Coming off of a 10-14 overall record, and an even 6-6 conference record the Moorpark College Raiders Men’s Basketball team is looking to improve off of an under .500 season.
The Raiders are being led by first year coach Gerred Link and returning guard Shaquille Moore and forward Austin Howell.
Coach Link is coming to Moorpark College from being an assistant coach at the University of California, San Diego. He was also previously an assistant coach at Sonoma State University, his alma mater.
The highlight of last season was the last game of the season when the Raiders defeated Ventura College. Ending the Pirates’ hopes for a part of the Western State Conference title by a score of 77-70. However, it was a bittersweet moment because, it was Coach Remy McCarthy’s last game after being the head coach of the Raiders for the past 17 years.
Coach Link and the Raiders are looking to ride off that momentum to start the season this year.
“October can be a tough time of year at this level,” Coach Link said
Links said because the team has been practicing with each other for the past two months but haven’t gone up against any outside competition.
He stated that the team is looking forward to playing against a real opponent and not themselves like they have been in practice.
In every sport, everyone has the goal to make it to the post season, play for a championship, and the same goes for the Raiders. In college basketball it is all about playing games in the month of March.
Coach Link referring to former Men’s Basketball coach Remy McCarthy creating a winning culture at Moorpark during 17-year tenure as head coach,
“Coach McCarthy had some great teams in his tenure here and we want to try to live up to that standard.”
Hard work, focus, and attitude are three things that Coach Link believes will be the keys to the team’s success this season. He knows that some of the players have known each other for years and have great relationships on and off the court. Coach Link thinks that he and his coaching staff need to now channel that continuity off the court to on the court.
Some players to look out for this upcoming season are going to be returners Moore and Howell, as well as freshmen Jeremiah Gray, Larry Bush, Joshua Brooks, and Justin Eisen.
Moore and Howell look to build off there impressive campaigns as freshmen. Moore averaged 15.9 points per game. Howell averaged 13.7 points per game along with averaging 10.5 rebounds per game.
Jeremiah Gray and Joshua Brooks come to the Raiders from Westlake High School, which is part of the very highly competitive Marmonte League. Larry Bush comes to Moorpark as a freshman from Calabasas High School, which is also part of the Marmonte League and played on the 2014 CIF Divisin 2A Championship team. Justin Eisen joins the team from Chaminade Prep, part of the also highly competitive Mission League and was a part of the 2014 Division 3 State Championship team.
From the looks of it, the Men’s Basketball team has a lot to look forward to and look to get ready for their first tournament on Nov. 6, at Ventura College. The Raiders will also open up conference play on Jan 3. 2015 against El Camino College at home.
