According to the pro’s at Rumor Central, the above photo is the new Head Coach at the Riverside Community College.  Using various pieces of information,  Rumor Central staff’s came up with the theory that there will not be a full-time replacement for Coach John Smith this year. 

You say to yourself, “How can that happen?”  Well, certain organizations have something called “Leave of Absence.”  With the right approvals, an employee can leave the organization for up to a year without losing any retirement, tenure, and sick leave etc.  Great way for someone to try another job and with the good old job still waiting if it doesn’t work out.

Now to make it clear, the Rumor Central guys don’t know if any of this is true or even if the community college bureaucracies have “Leave of Absences.”  It is a rumor at this point.  Only time will tell if Coach Smith will be replaced this year or will an assistant coach will run the program. 

The JUCO vacant head coaches are finally are coming together.  I think. 


Rio Hondo College has for years battled with the “Big Dogs” in the Foothill Conference.    Looking at the Rio Hondo College website today, I saw that Mike Lowe is now the head basketball coach at Rio Hondo.  According to an internet search, Mike Lowe was the head coach of La Serna High School in Whittier, CA for 20  years.

Received a call from a member of the Rumor Central that Coach Lowe was one of Steve Herbert’s assistant coaches last year.  The Rumor Central guys are right on according to Teampages

 Bottom line for Rio Hondo;  New part-time head coach is Mike Lowe with high school and assistant JUCO coach experience.  Good thing for Coach Lowe this year?  Antelope Valley and Mt. San Jacinto are no longer in the Foothill Conference where Rio Hondo will compete. 


The Rumor Central pro’s are putting together a block buster on the Riverside Community College head coach opening.  THIS ONE YOUR NOT GOING TO BELIEVE!!!  Well, you guys with experience working in governmental bureaucracies just might! 

2013-05-13 16.03.19He just had to stop in to watch the new guys in the AVC Basketball Class.  According to Kyisean, his knee is 70% ready for pro basketball and he is feeling great.  With his degree from Utah State University and an agent who is working on a “paying job” for next year.  Welcome back Kyisean. 

Utah State's Kyisean Reed attempts a shot while being guarded by Idaho State's Tomas Sanchez (1) and Andre' Hatchett during an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012, in Logan, Utah.

We haven’t even had a chance to see what the new 2.3/2.5 GPA rules mean yet for high school and JUCO scholarships to D-1 universities when the NCAA have come up with new proposed rules to “open up the game.”   Scoring at the D-1 level keeps dropping and this is the first step to boost up the scoring.

If I read the proposed rules correctly, it will make the game an even more of a guard based game.  If the rules are successfully implemented, here may be the outcome of the new rules;

  1. Athletic, quick guards who can slash to the middle will have the advantage over the slower, stronger guards who currently control the smaller players with hand checks and body blows.  More guard “floaters shots” and interior passing to the Bigs. 
  2. More free throw shooting for a couple years till coaches make the personnel changes.
  3. More space for players to shoot.
  4. More scoring.
  5. The end of the “Grinder Teams” as we know them today? 

Men’s basketball rules committee tweaks block/charge. 

By Greg Johnson 
New NCAA Changes    NCAA.org

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Rules Committee recommended a significant focus on freedom of movement and a change to how block/charge calls will be made, and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee recommended adding a 10-second backcourt rule during their respective annual meetings Monday-Thursday in Indianapolis.

All proposed rules changes by the committees must be approved by the Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which next convenes via conference call June 18, before becoming effective for the 2013-14 season.

The men’s committee focused much of its discussions on attempting to open the game.

“We talked a lot about the rules that are currently in place and ultimately believe a focused effort on calling the rules as written will have an immediate and significant impact,” said John Dunne, chair of the committee and head coach at Saint Peter’s.

For what is believed to be the first time, the committee met with the National Association of Basketball Coaches board of directors and Division I Men’s Basketball Committee to share concepts and opinions.

“It was a tremendous opportunity to get some feedback and ultimately, particularly from the coaches, the emphasis was to call the rules that are already in the book,” Dunne said.

In regard to the block/charge call in men’s basketball, the committee is proposing that a defensive player is not permitted to move into the path of an offensive player once he has started his upward motion with the ball to attempt a field goal or pass. If the defensive player is not in legal guarding position by this time, it is a blocking foul.

