for Coach Johnson and got a scholarship."

Maples explained the recruiting processes in pursuing players for the community college level.

"Certain guys you know but we also wait for test scores and grade point averages and also do background research about family situations."

Regarding the future, one position in particular is dear to Maples' heart.

"My dream is to go back to my alma mater (Berkeley High) and coach. But I'm also willing to reach for the highest level possible."

CCC wins two of three

Contra Costa College enjoyed a successful weekend down south. The Comets took down Cosumnes River College 74-67 on Sunday, fell to Ventura on Saturday 72-59 and topped Allan Hancock College 71-60 on Friday.

Contra Costa starting well

So Contra Costa College is 5-1 thus far in the 2012-13 season and, while a number of players are providing solid contributions, it's been a pair of freshman Comets who have really started out well.

Coach Miguel Johnson's crew has wins against DeAnza College (89-80), College of the Siskyous (70-51), Las Positas College (83-71), College of the Redwoods (81-61) and San Jose City College (87-60).

The sole loss was 50-42 against Feather River College, a matchup in which CCC shot 15-56 and committed 25 turnovers in a tourney opener after a two-week break.

It's 6-foot-2 freshman guard Davion (Salesian High) Mize averaging 11.3 points per game while leading the Comets in steals with 6-foot-4 frosh wing Larry (Vallejo High) Wickett contributing 10 points a contest and topping the team in assists.

Mize was named the Most Valuable Player in the early November tournament at Las Positas while Wickett earned All Tourney honors for his play both at the Las Positas and the Diablo Valley College tourneys.

"Mize brings energy and effort," CCC Coach Johnson offered. "He leads by example and we want him to be more vocal. He's a winner who comes from a good program and he's coachable."

As for Wickett, Johnson said, "He's a tremendous athlete with a tremendous motor. We use him as a sixth man for instant energy."

Plus, another first-year talent, 5-foot-6 Derius (St. Elizabeth High) Johnson, is already being counted on to provide instant offense. He's putting up 8.7 points each time out.

Upfront, freshman Josh (Bethel High) Bynum is redshirting while recovering from a meniscus injury so it's a veteran duo leading the way.

According to Johnson, "J'uan (Sacramento High) Parker is playing well and Jacob (Inderkum High) Monroe is helping us out" at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-5 respectively. Parker is scoring 7.2 points a game with Monroe at 8.3. Sophomore Tyler West is also producing 7.7 points.

"We have some pieces but we're young and not yet playing like we want," Johnson added. "But our guys play hard and we always overachieve."

Contra Costa basketball is proving the adage that the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores has exceptions.

CCC tops LPC

Contra Costa College took the Las Positas Tip-Off Classic championship from the hosts, winning 83-71.

For CCC, Jacob (Inderkum High) Monroe paced everyone with 18 points,  sophomore forward J'uan (Sacramento High) Parker contributed 13 points while Damian (Salesian High) Mize, Tyler West and Phillip Secrease all posted 11.

Frosh Backcourter Booker (Berkeley High) Shabazz led Las Positas College with 19 points with sophomore Julian (Bishop O'Dowd High) Redmon adding 11. Each nailed a trio of treys.

Las Positas versus Contra Costa for the title

Powered by 23 points from Booker Shabazz, host Las Positas College topped Columbia in the semifinals and now goes up against Contra Costa College for the championship. CCC beat Siskiyous 70-51 in the other semifinal.

The 2012-13 Contra Costa College Comets

Always keep in mind that player additions and deletions will occur but here goes with the Miguel Johnson's Contra Costa College roster. He has a nice mix of enough size upfront and a handful of speedy backcourters:

* Fletcher Brown, 6-foot-0, freshman (Balboa High)

* Omariayea Broughton, 6-foot-1, sophomore (Valley High)

* Joshua Bynum, 6-foot-6, freshman (Bethel High)

* Johnathan Caldwell-Hudley, 6-foot-1, sophomore (Wood High)

* Shakeel Carpenter, 6-foot-9, freshman (Kimball High)

* Daseion Cole, 6-foot-4, freshman (Bethel High)

* Antonio Davis, 5-foot-8, freshman (Oakland Tech)

* Pershante Hill, 5-foot-8, sophomore (Hercules High0

* Derius Johnson, 5-foot-8, freshman (St. Elizabeth)

* Davion Mize, 6-foot-1, freshman (Salesian High)

* Jacob Monroe, 6-foot-5, sophomore (Inderkum High)

* Juan Parker, 6-foot-7, sophomore (Sacramento High)

* Trayvon Rogers, 6-foot-1, freshman (New Horizons Prep, MS)

* Philip Secrease, 6-foot-2, freshman (Pinole Valley High)

* Tyler West, 6-foot-6, sophomore (Beaverton High, OR)

The CCSF - CCC boxscore

CCSF 95, Contra Costa 60

City College San Francisco (27-2)

Thomas Cooper 6 2-2 15
Stuart Wesonga 5 2-2 12
Delon Wright 3 6-6 12
Raysean Hairston 3 5-5 11
Myron Respress 4 2-3 10

Contra Costa College (21-10)

Kenonte Ramsey 7 6-7 23 (three treys)

CCC 78, Mendocino 72

Contra Costa College kept it rolling with a 78-72 victory over Mendocino College last night. Now it's on to facing City College of San Francisco.

