Coming off the worst season (4-26) in Coach Duane Eason's tenure at Phoenix College; the Bears have a new team and a fresh outlook. With Eli Fleming being the only returner from last year's team, the Bears look completely different than they did a year ago.

"At this level, you can go from last to first in one year, with the addition of new players; so, we felt we needed to get new recruits to change the atmosphere." Coach Eason explained. "We have gotten the majority of our top recruits, and a couple surprises. We feel good about the roster."

Despite the excitement in his tone, Coach Eason is still hesitant to predict what the season will look like. He points to the fact that he only has 2 sophomores (Fleming and transfer Mike Ejumeta), and 10 freshmen. With 25 plus years of experience, Coach Eason understands that expectations are hard to
judge with this much inexperience.

"We're trying to break high school, club and training habits," Eason says. "A lot of these guys don't know how to bring it every day, and it's not real to them, because they haven't played a college game. Most of them don't know how to take notes in team meetings, connect the notes with the film, or understand the concepts of team basketball. Games count November 1 st , and some of these freshmen are going to get a hard lesson about college basketball, but we're excited to watch them struggle and
help them figure it out."

Coach put together a solid schedule, to maximize the talent, experience and room for growth. Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of the team, he has organized the schedule in a manner where he feels the team will peak at the right time.

"Young teams and weaker team can fall apart early when the schedule is filled with "heavy hitters," Eason continues. "Last year's team start with some big-time talent, but they weren't mentally ready forit, and hurt us the rest of the season." "We're not doing that this year. We've got a much better feel for our guys, and they know what we expect from them. The early games will help them establish
themselves at this level."

The Bears are looking forward to a much-improved season, and so are the PC fans. We get our first look at the new look Bears on November 1st, when they take on Park JV at 8:00pm at PC.

Schedule

• The Bears open the season at home, as they host the JC/JV Challenge November 1 st -3 rd . They will take on Park JV, GCU Club, and ACU JV.
• Other non-conference opponents include; Justice College (Varsity and JV), Benedictine JV, Ottawa JV, The Academy Phoenix, College of Southern Nevada, Gillette College, Williston State College, and Illinois Central College.
• The ACCAC has split, so the D2s and D1s are no longer playing each other. The Bears will take on Mesa CC, Scottsdale CC, South Mountain CC, Glendale CC, Chandler-Gilbert CC, and Pima; 3 times each

Roster

• Guards: Eli Fleming is the lone returner from last year's team. Coach Eason is looking for him to take a step forward in his development and role this year. He'll be joined in the back court by freshman Alijah Greer (Skyline Prep), a shifty 6'2 combo guard who loves to defend and shoots the 3 with range. Max Romero (Valley Vista HS), a strong body 6'2 guard that rebounds well because he played the 3 and 4 in high school. Max can shoot it well, and plays with a high IQ. Christian Garven (Mesquite HS) is another 6'2 guard with a nose for scoring, and he maybe the team's best shooter. Other guards are Blake Carabio (Ironwood HS) and Walid Hamdani (Bella Vista Prep).
• Forwards: There's a lot of balance at this position, because each player brings something different. Marcus Washington (Modesto Christian HS) and Thaddeus Hawkins (LFPA HS), a pair of 6'5 forwards, that provide solid rebounding on both ends of the court. Mike Ejumeta (Bella Vista Prep), at 6'10 and AJ Ajawin (Deer Valley HS), at 6'7 provide length and versatility to the group. Lastly, Justin Davis (Central HS) and David Rodriguez (St. Mary's HS) , a pair of 6'6 bangers, will bring toughness and defense to the position.