Posted: Mar 03, 2017
The Bakersfield College Men's Basketball Team (201-10, 7-1) may have gotten knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, but the fact that they made it all would have been news to the pundits who didn't give them a chance in all of the preseason polls. They also piled up hardware by sweeping three of the most coveted conference trophies in the WSC South Conference Championship, Conference Player of the Year and Conference Coach of the Year.
Jamar Hammonds was named POY for a 2016-2017 campaign that saw him average 16 points and nearly six rebounds (5.8) per game. But Hammonds saved his best for the games that put BC-picked last in the majority of pre-season conference polls- in the position to repeat as conference champions for the first time in the program's 36 year history in the WSC.
Hammonds' averaged almost seven more points (22.9) and nearly three more rebouds (8.4) when takin on conference foes.
He demonstrated a nack for timing and clutch play right up to the final seconds of the regular season finale against College of the Canyons, as COC erased a double digit deficit late in the second half and had what could have been the final possession in regulation that they certainly would have used on a three-point field goal attempt to tie the game with less than 30 seconds to go in regulation.
But Hammonds appeared from out of the mist of the Gil Bishop Sports Center and swiped the ball cleanly from a Canyons guard, near the top of the key, and took it all the way to the house with a thunderous dunk that increased BC's lead to five points with less than 20 seconds to go.
On the very next play, All-Conference Team Honorable Mention (back to back award recipient) Shane Christie intercepted a pass about 10 feet away from the rim, and quickly distributed the ball to Hammonds who, realizing that discretion is always the better part of valor, settled for a finger roll rather than another dunk, and gave BC the final seven point lead that cemented their 7-1 league record.
While he's impossible for opposing defenses to forget, we're burying the lede in recognizing Tucker Eenigenburg. The Stockdale product was named to the All-Conference Team for putting up similar numbers to Hammonds, albeit in very different fashion. He averaged about 10 points (10.4) and almost three and half rebounds (3.4) on the season, but swelled those totals by five points (15.4) and a whole rebound (4.4) for conference games.
"Tuck" was a key piece of the dimensionality that makes this year's WSC South Championship team so much different than the one anchored by previous Conference Player of The Year Deandre Dickson and All Galaxy point guard Jameik Riviere.
Instead of relying on "The Equalizer"-as the 6-9 wing Dickson was known to some coaches-WSC South Coach of the Year Rich Hughes had an "A-Team" of freshman who were comfortable playing roles; Eengigenburg as the hustling outside shooter, Ceasar Chavez (Delano) product Henry Galinato as the shot blocking, rebounding, paint protector, and Jaylunn English and Hammonds rounding out the pack with the ability to score and change the energy level of the game almost at will.
Hughes balanced the youth movement-and the negative preseason reviews it may have precipitated-by coaxing great leadership out of four sophomores, and challenging them to be the first Renegades who can claim back-to-back WSC Conference Championships.
Sean Leflore was Hughes' "Swiss Army Knife", the soft-spoken sophomore was asked what he liked doing best on the court, and he said, "Whatever helps this team win." Often his contributions came via gritty defense that doesn't convert into gaudy stats. But on more than one occasion, Leflore completely shut down and rattled the opponent's main scorer with tenacious and persistent griding D.
Shane Christie led the 'Gades with assists, but he averaged over 11 points a game, and was another "Runni-Gade" who made his coaches alternately bristle and grin with his signature dunks, and high risk/high reward passing style that Hughes and Assistant Coach Aaron Chavez sometimes characterize as "that razzle dazzle."
Despite Hughes' NBA Pedigree-his late father Rex coached at nearly every level of the game before succumbing to cancer in 2016-both he and his Assistant favor a more "blue collar" approach on the hardwood.
"You know, I'm a John Stockton guy," Chavez said in a recent interview, "He just got the job done."
But the stoic coach let a grin slip, revealing that possibly, and just MAYBE, he and Hughes got at least a little joy out of odd and exciting plays that seemed to come by the handful in the regular season, including a baseline-to-baseline scoring play where the ball never touched the court once.
"You know, I'm a John Stockton guy," Chavez said in a recent interview, "He just got the job done."
But the stoic coach let a grin slip, revealing that possibly, and just MAYBE, he and Hughes got at least a little joy out of odd and exciting plays that seemed to come by the handful in the regular season, including a baseline-to-baseline scoring play where the ball never touched the court once.