Long Time Coach Walt McPherson (he basically invented San Jose basketball) believes he has finally gathered a group of talented players for his San Jose Spartan team that can hang with the big dogs of the Big West.  Not known for his recruiting most of these new cats have committed due to the help of his aforementioned new assistant Bill Berry.  Though he hails from this region (born in Winnemucca and graduated from Humboldt High-yes Humboldt High) Berry was a star back in Lansing Michigan for those Spartans and has since traveled the country as an assistant and a prep coach.  He was most recently an assistant at Cal and then Michigan State so there has to be some reason why he took a job as an assistant in San Jose?  I guarantee it is not about the cheap cost of living or home prices.  You see Berry has a highly recruited son who spent his freshman year at Oregon State in the mighty Pac-10.  Rumors were that Berry was unhappy in Corvalis but when your Dad gets a job in a city you grew up in, and you barely played as a freshman, you go home and help your Dad.  Ricky thought he was going to have to sit out a year transferring (which kind of works into the Berry plan for taking over the coaching job) but with the new portal is eligible this season.  This move will already make him the most talented player on the roster as this 6’8 wing can virtually do it all on the court.  Once his Dad and Yes, McPherson, saw this happen with Berry they went all in on this new transfer portal thing.  There are 7 kids coming to San Jose through this process with a couple more true transfers and Juco kids as this team is serious about upgrading their talent base. The good thing is unlike most of the Juco kids most of these new guys have 3 years of eligibility to play for the Spartans.  Heck, there are even a few that have been given all four years back as they did not play long enough at their first school.  Foremost of these is another wing, Olivier Saint Jean from Michigan (I told you Berry had some connections in the Wolverine State).  This athletic 6’6 stud actually grew up in France and will team with the coaches kid to form one of the best pair of wings in the conference that is if they can beat out the incumbents?  That should not take too long as this pair is all of that and a bag of chips.  Got to love this new way of recruiting players and Berry, with all of his travels and connections, might be the best coach in the conference for this Brave New World. 

As for the returning talent, McPherson has had some issues here in the past not only getting kids from the Bay Area to stay in town but to stay here once he gets them.  There is a base group of upperclassmen coming back (as of now) that will be the nucleus of the team.  The Spartans do have some size up front starting with senior Coby Dietrick.  Dietrick is a space eater underneath with solid skills and a desire to play defense and rebound.  Dietrick is a combo post who at six ten and 235 can guard power forwards or centers.  He is not the most athletic guy but he has skills.  He is a solid on the boards and can defend down low and can score a little from the post but his best skill is his passing.  Either from the high post (which he is one of the best because of his ability to pass or screen) or down low, Dietrick gets the ball to the right person.  Dietrick is just the type of team first player every coach needs on his roster as he makes up with his inefficiencies with his hard work and ability to show up and give maximum effort every night. 

On the other end of the talent spectrum for big men is Senior Darnell Hillman.  Hillman is an all-world dunker who can fly with anybody in the game. Dr. Dunk has taken this leaping ability to become one of the best shot blockers in the game.  He might not be Bill Russell (or better known around the bay as God) but he will let you know when you come into his paint.  Hillman is a project on the offensive end who relies on his incredible athleticism to get baskets with put backs and mind altering dunks.  He is by far the most popular Spartan as the fans come to see him throw one or two through the hoop a game.  If he can develop a low post game to match his athleticism the world is his oyster.  For now he relies on his dramatic dunks and posterizing blocks to become the ‘flower child’ for something he holds near and dear to his heart.  The Afro!  If ‘Dr. Dunk’ wasn’t a household name by now for his incredible dunks he decided to grow a ‘fro’ the likes that Angela Davis would be proud of!  He got more highlights on Sportscenter than all of the rest of his teammates combined.  Now if he can match up that athleticism with a progressive game?

