CSUDH Men's Basketball Weekly
November 20, 2006

This Release in PDF

Welcome to 2006-07: The Toros kick off the 2006-07 season at the Seattle Pacific Thanksgiving Classic, held on the campus of UNLV, before entertaining CCAA foes Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State the weekend of December 1-2, with 7:30 pm tipoffs in the Torodome.

The Time is Now: The 2006-07 Cal State Dominguez Hills men’s basketball team is ready. Ready with eight returning players on a team that improved by two wins in conference and four overall after welcoming 10 newcomers and a coach in just his second year with last season’s squad. Ready after winning its last two regular season games of the year. And ready after five of its losses on the year were by three points or less.

In 2005-06, juniors Carlos Rivers and Shamont Brown, who was named to the 2nd-team All-CCAA, led the Toro offense, averaging 13.4 and 12.0 points per game, respectively, while fellow junior transfer Trevon Bryant anchored a revamped defense that saw him establish the CSUDH record for blocks in a single-season with 52, with his 2.36 blocks per game average placing him 15th in the NCAA, giving head coach Damaine Powell (right) ample reason to smile as the season kicks off this week at the SPU Thanksgiving Classic.

“For the first time since I’ve been here, I know my personnel,” says Powell confidently. “We kind of got on a roll toward the end but by that time, the season was over. But we felt good about ourselves. Now, we’ve got some talent and experience, and we’re playing to that. We have the potential to have a breakthrough year.”

See the complete 2006-07 men's basketball preview.

Around the CCAA Conference: Here’s a look at the rest of the conference schedule for this week: Monday - Cal State Stanislaus @ Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC San Diego @ Grand Canyon; Friday - Humboldt State vs. Central Washington; West Coast Baptist @ Cal State L.A., Western Oregon @ Chico State, UC Santa Cruz @ Cal State Stanislaus, Seattle Pacific vs. UC San Diego; Saturday - Western Oregon vs. Humboldt, The Master’s College @ Cal State L.A., Cal State East Bay @ San Francisco State, Central Washington @ Chico State, UC San Diego vs. Montevallo, TBA @ Cal State Stanislaus.

Making His Point (All 5 of Them): Second-team All-CCAA selection Shamont Brown returns for his senior season, looking to capitalize on a 2005-06 campaign that saw the New York native establish his place amongst the CCAA’s best in FG% (5th, 63rd in the NCAA0, rebounding (10th), steals (T12th), assists (16th) and scoring (18th), the only CCAA player in the league to make the top 20 in those five categories.

Earning a starting nod in 23 of the Toros’ final 24 games of 0506, Brown tallied at least 20 points on five occasions, scoring in double-figures in five-consecutive games from December 10-January 7, and pulled down at least 10 rebounds twice. Additionally, the 6’4” guard swiped 7 steals at San Diego Christian College on December 10, good for his season-best effort, while tallying a season-high of 23 points at CSULA on February 10, draining 62% of his shots from the field.

Record Breaking: Senior Trevon Bryant etched his name atop the CSUDH record books for blocks in a single-season last year, tallying his 38th block on February 24, against Cal State San Bernardino. In 2005-06, Bryant collected 52 blocks for an average of 2.36 blocks per game, leading the CCAA by over one block per game average, and ranking 15th in the NCAA. Bryant’s nearest competitor in the blocks per game category in the CCAA finished 1.06 blocks under.

In collecting his then-38th block of the season, Bryant surpassed former Toro great Anthony Blackmon, who set the record of 37 blocks in a single season during the 1988-89 campaign.

Movin’ On Up: With the Toros’ 11-16 overall and 8-12 CCAA mark in 2005-06, CSUDH achieved the most wins since the 2001-02 campaign when it went 12-15 and 11-11 in conference, three seasons before the arrival of head coach Damaine Powell. Since Powell took over the reigns in 2004-05, the Toros have won four more games both total and in conference than the two years before he was named head coach.

