Men's Basketball Team Updates

Monterey Peninsula head coach Blake Spiering will lean heavily on two talented frontcourt players this season. Both have made 

oral commitments to Division One schools this week. JucoJunction has the news on a talented pair of forwards that will head opposite 

directions after their sophomore seasons at MPC.

It has been a busy week at Monterey Peninsula College in California.  Two MPC players have made commitments to Division One schools. 

 6-foot-9 Alex Veit is headed to Hawaii, while his frontcourt mate Curtis Harrison will play at Texas-San Antonio.

“Alex went to Hawaii on a visit a few weeks ago,” said head coach Blake Spiering.  “He had a great time.  He just loved it.”

Spiering said schools from the West Coast Conference, Big West and Big Sky were heavily recruiting Veit.

“His strength is definitely his athleticism and his overall skill level,” said the coach.  “He is 6-9, 220 and he shoots the lights out of the ball.  

He can shoot three's, is very effective in the high post, and play can with his back to the basket.”

Veit was the most valuable player of the Class 4A state tournament his senior season in Salem, Oregon and averaged just under 

ten points and 5.5 rebounds a game at MPC as a freshman.

“He is getting to be a good defensive player,” Spiering said.  “He is used to playing behind his man from high school.  

I like my guys to deny the post and front the post, but he is getting better on defense.  He is a player that really makes a difference for the other post players.”

Spiering says Harrison is probably a better defender than Veit, but not as strong offensively. 

"He is long and athletic as heck,” said the coach.  “He is great with his back to the basket, he's a good shot blocker and he can get up and down the floor...

He can definitely put the ball on the ground two or three times out on the perimeter to make something happen.”

Schools like Boise State, St. Mary's, Santa Clara, UCSB and Sacramento State were showing interest in Harrison prior to the commitment.

Both players have grade point averages above 3.0 at Monterey Peninsula and should qualify easily.

http://jucojunction.rivals.com/default.asp

Posted on: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 

MPC forward says he'll join UH basketball 

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

The 2005-06 season has yet to begin for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team, but the Rainbow Warriors got a head start on 2006-07.

Alex Veit, a 6-foot-8 power forward at Monterey Peninsula College (Calif.), said he will play for Hawai'i next season.

"I feel like Hawai'i is the best place for me," said Veit, who made a recruiting visit two weeks ago. "I like the coaches, and I like the program. I think it's a good fit."

Veit said he averaged around 10 points and six rebounds per game as a freshman at Monterey Peninsula last season. He is expected to be the starting power 

forward as a sophomore for the Lobos this season.

"Our coach likes to mix things up, getting a lot of guys in the games," Veit said. "When it's my time in there, I like to run up and down the court, play more of a fast game."

Veit said he also was being recruited by several programs in the West Coast Conference and Big Sky Conference. Veit, who is 212 pounds, will have two seasons of eligibility at UH.

Before enrolling at Monterey Peninsula, Veit helped lead South Salem High to the Oregon state championship as a senior in 2004.

Michael Kuebler, an All-Western Athletic Conference guard for Hawai'i in 2004, also is a graduate of South Salem.

Veit said he will sign an official letter-of-intent during the early signing period next month.

His parents were pleasantly surprised with his choice.

"The last time I went to Hawai'i was about 20 years ago," his mother Jan said. "Now we have an excuse to go there."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.

MEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS MONTEREY PENINSULA'S CURTIS HARRISON 
Release Date: 4/25/2006 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ≈ The Sacramento State men’s basketball team signed forward/center Curtis Harrison; it was announced today by 

Hornets head coach Jerome Jenkins. Harrison will enroll as a junior at Sacramento State in the fall of 2006.

A 6-8, 210-pound native of Seaside, Calif., Harrison spent the past two years at Monterey Peninsula Junior College. A defensive stopper, 

Harrison averaged 7.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game in 2005-06 while shooting 48.5 percent (80-165) from the field. 

He scored in double figures 11 times, including double-doubles against both Chabot College and West Hills College.

“Curtis will be a good addition to our front line, Jenkins said. “He loves to rebound the basketball, and he finishes strong around the basket.

 In addition, Curtis has a great knack for altering and blocking shots, and will not allow any easy points in the paint.

Harrison prepped at Seaside High School, where he averaged 6.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game as a senior. 