The current rule calls for a defender to be in legal guarding position before the offensive player lifts off the floor.

Committee members believe this will give officials more time to determine block/charge calls. Committee members also believe the tweak to the block/charge rule will:

  • Allow for more offensive freedom;
  • Provide clarity for officials in making this difficult call; and
  • Enhance the balance between offense and defense.

In Division I games last season, the average amount of points scored in games was 67.5. This is the lowest scoring average since the 1981-82 season when teams averaged 67.6 points per game. The points-per-game average has also dipped in each of the last four seasons at the Division I level.

To curtail the impeding progress of a player, it will be stressed to officials that they must address these rules throughout the game.

The committee wants the following types of personal fouls be called consistently throughout the game:

  • When a defensive player keeps a hand or forearm on an opponent;
  • When a defensive player puts two hands on an opponent;
  • When a defensive player continually jabs by extending his arm(s) and placing a hand or forearm on the opponent;
  • When a player uses an arm bar to impede the progress of an opponent.

Rumor Central’s back on that Central California JUCO that is looking for a new head coach.  The rumors are that the search committee has got the candidates down from 100 to 40 and now to only 5.

Now the rumors really get interesting about the final 5.  I needed a map to give you rumor lovers some visual hints.  Three of the five finalist come from cities on the map and two do not.  Not enough?  How about an active JUCO head coach, a former D-1 interim head coach, and oh heck that is enough.  Don’t have any idea if these rumors are true or not. 

Will they be announcing their new head coach this week? 

P.S.  No guts from JUCO fans in the know about Rio Hondo and Riverside’s new coaches.  Not guts, no glory!

I am having a hard time writing an article about the past week of Antelope Valley College Basketball.  Its Spring and its difficult to decide whether we are in the end of the 2012-13 season or the beginning of the 2013-14 season.  I think the best I can do is to just put into word the things that I have seen and heard in the past week.  Here goes.

2013-05-08 19.49.25

Freshman, Brandon Wade, 6’2”, 175, graduated from AV’s Eastside High School in 2011.  Enrolled at AVC.  One year of High School basketball, athletic, shooter, potential, quiet tough guy. 

“B Wade” as he is called by the team, broke his nose rebounding with the “Bigs”.  Blood everywhere.  Back on the the court next day until he was hit on the face drilling a 3 ball.  Now waiting for a protective mask.  Hates sitting out watching his competition getting his time.  I will follow “B Wade” to see if he has the patience, talent, potential, luck and academics to make the elite AVC JUCO team.  We know he has the toughness. 

D-2 Western Georgia University head coach at AVC looking for another D-1 quality player.  First question to Vadal Faniel, 6’6”, 210 was “Any classes left to finish?” Academics first thought.

The former AVC players, now University scholarship players, coming home to visit friends, family, and AVC.  They hug their former teammates.  Watch the new guys with a practice eye. 

The Pro basketball players coming home after a year of “making a living!!!” doing what they love to do.  New contracts.  So much bigger, stronger, and mature than when they were at AVC. 

A spring week at AVC.

D-2 Western Georgia was back at the well yesterday.  Head Coach, Michael Cooney spent a long day in SoCal at two elite JUCO’s(hint…an OC Grinder and AVC) looking for a D-1 quality player to beef up his program. 

Last year, Coach Cooney, found SeanSean Boston tournament 4 Boston at Antelope Valley College.  Sean had been overlooked by the D-1 recruiters due to a foot injury that kept him from reaching his potential till late in the season.  Boston, 6’4”, 200 wing led all players  in his first year at Western Georgia with 7 rebounds a game and was the second highest scorer at 11.1 points per game. 

Cooney_ProfileIt looked to me that the sharp eyed Cooney, known for his recruiting abilities, was watching sophomore forward Vadal Faniel, 6’6” 210 who is being looked at by several D-1 universities but has not yet signed.  Coach Cooney, a Gonzaga graduated himself, not only brings to the table a very competitive basketball program, but an  outstanding academic university.   Princeton Review named the University of West Georgia a Best Southeastern College.

This dance should be a very interesting one to watch. 

vadal layup