Coast creeps up the ladder

Bryce Alderton

Little by little, Steve Spencer is trying to establish a tradition at

Orange Coast College.

Spencer, in his third season of guiding Coast’s men’s basketball

team, is coming off OCC’s first 20-win season in 13 years after the

Pirates improved their win total by 13 from the prior winter. Coast,

20-13 a year ago, qualified for the Southern California regional

playoffs.

But Spencer contends there is still work to be done.

OCC again doesn’t have the height some of its foes will possess,

but will focus on its transition and half-court games, using a motion

offense with a few set plays.

Coast returns sophomore starters Aaron Bobik (a 6-foot-3

guard/forward), the team’s leader in three-point shooting (43.2%),

rebounds (4.6 per game) and steals (68) and Coast’s only

representative on the All-Orange Empire Conference first-team, along

with shooting guard Jason Garey. An All-OEC second-team selection,

Garey finished the season with 111 three-point goals and averaged

12.7 points to lead Coast.

Both Bobik and Garey have received recruiting interests from

four-year schools and will most likely take a majority of the shots,

Spencer said.

“Aaron will be the guy that fills the box score with points,

rebounds, assists and steals, he can do a little bit of everything,”

Spencer said.

Bobik has added muscle in the off-season and has improved his

mental outlook, taking more of a leadership role, Spencer said.

Micah Young, a 6-3, 190-pound freshman, redshirted last season

after recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered

early in his senior season at Estancia High. The former All-Pacific

Coast League and All-Newport-Mesa District selection, should see some

starts.

“He has showed more consistent glimpses lately of how capable he

is,” Spencer said of Young. “He brings a consistent level of

aggression to the floor.”

Sophomore forward Matt Hatch (6-4), returns after averaging almost

four points a game last year, while freshman Jibri Taylor, out of

Artesia High, will take control of the point.

“Hatch’s post moves and perimeter shooting have gotten better and

he’s also worked on a left-hand shot in the post, which is exciting

to see,” Spencer said.

Freshman Alex Hunter, a teammate of Taylor’s at Artesia, provides

another option at point guard for Spencer.

Coast’s guards also include freshmen Bryan Fincham, Herbert

Martin, Jermaine Baker, Wes Terry and sophomore Ali Shaheim.

Sophomore forward Sam Bailey is Coast’s tallest player at 6-6 and

is recovering from shoulder surgery performed last season.

“He is also battling shin splints, so he is just trying to get

healthy. But he is making progress,” Spencer said.

Freshmen Joel Chester, David Seifert, Jason Sanford and Joseph

Nwabuzor add to Coast’s depth at forward.

Coast was plus-196 in turnover margin a year ago, a stat Spencer

credits simply to “better players.”

“Coaches get too much credit when they win and too much blame when

they lose,” Spencer said. “It is a players’ game.

“[Last year] more guys were willing to put out a great effort.

Guys were hungry to have success and good things happened.”

Building a consistent winning program can be difficult because

other schools in the area vie for the same players.

“We have a long way to go to establish what we want,” said

Spencer, who teaches physical education at OCC. “We are still

fighting an uphill battle. It is not like some schools that have

teams who have been to the final four 20 straight years. You hope to

work hard, build on success and attract more and better players.”