A Merritt College update with Coach Keenan McMiller

Checked in with Merritt College Coach Keenan McMiller recently to see how his Thunderbirds performed this summer.

"We we finished the summer 6-2, arguably losing to the top two teams in the state -- Citrus College by seven and Irvine Valley by seven. We defeated Mira Costa College (San Diego area) by 10, Compton College by 18 (who came into the game undefeated at 3-0) and defeating San Jose City College by 18 points."

"The guys are buying in and these are real good kids," he said, adding, "we're going to do some new stuff this season, pressing and half court trapping.

Although a lefty, Josh Amey (Berkeley High) has become McMiller's right hand man even as a freshman. Here's McMiller on his floor leader: "He's one of the best in the JC ranks. He's working his tail off getting stronger and people love playing with him. Josh wants to constantly attack defenders and he's a ferocious competitor who picks up everybody's level of play. I want things done a certain way and he gets why we are doing it. He's always trying to make the right play. I want Josh to show his right hand more and we're trying to get  him to shoot more mid-range. He's a qualifier and I'm hoping to keep him for two years."

On Marcos Castrillo (Pinole Valley High), "he will be steady contributor, being a player standing at a versatile 6-foot-6 who can play the 3/4/5 spots as well as having the ability to post up, square up and drive, hit the midrange and shoot the three.

On Kareem Ransom (Inderkum High), McMiller offered, "He's comes a long way. Kareem is more confident as he has become tougher and more aggressive."

He explained that both freshman Eric Nelson (El Cerrito High) and sophomore Nick Capiti (Bishop O'Dowd) "are coming along well."

Big man and freshman Glyndelle Poole (6-foot-8, 260, Fremont High, Oakland) is already generating notice. McMiller said, "He's going to help us. At his size, a lot of schools already love him."

"My hope is that our extremely talented guard Isaiah Gossett (Edison High) continues to make improvements in his game and discipline on the court. This group's work ethic will pay off for them this year, God willing no injuries."

A Merritt College basketball update

From Merritt College Coach Keenan McMiller comes this update:

As far as us, we performed well to start the summer at the Nor Cal showcase -- going 4-0 and defeating Sierra, Skyline, Delta and Modesto. 

Glyndelle Poole 6-foot-8 260 and Tyler Idowu 6-foot-4 played well inside, scoring and getting and-one baskets, Jordan Fusslier attacked the basket scoring inside and shot well from the 3-point line. Eric Nelson 6-foot-7 played solid defensively and Marcos Castrillo 6-foot-6 made clutch 3-point baskets and grabbed timely rebounds helping our success. 

Who brings everyone together is our freshman point guard Joshua Amey -- no one was able to stay in front of him -- he made plays consistently every game and is a tenacious defender and steady leader. Josh doesn't back down from anyone.

Next test is So Cal showcase at the end of July at Azusa Pacific University.

Now for the Merritt College 2011-12 basketball team

After covering the next destinations of the Merritt College sophomores, we turned to Coach Keenan McMiller for the players he has returning plus his Thunderbird newcomers.

Summer school has started and these are McMiller's enrollees along with his commentary.

Newcomers:

* Joshua Amey, 5-foot-11, Berkeley High

"He will be our starting point -- Josh has the work ethic and the basketball IQ and just needs to bulk up -- he will be a D-1 player"

* Eric Nelson, 6-foot-7 & 180, El Cerrito High (8.3 rebounds and 4.2 blocked shots a game)

"Eric has a great attitude, endless potential and is hard-nosed -- he can run, block shots and finish at the rim -- we'll get him in the weight room and also make him a faceup forward -- another eventual D-1 player"

* Andrew Nash, 6-foot-2, Oakland High

"We will redshirt him as he needs a year to get healthy -- I've known him since the sixth grade, he is a super athlete and a team guy who received some ESPN notice as a point"

* Glendale Poole, 6-foot-8 & 260, Fremont (Oakland) High

"He played at Alameda College as a freshman but got the year back -- he's a force in the middle who has good footwork and we expect to get 10-15 minutes a game out of him"

* Deandre Coppage, 6-4, Natomas High

"He's a freshman who hasn't played in a couple of years, he last played high school back in 2008"

* Marcos Castrillo, 6-6, Pinole Valley High

"Marcos is a combo forward who is learning to be more physical and has come a long way"

Returnees:

* Kareem Ransom, 6-foot-3, Inderkum High

"An excellent scorer"

