Hull steers CCS men

Starting over is natural in junior college athletics and that is especially true for the Community Colleges of Spokane men’s basketball team.

That might be a good thing for new head coach Clint Hull, whose path to Spokane was a little unique, to say the least.

The former State B star from Pateros, Wash., was coaching at Irvine Valley College in California after his playing career at Concordia University when then Eastern Washington coach Mike Burns contacted him about an assistant’s position.

That didn’t work out because Burns was fired, but with the itch to return home he accepted an offer to help Eric Hughes at CCS. Two weeks after Hull’s arrival, however, Hughes was hired by the Toronto Raptors – and replaced by Burns.

“It’s kind of weird how all the things transpired the last year or so,” Hull said. “It’s a little bit of head-spinning but the way things worked out, I couldn’t be happier.

“It’s one of those things. It’s always a goal, a dream, to be head coach. To have it work out the way it did is a little bit surprising. I’m really excited about it, but I recognize I’m very fortunate.”

The good news he is taking over a team he and Burns guided to a 24-game winning streak that ended with a one-point loss in the NWAAC championship game. Burns is now an assistant at the University of San Diego.

The bad news is Hull’s really not taking over that team since he only has three sophomores from the team that finished with a team-record 30-2 mark. Seven of last year’s sophomores moved on to four-year schools.

“We obviously want to do well, but we understand where we’re at,” Hull said. “We’re extremely young. You still put pressure on yourself. It’s not anything anyone else is saying.”

The leaders are sophomores Damal Neil, a 6-foot-4 post from North Central, Kevin Cameron, a guard from Central Valley, and Derek Gianukakis, a former Republic standout and transfer from North Idaho College.

“We weren’t quite sure what our identity was going to be, but the big guys are coming through,” Hull said.

Among the 13 freshmen expected to contribute are guards Zach Humphrey (Shadle Park) and Chris Pynch (Riverside Christian), wing Brendan Ingebritsen (Mead) and post Griffon Jones (Cheney).

“One of the things we’ll end up doing is redshirting a couple of guys,” Hull said. “The way it worked out last year is we had 16 on the roster and had six redshirts.

North Idaho men

The pieces are in place, now comes the hard part.

Cardinals coach Jared Phay only returns two players from last season’s 20-12 team, plus a couple of redshirts, but he has a roster full of talented players, which makes him optimistic.

“We’re coming together pretty good,” he said. “We’re being unselfish and we can score in different areas. “We’re not a one-dimensional team.”

There is always a “but” in junior college basketball.

“In junior college we’re all pretty used to a high turnover rate,” he said. “Obviously, coming together and jelling as a team is a concern. We have to learn to play together in a very short period of time.”

Sophomore guard Shawn Henderson, who is headed to the University of Idaho, is a key veteran, along with point guard Melvin Jones.

A third Seattle-area player, 6-6 forward Renado Parker, is a key freshman, although most eyes will probably focus on 7-1 center Guy-Marc Michel from Sainte Marie, Martinique – homeland of former Gonzaga star and current NBA player Rony Turiaf of the Golden State Warriors.

“He’s still a little raw, but he looks pretty good,” Phay said. “His upside is ridiculously high.”

Mix in Michel Swita, a 7-foot freshman from Paris, and the Cardinals look a little scary – on paper at least.

“It’s hard to tell, because in our league there is such a fine line between winning the league and being at the bottom of the league,” Phay said of the Cardinals’ prospects. “Every team is talented, athletic, big. It’s hard to tell until we get rolling.”

NIC women

Chris Carlson likes the way his team appears on paper, which is understandable with a majority of his 14-player roster sophomores or redshirts.

“We’ll be pretty decent,” the fifth-year coach said. “To have sophomores, that experience goes a long way at a two-year school.”

The leader from last year’s 22-10 team that reached the Region 18 championship game is guard Ula Tauala, a 5-8 guard out of Lewis and Clark who was first-team all-league as a freshman.

She’s likely to be joined in the backcourt by sophomore transfer Bianca Cheever from Australia.

“She’s a big, strong guard,” Carlson said. “She can shoot it and she just plays strong.”

He said the most improved player is wing Marielle McKean (Moses Lake).

Unfortunately, he won’t have sophomore Jessica Thielen. The Canadian, who was all-region tournament in 2007, missed last season with a ruptured Achilles tendon and ruptured the other one on the first day of practice.

Sophomore posts Brigitte Boucher (Lakeland) and Kia Gibson (Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls) have been slowed by illness, giving freshman Deanna Dots (Coeur d’Alene), who was highly recruited before missing her senior year with a knee injury, and Katie Sanders an opportunity to shine.

“Both are going to help us,” Carlson said.

Missing the early part of the season for a good reason are Kendra Wayling and Lauren Boyd-Miller, who went with the volleyball team to the national tournament, and starting point guard Natalie Nichols (Lakeland), at nationals with the soccer team.

CCS women

The Sasquatch won’t be bigger, but they could be better.

Despite returning just four players from the team that finished 22-8 after losing in the NWAACC championship game, veteran coach Bruce Johnson is optimistic.

“We’ll shoot it better than we did last year,” he said. “Last year we were more of a defensive team. We have better perimeter shooting. We never did sign that 6-foot post player, but there weren’t a lot of big kids out there. We’ll be a little thin there, compared to last year, but we’ll have better guard play. We’ll try to go up-tempo a little more and press a little more.”

The veteran sophomores are guards Kaytee Clough (Deer Park) and Kelsey Stillar (Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls) and posts Cami Bullock (Liberty) and Richelle Daily (Medical Lake). Another veteran is transfer guard Kami Clark (Mead).

There is early concern at point guard, not because both are freshman. Kelsey Raines (Freeman) has been injured, leaving Bianca Arellano (Pasco) as the only option.

Other freshmen expected to contribute are forward Meghan Eisenmann (Missoula), wing Clara Hull (Pateros) and guard Andrea DePaolo (North Central).