Yuba over CCC

Jimmy Graben has the scoop as Yuba College stayed unbeaten in the Bay Valley Conference with a hard-fought 80-67 win over Contra Costa College. 49er Spencer Butterfield post a 22/10 double-double.

CCC handles COM

Dave Curtis has the game report of Contra Costa College's 58-37 victory over host College of Marin.

In other scores .....

In other scores, Contra Costa College got past Mendocino College 57-55 and Monterey Peninsula College had no difficulty with Gavilan College to the tune of 68-39.

A Contra Costa College Comet update

Contra Costa College is a factor this season, currently standing 14-8 overall, 5-3 in Bay Valley Conference games and such a residence provides some satisfaction to Coach Miguel Johnson.

Asked about the factors behind the rise of the Comets, Johnson was expansive.

"We have better talent and guys who want to implement the things we put in as coaches. The buy-in factor is huge. We have two guys from last year's roster, [guard] Paulo Rodriguez and [forward] Chris Martin, who are no longer starting but are able to see the rewards, able to experience victories, as are all the guys.  We had to eliminate some behavioral problems [from last year's roster] and we went out and got players. Now, we have great kids who want to work hard and there's good team chemistry."

Johnson mentioned four of his talents in particular:

 * "[6-foot-1] Robert Ellis has been really instrumental in our success as our leading scorer and someone who takes on the leading opponent defensively. Robert's a low to mid major prospect."

 * "[6-foot-6] Tyler West leads us in assists and rebounds and can play multiple positions. He understands our offense and is a facilitator offensively, someone who makes smart decisions."

 * "[5-foot-10] Justin Pollard helps with stability and controlling the tempo. He executes our game plan making us successful."

 * "[6-foot-0] Kenonte Ramsey is one of our most explosive players, he scores big baskets for us and can score in bunches. Him redshirting and getting his academics in order really helped him." 

Johnson also stressed how the understanding of roles from his other supporting cast of players has been critical.this season.

As for how the Comets operate on the court, "Our style of offense is attacking the rim aggressively with four perimeter guys. We press and try to pick up the tempo, making opponents play our game "

He added, "We're trying to make the playoffs but we lost three in conference because of not understanding how to handle success. But we got back to it and showed some character [with wins against Los Medanos, Solano and Merritt] when it counted "

Contra Costa hosts Mendocino in a big matchup on February 8.

CCC over Merritt

Contra Costa College 68, Merrit College 53

Merritt College

Jordan Fuselier 16 points
Nick Capiti 16 points
Tyler Idowu 13 (plus 12 rebounds)

Merritt over Contra Costa

Merritt 74, Contra Costa 50

Merritt College

Tyler (Rodriguez High) Idowu 5 6-6 16 (plus 14 rebounds)
Nick (Bishop O'Dowd High) Capiti 4 6-6 15
Kareem (Inderkum High) Ransom 5 2-2 13
Eric (El Cerrito High) Nelson 3 2-2 10 (plus 11 rebounds0

Contra Costa College

Kenonte (DeAnza High) Ramsey 3 2-3 11 (three treys)
Tyler West 4 2-2 10

Yuba over CCC

It was Yuba College over an improved Contra Costa College by a score of 81-64.

CCC 67 Napa 58

Contra Costa College 58, Napa Valley College 58

Contra Costa College

Isaac (John Swett High) Jackson 16 points, 11 rebounds
Robert Ellis 15 points
Kenonte (DeAnza High) Ramsey 11 points

Napa Valley College

Brandon (Vallejo High) Cole 18 points
Martin (Waldorf) Jackson 15 points
Les (Clovis High) Caesar 10 points

Contra Costa 64, Chabot 56

It was Contra Costa College by eight -- 64-56 -- over Chabot College. Robert Ellis' 17 and Kenonte Ramsey's 13 paced CCC while Kurtis Ong led Chabot with 13. DRinCA has all the details.

SJCC by three over Contra Costa College

San Jose City 53, Contra Costa 50 (San Jose CC tourney)

San Jose City

Fabian (Highlands Ranch) Sebastian 6 3-5 15
Muktar (Willow Glen High) Abdi 5 1-2 12
Keith (Hayward High) Martin 5 0-2 10

Contra Costa

Robert Ellis 6 3-3 16
Kenonte (DeAnza High) Ramsey 2 7-7 11
Isaac (John Swett High) Jackson 5 1-3 11