The kicker to this entire equation is how important the point guard position really is to the overall team?  As you can see the Spartans have solid talent at the post and are bringing in some wings by the drove.  There is that argument that point guard is the most important position on the court as all things revolve around the guys with the keys to the car.   Even with the dominance of big men in college basketball some observers think point guard is the prime position.   This is good for the Spartans as they have one of the best in the Big West coming back to lead the team.  Senior Carroll Williams started last year as the incumbent at point and the starter but he had some issues.  His athleticism was just not up to par but he is smart and he does understand basketball.  He loves going to the hoop and can get there but he found his ability to play amongst the trees of the Big West and beyond very difficult.  In his game against San Francisco last year, Williams set a record by getting his shot blocked 8 times by Mr. Bill Russell.  Yes, that is right Russell swatted down (which means it usually started a break) 8 times on one guy.  But lest we forget that also meant that Williams got around KC Jones 8 times!  Pretty dang good!  This is not the worst part of the equation as Williams, the only kid on the roster actually from San Francisco, goes only 5’11 but is better suited as a two guard.  Williams was not a game changer but McPherson stuck with him as starter for most of the year arguably to the detriment of the squad.  He did finally give in late and started playing his replacement.  Junior Ken Mickey, who seems to have the best idea how to get the ball to his teammates in scoring position, was brilliant down the stretch.  In the last ten games this 6’1 distributor averaged 12 pts and almost 8 assists a game for the Spartans.  Many fans were bewildered why the obviously more athletic and better distributor backed up for most of the year.  He was a much better true point guard and the team did do better with Mickey in the game.  Of course Mickey had missed the entire year before so maybe McPherson was being cautious but if the long-time Spartan coach wants to keep his job then the ‘Mouse’ better be his guy at the point.  Sophmores Michael Mendez and Michael Dixon also got some time but mainly battled for minutes on the JV.  Mendez is 6’4 and a heck of a heck of a defensive player and could battle for the starting job but unless Mickey goes insane (You can’t divorce Minnie for being crazy) the point is his.  

As good as Berry and Saint Jean are they will still have to beat out a pair of solid veterans to win the wing spots.   Senior Stu Inman isn’t exactly a role player either as was the 3rd leading scorer on last year’s team.  He is a bit undersized at 6’3, this Alameda kid makes up for with gusto and a high basketball IQ.  As McPherson says he “might have the best basketball mind on the team and thoroughly understands the game but his talent does not keep up with his mind.”  Don’t worry about Stu, he will be on the team somehow whether leading the poker games or maybe actually running the team.  He is that smart. Junior Wally Rank will be a bit harder to knock out of his starting role.  Rank is a gamer who can score and board and plays kind of like you would expect for a Samoan.  He is physical as heck at 6’6 220 and uses his strength to his advantage and is without question the enforcer of this team. This Carson California kid can play but needs to be able to get up and down the court better and a little quicker defensively if he is going to hold off the two new studs.    

There is an entire group of inside players who have contributed here and are in competition for supporting roles this year.  George Clark, Chuck Hughes, Marv Branstrom, Saint ‘ST’ Saffold and Sid Williams will take up whatever leftover minutes on the front court that Dietrick and Hillman leave behind which kind of depends on the coiffed one like it did last year. This group got most of their minutes before Hillman became eligible and are limited in size and skill up front but have had some huge games at the ECA.  Clark is only 6’6 but has started more games at center than anyone else ever here.  This hometown kid is popular here but not just for that as he was the lead dog on the team that made the Big Dance a long time ago.  His time may have passed though he can bang and screen and has a nifty hook shot up to 15 feet.  Branstrom is even better on the boards than Clark but is also a bit undersized at 6’7.  He will play though but Hughes has decided that football is his future and probably won’t be back.  At 6’3 he is nowhere big enough for the post (though he had some huge games here) and is probably better at football anyway.  Saffold is 6’4 202 senior but plays the four mainly and is extremely athletic.  Like Hughes, he moonlights as a Split End on the football team and might be better suited there if he is going to go pro but at one point put up some might big numbers for the Spartan basketball team.  Williams is also undersized at 6’7 as McPherson has had to play him too often at center.  At only 200 pounds this San Mateo kid (most of this team are local products) gets pushed around but he is bulldog and does not back down.  This group kind of define the limits of the Spartans team and it’s bench as they would be studs on Division Two teams but are overmatched in this underrated league. 

The rest of the bench is filled with some upperclassmen looking for a shot at playing time that might not be there.  Senior Bobby Crowe is the fastest player on the team but has never really been able to match that quickness with basketball skills.  Fellow senior Eddie Diaz has and is the running for serious minutes.  His weakness is his size at only 5’11 but he can fly as well.  Dick Groves is another senior and at 6’6 has shown he can shoot but is not athletic enough for this level of play.  This Los Angeles kid played often last year but probably won’t this year.  Junior Johnnie Skinner will play often again this year.  This 6’1 two guard pushed Inman for the starting role and by the end of the year was getting more minutes.  He might even begin the season in the starting lineup as this kid can score but with those new kids in town who knows? 

The San Jose Spartans were once again one of the worst teams in Division One basketball last year.  This year looks better at Coach McPherson has decided to use the transfer portal and has got some talent like they have never had around Silicon Valley, at least on the basketball court.  Too bad because this city is in the middle of the bay area and if they could put together a decent program they would have the backing of a few megamillionaires to boost their Spartans to the next level.  It worked in Stillwater and Eugene after all and these towns have nowhere near the rich fans of San Jose.  For now this team will keep having to compete with their own version of their overwhelmed ‘300’ trying to find some glory on the hardwood.  And if somebody asks if ‘you know the way to San Jose?’ It is probably not to go and watch the basketball team.