Time to Hoop It Up : JC men: Watson of Ventura and Parker of Moorpark have some big shoes to fill but they haven’t found the cupboard bare.

Neither man is new to his program but both have seen their responsibilities change dramatically.

They sat on the bench for many seasons beside two of the most successful junior college men’s basketball coaches and now they are the ones in the hot seat.

But to hear Coach Virgil Watson of defending state champion Ventura College and Del Parker of Moorpark tell it, this season is no different from others.

Well, almost.

“The biggest difference is all the administrative things [former Moorpark coach] Al [Nordquist] used to do that I’ve never liked to do,” Parker said. “That part of it is a drag.”

In that respect, Parker had it easy at Moorpark the past 26 seasons. He was Nordquist’s top assistant since 1969, the second season the Raiders fielded a team, and became head coach in September when Nordquist resigned to become a dean at the school.

Nordquist was one of the most successful junior college coaches in the nation with 488 victories and led the Raiders to the state Final Eight tournament twice.

Watson, a former head coach at Valley, took over as the top assistant to Philip Mathews in 1990 and remained at Ventura for four seasons. He was an assistant at UC Santa Barbara last season and was hired in the summer to replace Mathews, who left to become head coach at the University of San Francisco.

The vocal and animated Mathews was practically a celebrity in Ventura. In his 10 seasons with the team, Mathews turned Ventura from doormat into a perennial state power, winning two state championships and finishing with a 298-56 record. His teams won 30 or more games six times and were 37-1 last season.

Watson must try to follow suit and keep the Pirates, who generally pack their gym, among the elite. And although some coaches might have been concerned about replacing such a popular predecessor, the soft-spoken, low-key Watson doesn’t seem worried.

“I’m comfortable with the job,” Watson said. “You have to understand I was a part of some of the very good things we did. . . . It’s difficult to replace [Mathews] because he was a lot of things to a lot of people, including me. But everyone has their own personality.”

Regardless of the differences in coaching styles between Mathews and Watson, the Pirates still are outrageously strong and have a good chance to repeat as state champions. The Pirates, who were 9-1 and won the Western State Conference North Division, feature seven players who had significant roles last season and several heralded newcomers.

The returnees include guards Gerald Zimmerman (11.9 points a game) and Jamal Cobbs (237 assists), forwards Damian Cantrell (9.1 points, 7.5 rebounds), Shannon Taylor (92 three-point baskets) and Charles Woodard (7.4 points), and centers Hakeem Ward (12.6 points, 7.5 rebounds) and Curtis Ganes (10.8 points).

They also have highly touted Che Lugo, a 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman center from Brooklyn, N.Y., who gives the Pirates an added force in the front line.

“I know people are going to be more focused on trying to beat us because we are the defending [state] champions and because we are Ventura College,” Watson said. “That’s fine. I’m excited to get the season under way.”

Watson will get his wish Saturday night in a nonconference home matchup against Imperial Valley. That same night, Parker will start his tenure in a game against Cerro Coso in the first round of the Cerro Coso tournament.

The Raiders, coming off a 22-12 season, are loaded with freshmen, and two of their three sophomores--cousins Tim and Wendell Nunnery--are transfers from Oxnard who sat out last season. Brady Mates, who at 6-8 is the team’s tallest player, is the only connection to last season’s squad that was 5-5 in the WSC North.

Parker said Wendell Nunnery (6-4) will play forward and Tim Nunnery (6-0), Shawn Williams (6-3) and Eldridge Aubry (5-9) will be in the backcourt in Moorpark’s three-guard offense. Williams averaged 17.0 points at Oak Park last season.

“We aren’t super-quick,” Parker said. “We are basically going to run a disciplined offense with a lot of variables and we are going to play strong defense. We are just going to try to be fundamentally sound.”

That goes without saying at Moorpark and Ventura, no matter who’s in charge.

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The following is a rundown of other area teams:

CANYONS

COACH: Lee Smelser, 27th season

LAST SEASON: 9-20

The Cougars didn’t win more than two games in a row last season and sank to 2-8 in the WSC South Division.

Smelser, the dean of area junior college basketball coaches, is looking to sophomores Roger Rasmussen, Bill Bedgood, Darrin Privett and Kahyeed Murray to blend effectively with the freshmen and help turn things around.

“We have better athletes than we did [last season],” Smelser said. “But I’m a little worried about our depth and about our size coming off the bench.”

However, none of the sophomores saw any significant playing time last season. The 6-8 Rasmussen has the nod at center and is flanked by forwards Bedgood (6-6), from Hart High, and Murray (6-5), from Cleveland High.

Privett (6-1) is the point guard and three players--freshmen Brent Stout and Bryan Finley, and sophomore Rex Saputo--are vying for the other guard position.