Toros Amongst the CCAA’s Best: Here’s how the Toros fared against the rest of the CCAA in 2005-06: Blocks - Trevon Bryant (1st, 2.35 bpg), Durwin Williams (17th, 0.43 bpg); FG% - Shamont Brown (6th, 54%), Carlos Rivers (14th, 45%); Steals - Mike Steed (7th, 1.33 spg); Carlos Rivers (9th, 1.31 spg), Shamont Brown (T12th, 1.22 spg); Rebounds - Durwin Williams (8th, 6.0 rpg), Shamont Brown (10th, 5.7 rpg); Scoring - Carlos Rivers (10th, 13.4 ppg); Shamont Brown (19th, 12.0 ppg); Assist/Turnover Ratio - Carlos Rivers (11th, 1.14); Assists - Carlos Rivers (11th, 3.12 apg), Mike Steed (12th, 2.96 apg), Shamont Brown (16th, 2.85 apg); 3-Pt. FG Made: Carlos Rivers (16th, 1.5 pg).

I Feel the Need ... for Steed: Mike Steed has blossomed into a leader and, now in his third year, is one of the veterans on the squad. Known for his defensive tenacity and high basketball acumen, the Antelope native will be a key figure if the Toros hope to make a run at the CCAA Title.

“I’m really comfortable with Steed,” says Powell with a smile, noting Steed’s three years of experience in the competitive CCAA Conference. “He’s probably our best defender, one of our best shooters and has a high IQ and knows exactly what I want out there. He brings maturity, stability and unselfishness. He is a leader.”

Rebound Central: After six games of being out-rebounded by 38 boards to start the season, the Toros’ hard work paid off on the glass by the year’s end. During the first six games, CSUDH had out-rebounded its opponents in only two games, each by one board, while tying in the rebound category one time. Alarmingly, in the three other contests in which CSUDH was out-rebounded, the Toros were bested by eight boards in one contest, and by 14 and 18 in the other two.

However, CSUDH took charge of the boardroom in its final 21 contests, collecting a total of 77 more boards than their opponents to give CSUDH an overall rebounding edge for the year (33.6 to 31.7). In fact, the Toros enjoyed four games in which they have out-rebounded opponents by at least 10 boards: +11 vs. Cal Poly Pomona, +13 vs. Chaminade, +15 @ Chico State and +33 vs. Dominican.

Hard to Guard: Point guard Carlos Rivers emerged as one of the “go-to” players for the Toros last season. After scoring a total of 15 points in his first two contests in Cardinal & Gold, Rivers etched double-figure scoring in 16 of his last 24 games, including seven 20+ point performances and a career-best 31-point outburst against UC San Diego on February 25.

Rivers also provided solid work at the charity stripe as he connected for 86% of his free throws on the season, a mark that would have topped the CCAA’s best effort of 83% had Rivers met the minimum standard of 3.0 free throws made per game.

Offensive Efficiency: After seeing offensive woes mark a 1-5 start to begin 05-06 campaign, the Toros saw their offensive struggles do a 180, and found themselves out-shooting their opponents at the end of the season (48.2% to 46.8%). Additionally, The Toros boasted six players whose percentages from the floor were at least 45% in Trevon Bryant (60%), Durwin Williams (54%), Shamont Brown (54%), Mario Malave (50%), Mike Steed (48%), and Carlos Rivers (45%).

Sudden Impact: Of the eight newcomers, none is expected to make as big an impact as senior Gabe Bernard. The 6’7” forward, who transferred from Division I University of Texas San Antonio, was UTSA’s 4th-leading scorer despite starting just nine games in 23 appearances. Long and skilled, Powell is looking for Bernard to duplicate his effort at UTSA, where he tallied seven games of double-figure scoring, including 15 points twice, and six games of at least 4 rebounds.

“Gabe is very skilled and is going to be real good for us,” says Powell. “He’s long, can shoot it, can defend, and has the potential to start and may be an All-CCAA player.”

Thank You. No, Thank You: If there was one glaring stat in the Toros 7-7 home record compared to their 4-7 road record, it was the different in assists and turnovers. At home, CSUDH enjoyed a +50 in that category (240 assists / 190 turnovers) while suffering a -46 differential on the road (133 assists / 179 turnovers).

Craig on the Mic: The voice of the Toros online, veteran broadcaster Craig Dunkin will web cast two games to begin 2007 in the January 19 game against Cal Poly Pomona, and the February 9 contest against Humboldt State. Tune in at www.toroslive.com for all the play-by-play action.