Sacramento State's recruiting class now consists of Harrison, Long Beach City College combo guard Chris Hart and Apollo High School 

swingman Tristan Wilson. Hart was a two-time all-conference selection at Long Beach CC, and Wilson was named both the 4A Player 

of the Year and first team all-Arizona (given to the top five high school players in the state) at Apollo HS. 

Sacramento State finished the 2005-06 season with a 15-15 overall record and a Big Sky Tournament semifinals appearance. 

The 15-15 record marked the team’s highest winning percentage since joining the Div. I ranks in 1991-92. 

 
Thursday, February 23, 2006 Last modified: Thursday, February 23, 2006 3:36 AM PST 
Christensen lands on his feet at MPC
By: Jim McCue
The vast majority of people that head to the Monterey Peninsula have rest and relaxation on their minds. Placer graduate Cody Christensen cannot be counted among that majority.

"He came here with basketball on his mind," Monterey Peninsula College basketball coach Blake Spiering said, "and he is truly the epitome of a student-athlete."
Christensen's journey to being the Lobos' team captain this season followed a long road that presented obstacles on the way. As a senior at Placer, Christensen decided not to play basketball for the Hillmen based on his dissatisfaction with the program.

Upon graduation, he enrolled at Sierra College and attempted to return to the court for the Wolverines, but did not earn a spot on the Sierra squad. While he kept playing and even volunteered for the Jimmy Carroll basketball camp in Auburn, Cody was out of game action for two years.

But it was at the basketball camp that Christensen had the door to organized basketball cracked back open. A friend from Davis who played at Monterey Peninsula College urged him to contact Spiering about playing for the Lobos and the pieces eventually fell into place.

"My friend told me to call the coach because they needed a shooter," Christensen said. "I ended up going down there and played some in open gym and got a spot on the team."

The transition back into the daily rigors of practice and game conditioning was difficult, but Christensen's biggest surprise upon his return to the court was the talent level.

"I didn't know what to expect, having been out of action for two years," he said, "but I was surprised at the level of competition at the junior college level. There were lots of good players - more than I thought there would be - and it was tough to get my game legs under me playing against the competition."

Throughout the transition, Christensen never felt any extra pressure from the coaching staff at Monterey Peninsula College. Spiering and his staff gave all of the Lobos freedom and room to grow and focused solely on the "here and now."

"He never asked about why I didn't play my last year in high school," Christensen said of Spiering. "If you can play, then you will play."

Christensen eventually got his "game legs" back and contributed significant minutes in his first season at Monterey Peninsula. That season provided him with the experience to return for a second season with even greater confidence and greater conditioning.

He earned the respect of his coaches and the team to earn captaincy of the team in his sophomore season - a pleasant surprise for Spiering and the Lobos.

"It's hard to take two years off from the game and get to the point where Cody was," Spiering said. "I had hoped that he would develop to this point, but you never know. I only knew that he would work hard and be a great student while he was here. As it turned out, he was respected by the team, the community, and the school as a hard-working, great guy."

"We didn't do a lot of the little things like rebounding and making free throws," Christensen said of the team's second-half struggles. "We just couldn't consistently put together 40 good minutes."

Christensen has had few struggles off the court, earning a 3.95 GPA and setting himself up to pursue a Business degree at a four-year college in the fall. He said he is considering Chico State, San Francisco State, and Dominican University in San Rafael to major in business with a minor in kinesiology.

San Francisco State is likely the only choice that might offer the opportunity to continue to play basketball while setting his sights on running his own business in the future.

"I'd like to keep playing, but focusing on getting my degree is a priority," he said.

While his basketball future is up in the air and has been clouded in the past, Christensen has always been clear about future employment.

"Since high school, I knew that I wanted to start my own business and work for myself," he said. "I have always thought that I could do it, but just recently got more focused on what I want to do."

Christensen would like to return to the area to open a strength and conditioning facility after finishing up his Business degree in a couple of years. The foothills offer a wealth of schools to build a client base for such a venture, according to Christensen, and he would like to be closer to home.

Regardless of where he and a future business venture might end up, you can bet that rest and relaxation are not in Christensen's plans - at least, for the immediate future.