Canyons opens Friday with a nonconference road game against Rancho Santiago.

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GLENDALE

COACH: Brian Beauchemin, 17th season

LAST SEASON: 15-15

It might take a while before even Beauchemin can fully assess his inexperienced team.

The Vaqueros have only one player, 6-1 guard Ramon Jose, returning from a squad that was 5-5 and finished third in the WSC South. And Jose wasn’t a starter.

But Beauchemin, who stresses defense, believes the Vaqueros have the size to be competitive.

“We are going to have some frontcourt depth,” Beauchemin said. “That’ll be one of our strengths. As we get more experienced, we’ll be a decent rebounding team.”

Center Matt Hagman (6-7), from Maranatha High, and forwards Ryan Sylva (6-5) and Tim Johnson (6-5) provide the muscle around the boards. Sylva accounted for 17.3 points and 13.2 rebounds a game at Canoga Park last season, and Johnson averaged 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds at Monroe High.

Either Carl Biel, who averaged 6.7 assists last season at Highland, or Wendell Raiford, a freshman from Oregon, will handle the point.

The Vaqueros open next Wednesday with a WSC interdivisional home game against Cuesta.

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OXNARD

COACH: Ron McClurkin, third season

LAST SEASON: 16-16

Forget the notion about overgrown basketball players. The way McClurkin sees it, height is vastly overrated.

“Last season I had big guys and it didn’t make any difference,” McClurkin said. “This season we have a lot of speed and a lot of quickness.”

The Condors were 3-7 and finished fifth in the six-team WSC North with a roster that included four players 6-6 or taller. This season, the Condors don’t have anyone taller than 6-4 on a roster that has only two sophomores.

McClurkin plans to go with a multiple-guard offense that revolves around sophomores Curtis Clay (5-10) and Rico Laurie (6-3), and freshman Clem Breedlove (6-1).

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VALLEY

COACH: Doug Michelson, third season

LAST SEASON: 21-13

The Monarchs came within one victory last season of reaching the state Final Eight tournament. They upset Long Beach in the second round of the Southern California Regional before losing to Riverside, 117-111, in the third.

Michelson has four returning starters and several talented newcomers he hopes will help the team challenge for the WSC South title and perhaps advance a few steps farther in the playoffs.

“We have some quality, quality freshmen,” Michelson said. “We are going to play 10 deep, keep some fresh people on the floor.”

The top freshmen include Benny Hoang, an All-City point guard from Eagle Rock High; Wil O’Neal, a 6-4 wing from Dorsey High and Will Ruffin, a 6-5 wing who averaged 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds at Granada Hills last season.

But the Monarch mainstays are 6-7 postman Vernon Simmons, a former Simi Valley High standout who averaged 10.2 points and 10.8 rebounds and was an All-WSC selection last season; 6-6 postman LaMarr Thompson (11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds); 6-2 wingman Mack Cleveland (10.2 points) and point guard Michael Farmer (8.4 points, 6.1 assists). Thompson and Farmer played at Sylmar High.

The Monarchs have a tough opener Friday against Los Angeles City, ranked 15th in the nation in a preseason poll, in the first round of the Mt. San Antonio College tournament.

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ANTELOPE VALLEY

COACH: Newton Chelette, seventh season

LAST SEASON: 24-9

Chelette believes the Marauders are poised to reach new heights.

“This group has the potential of being the best group we’ve ever had,” Chelette said. “We have size and we have quickness.”

Chelette guided the Marauders to the Foothill Conference NorthernDivision title last season and to the second round of the Southern California Regional. The Marauders have won 20 or more games in each season under Chelette and have claimed four conference championships.

With nine sophomores and several promising freshmen, the Marauders have a well-balanced team that should challenge for another conference title.

Key returners include point guards Marlon Tisdel (3.1 assists a game last season) and Jerome Payton (62.1% shooting), and guard Brandon McIntire (97 three-point baskets). Sophomore forwards Mike Salser and Brian Burleson, both 6-5, are back after sitting out one season. Salser saw limited action in 1993-94, but Burleson averaged 9.0 points.

Among the newcomers, Jonathan George and Shaun Murray figure prominently in Chelette’s plans. George, a 6-5 forward, averaged 19.3 points and 8.1 rebounds at Littlerock High last season, and Murray, a 6-8 center, averaged 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds at Rosamond High.

This nucleus should give the Marauders a more balanced attack. Last season, guard Orville Turner, second leading scorer in the state at 27.1 points per game, carried the load. Turner is at Central Missouri State, an NCAA Division II school.

Antelope Valley opens Friday against Compton in the Santa Monica tournament.