* Nick Capiti, 6-foot-1, Bishop O'Dowd High

"He has thoroughly improved his ballhandling and his shooting, he has spent a lot of time on his shot"

* Elliott Herald, 6-foot-3, Center High (Sacramento)

* Tyler Idowu, 6-foot-4, Rodriguez High (Fairfield)

* Jisuan Randle, 6-foot-2, Newark Memorial High

Plus three other student-athletes from outside the area are coming in:

* Douglas Anderson, 6-foot-7 & 215, Stephenson High, Atlanta

"We redshirted him last year -- he's a solid rebounder and defender"

* Nick Dixon, 6-foot-8, Reed High, Reno

"I've known Nick since the sixth or seventh grade"

* Jordan Fusslier, 6-foot-0, Baton Rouge, LA

"He played in Baton Rouge and is the nephew of former St. Mary's Assistant Coach David Patrick who is now the overseas talent scout for the Houston Rockets -- Jordan played his first year here and was our third leading scorer"

McMiller may also have two other additions but it's not yet definite. The pair are:

* Christopher Jackson, 6-foot-4, a member of the McClymonds High 2008 state championship team

* Bobby Syvanthong, 5-foot-9, El Cerrito High School, the Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League 2011 MVP

Who is going where -- an update on Merritt College basketball

Merritt College is coming off a 19-11 overall record and a ledger of 8-5 in Bay Valley Conference play. Coach Keenan McMiller, a Merritt alumnus and also a former Thunderbird player, has the program headed in a positive direction and his sophomores are locating new destinations.

McMiller has quintet of student-athletes moving on:

* Joshua Hatcher, guard, 6-foot-5, 205 (Berkeley High)

A First Team All Bay Valley Conference honoree this past season, Hatcher is checking out Washburn University in Kansas City. Coach Bob Chipman has offered Hatcher, who is coming off his best academic semester in college. McMiller calls this "a huge accomplishment." Hatcher has two more classes to take in order to earn his degree.

* Saajid Polite, guard, 6-foot3, 190 (Grant High, Sacramento)

Polite looks like he is headed to the University of Indianapolis, a D-2 school. What's interesting is that Coach Stan Gouard's Greyhounds beat then #23 Tennessee 79-64 last November 8 and that Gouard also has overseas ties that benefit players wishing to eventually play professionally across the pond.

* Roman Robinson, guard, 6-foot-3, 175 (Rodriguez High, Fairfield)

He has very strong interest from NAIA member Oklahoma City and Coach Dionne Phelps, plus nearby Dominican University and newly-hired mentor Booker Harris. Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana is also in the mix, the 2009 NAIA basketball champion.

* Richard Walker, forward, 6-foot-7, 190 (Atlanta, GA) to Texas A&M Prairie View

Walker finished as the third-leading rebounder on the team and 10th in the Bay Valley Conference with 7.1 boards per game. He shot 46% from the field and tallied 26 blocked shots.

* William Tolfree, forward, 6-foot-7, 195 (Atlanta, GA)

He has visited University of West Alabama but may land at Texas A&M Prairie View if a scholarship comes open. Tolfree also has three or four D-2 colleges wanting him and will have earned his degree after three more classes.

An update from Keenan McMiller at Merritt College

Merritt College and Coach Keenan McMiller just finished a very solid 19-11, 8-5 basketball season and a few of the Thunderbird players already have a next destination.

* 6-foot-3 sophomore Saajid (Grant High) Polite is headed to Sacramento State to play for Coach Brian Katz

McMiller: "Saajid is on time to graduate [from Merritt] and he will redshirt his first year and begin playing in 2012-2013."

*6-foot-7  sophomore William Tolefree is headed to Texas A&M Prairie View

and

* 6-foot-7 sophomore Richard Walker is also headed to Texas A&M Prairie View  

Tolefree and Walker prepped in the Atlanta area.

McMiller: "William will graduate this summer and Richard will graduate on time. A coaching friend of a friend came in and watched them a few times and then the head coach and assistant coach at Texas A & M Prairie View made a trip here."

TAMPV is led by Coach Byron Rimm II and is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

McMiller also will have 6-foot-3 sophomore Roman (Rodriguez High) Robinson and  6-foot-5 sophomore Joshua (Berkeley High) Hatcher moving on but their next residences are quite set as yet. We'll post that information as soon as it is settled.

He also has what looks like another impressive set of Bay Area newcomers heading to Merritt but that's for another article/another time.