Friday, October 14, 2022
NJCAA basketball teams officially started preseason on October 1st, so the Phoenix College men's basketball team has been in full swing for almost 2 weeks now. The Bear have had 6 practices and played in the conference jamboree, Coach Eason has gotten a small sample size of where his team currently is, and how far they are from where he wants them to be. I was able to catch Coach Eason, Thursday after practice, as he was getting ready to travel with the team to Colorado for the JuCo Advocate Rocky Mountain Jamboree. As always, he was an open book on the team and his evaluation.
Coach thank you for taking the time to talk to us, I know this is a busy time for you; as you prepare to head out of the team.
No problem at all.
The preseason is almost 2 weeks old. Can you tell us how the team is looking, and how you feel about their progress thus far?
I'm satisfied with where we are right now, but I wouldn't say I'm happy. We have shown flashes of being really good, but it needs to be more consistent. We addressed our need for toughness and accountability, through recruitment. That has stood out the most, from last year. This team is not as emotional, as last year's team. There's way more player driven discipline. Guys are holding other guys accountable, rather than just looking out for themselves and being a bystander to their teammate's lack of buy in. Mike (Rogers) has guys doing pushing ups and mountain climbs in the middle of drills, when a mistake is made. Any coach would love to see that.
Would you consider the accountability piece to more important than the on-court play?
I think they go hand in hand. Without accountability, guys don't have to execute on the court, because it doesn't matter. As far as long-term success, it's much more important. I tell the guys all the time, great teams are led by coaches, but championship teams are led by players. If the players police themselves, and hold their teammates to the program standards, we're in good shape.
What's your goal for the preseason?
Maximum Toughness! I'll take toughness over talent 6 days a week and twice on Sundays. I see these ball handling, step-back shooting, long athletic kids; and think to myself, I wonder how he's going to handle a really physical tough kid, like Jamar Brown. Maybe one of those shifty, fast undersized guards; trying to survive Mike, at 6'3 220, in the post. Joel Rojas is 6'7 and can't dunk, but his toughness is off the charts. He's going to make the battle extremely physical, which is what we love. Don't get me wrong, we got some guys that can play, but I'm all about making games an east coast street fight.
Has anyone stood out, as far as toughness?
Not yet. The ones we knew were tough, have maintained their standard, and we're still evaluating the others. Right now, I'm confident it will be there at the start of the season.
This year, the ACCAC Jamboree fell on October 1st. Considering that was the first day of practice, how did you feel about that?
I had mixed emotions about it. On the positive side, it was great because we don't have anything in; so, I don't have to hold stuff back that was already taught. On the negative side, I hate the format. It's supposed to be a recruiting exposure event for the players, but it's 1 court and 1 game at a time. I actually had some college coaches tell me they would be gone by the time we played. I'm not sure how that helps all the teams and players in the conference. However, we voted to move it to PC for next year; since we have two full sized gyms, so there was a bright spot.
How did you feel about the team's performance?
I thought the guys did well. Our base stuff is pretty simple, so we were focused more on finishing plays on defense with contested 2s and on offense with quality shots; which we felt we got. The majority of the points our defense gave up were off of actions, which obviously we didn't have film to scout; so, I was ok with those baskets. However, offensive rebounds, transition lay ups, and uncontested 3s were unacceptable. Offensively, we got a lot of good looks, that we have to finish. We tied GCC, and we missed a ton of opportunities on the offensive end.
You went 1-0-1. Can you talk about both games?
There's not a lot to say about either game; they weren't real games. I'd say GCC made some tough shots, ran some good sets, and played with poise; which is expected with 2 returning starting guards. EAC has a new coach and a solid squad. They will be a much different and better team when we face them during the regular season.
Since the jamboree, how has practice been going?
Practice has been inconsistent, which is to be expected with so many new faces. Freshmen especially struggle a lot early. Playing at PC is a big adjustment for 90% of these kids. To begin, they're experiencing college basketball for the first time. Secondly, most have never played for such an intense coach, who wants toughness everyday all day. The game is played differently on the east coast, so I feel I have an advantage if my guys play with that type of toughness. It takes time, because these guys are not from where I'm from, so they tend to revert back to the style they're use to. My job is to continue to make them uncomfortable, so they see the benefit; and they do the same to their opponent.
Who has stood out during practice?
Obviously, Mike and Jamar are at the top. Mike has done a better accepting responsibility as a leader, which was missing last year. Jamar is doing a better job attacking the basket and expanding his game beyond 3pt shooting. Redshirt freshmen Duane Rogers and sophomore transfer Andres Arellano have shown the potential to be big time players for us. Both are long and athletic, and are highly competitive in practice. Jason Kimbrough, true freshmen, will be 1 of the top freshmen guards in the conference, once he learns to play at this level.
Do you have any concerns?
Not really. I expect our bigs (Ruben Cazares, Joel Rojas, Hunter Robbins), to be further along than they are, but we have plenty of time to get them there. They trust the process and we trust them.
You guys leave for the JuCo Advocate Rocky Mountain Jamboree in a few hours. What can you tell me about this event?
It's an opportunity for our guys to play in front of 100s of coaches, in a multi-court facility, against teams outside our region. It'll give our guys maximum exposure, plus the 4 year coaches that missed us will be out there. Plus, it'll be great to be out of AZ for a few days, so the guys can bond.
What are you're expectations for the event?
It's the same as I said earlier; toughness. There are going to be big athletic D1 junior college players at this event, so we can find out if we have the type of toughness, I believe we need. Additionally, 4-year coaches want tough players; guys that are mentally and physically tough. I'm expecting the teams out there to look crazy in the lay up line, but the game isn't played on the lay up line. As long as we stay discipline and control the tempo, we should be ok; but we'll see.
Thank you Coach Eason for your insight. We look forward to speaking to you when you and the team return from Colorado.
Here is the PC JuCo Advocate Rocky Mountain Jamboree Schedule:
Friday, October 14th
- Western Nebraska 10am (Court 3)
- Otero JC 1pm (Court 3)
- Utah State University-Eastern 4pm (Court 4)
Saturday, October 15th
- Miles CC 9am (Court 1)
- United Tribes 10am (Court 3)