Catching Up runs Thursdays. Got a tip on a college athlete for Catching Up? Contact Jim McCue at jimmccue16@comcast.net.
Lobos flying high, thinking playoff berth
The Lobos are off to a flying start again this year. They began the week with a 7-2 mark and ranked No. 9 in Northern California and No. 16 in the state. "This is the best team I've had since I've been here,'' Spiering said. Two Lobos have already signed letters of intent to play next year at four-year schools. Curtis Harrison, a 6-8, 210-pounder from Seaside High, signed with Texas-San Antonio, a Division I school that has reached the NCAA Tourney two of the last three years. They lost to Stanford in the first round last year.
Alex Veit, a 6-9, 220-pounder from Salem, Ore., signed with the University of Hawaii. The two have combined for 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. One of the leading scorers for the Lobos this year is 6-3, 205-pound Jermaine Johnson from Seaside, one of three Lobos named to the Salinas Californian's All-County basketball team when they were in high school. In addition to Johnson - a two-time All-County performer - there is Nathan Rodzach, a 6-6, 200-pounder from Alvarez and 6-6, 205-pound Marco Ramos from North Salinas. Another Lobo freshman, 6-8, 215-pound A.J. Walker from Pacific Grove, helped the Breakers to three straight league titles and was considered one of the top defensive players in the area. We've got a good mix,'' Spiering said. "We have a little bit of everything.'' Two of MPC's early-season scoring leaders are 6-1, 185-pound guard Tommy Gard from Independence High in San Jose and Darroll Phillips from Atascadero High. Gard is averaging about 14 points and 6.5 rebounds while Phillips is netting about 11 points per game. MPC's starting point guard is 5-11, 165-pound Will Nganga from Oakland. "We share the basketball and play great team defense,'' Spiering said. The Lobos are hosting an eight-team tournament this week. It began Thursday and continues today and Saturday. The list of teams includes Gavilan, Chabot, Los Medanos, Canada, Sierra, Ohlone and Santa Barbara City. 
Today's games are at 1, 3, 5 and 7 p.m. 
Saturday's championship game is at 4 p.m. with preliminary games at noon and 2 p.m.
MPC Hoops 2004-2005
 
TRANSFERS
Ryan McBride - University of Arkansas; Erick Jamerson - Simpson University; Kendrick Gamble - Central Baptist University; DeMarcus Hall - Cal State Bakersfield; Araron Landon - University of La Verne
 
ALL CONFERENCE
 
Ryan McBride and Dontae Hall
 

Basketball News

Shooter McBride Signs with Razorbacks 

 
 
Head coach Stan Heath announced the signing of 6-6 shooting guard Ryan McBride on Thursday.
UA Sports Information- Thursday, April 28, 2005 --- 
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Ryan McBride, a 6-6, 190-pound junior college shooting guard, has signed a national letter of intent to play at Arkansas next season, head coach Stan Heath announced on Thursday.
As a sophomore at Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula College, he led the Coast Conference in scoring with 21.2 points per game while adding 9.5 rebounds and connecting on 46.2 percent of his three-pointers, helping the Lobos go 14-13.
As a freshman, he averaged 15.9 points and 5.7 rebounds while leading the Coast Conference with a .533 three-point percentage. He was also second in the league with an .852 free throw percentage.
McBride earned All-Coast Conference honors for Coach Blake Spiering both seasons at Monterey. 
“One area we wanted to address for next year was three-point shooting and Ryan McBride’s numbers were very impressive,” Heath says. “We feel like he can give us a boost. He’s also a good player in other areas such as passing, defense and rebounding.” 
McBride signed with Arkansas after also considering Pittsburgh, Kansas State and Tennessee. He was also recruited by Charlotte, Oregon State, Southern Illinois, Southern Mississippi, Utah State and San Jose State, among others.
McBride attended Manual High School in Denver.
“As soon as we get him on campus, we’ll get him involved in our weight training, playing with the guys and continue working on his fundamentals,” Heath says. 
McBride is the third signee in this year’s class for the Razorbacks. During the fall signing period, the Hogs added 6-2, 175-pound combo guard Sean McCurdy of West Port, Conn., and 6-9, 235-pound forward Cyrus McGowan of Meridian, Miss.
McCurdy missed his senior season with a broken bone in his right foot, but averaged 15.0 points and 8.0 assists as a junior. Playing for legendary coach Bob Hurley, he helped St. Anthony (N.J.) High School go 30-0 and end the year ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today.
McGowan led Meridian High School to the Mississippi Class 5A state finals and a 28-9 record with averages of 11.1 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.0 blocked shots and 2.0 assists per game. He earned second-team All-Mississippi honors by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and prior to his senior season was rated the third-best prospect in the state by Hoop Scoop.
Arkansas has one other scholarship available which may or may not be used.