For a minute the Gaels were drawing 50,000 plus fans a game at old Kezar stadium but it all came tumbling down like many other great runs of that gilded age.  It all ended almost as quickly as it began as the depression took out many an entrepreneur and Madigan was nothing but a great entrepreneur.  There is no longer a football program at all in Morega and this small little college looks forward to its ongoing competition on the basketball courts in West Coast Conference.  But when your top two rivals are the powerhouse Dons and the Broncs who have dominated this league for years those can be mighty cold winters on the bay.  Since the onset of their play in this league in the early 50’s (they were a flag ship program in the WCC) the Gaels have only occasionally mustered up enough wind to break out of the lower ranks of this under rated conference.  The Gaels are picked to finish at the bottom of league once again and with a new coach this season looks like it was going to be another season gone with the wind for the Gaels.   But Bennett, like the great Madigan before him, has a few tricks up his sleeves that would soon change the course of this program for not only this season but the foreseeable future on that great horizon of West Coast basketball. 

Bennett was hired after last year’s atrocious last place finish to rebuild this program and got a bit of luck early on.  The first year coach has recruited well around the bay but after seeing the dearth of talent on the roster was basically starting over and had two more scholarships to hand out.  He sent his top recruiter to Texas but the good players were long gone and Bennett started making calls just to fill out the roster.  He got a tip on a kid who some D-2 coaches wanted from Australia and called Adam Capron sight unseen and offered him a scholarship.  He gladly accepted for the chance to play at D-1 but also recommended some of his teammates and best friend at the Australia Institute of Sports.  Bennett quickly got on the horn and set his assistant on the long plane trip south where he met the Coach Marty Clarke of AIS team and became the start of a beautiful relationship.  He put Daniel Kickert on the plane with the assistant back to Morega to fill up the roster with the promise of more to come.  And that they did.  By the end of the year two more Aussie studs had migrated north and helped the Gaels shock the WCC with their incredible offensive skills which include a wide open game and a knack for hitting long-range threes.  Bennett knows he was fortunate but he also knows not to pass up such a wonderful opportunity and he basically has made Blake an unofficial assistant coach who had no problem funneling these kids to the States in this Aussie Connection.

 Bennett knew he had a few studs coming back and would hang his hat especially early on with the veterans until he could assimilate the new talent he had recruited into his wide open offensive system.  This system relies on screening and ball movement over athleticism and emphasized solid perimeter shooting.  Last season started well behind the play of seniors Tom Meschery, Frank Kudelka, LeRoy Doss and Steve Gray but quickly fell off due to a lack of real height inside and perimeter play.  Bennett has recruited to try and resolve this some of the new kids actually perhaps being able to solve both problems.  As for the returning studs, these guys can indeed play including one of the best power forwards on the West Coast.  

The aforementioned Meschery does not get his due respect but this even natured guy does not seem to mind as he has already lived a life that you cannot even imagine.  Meschery is of Russian descent who’s family left the during the October Revolution in 1917.  They were relocated to a Japanese internment camp (Meschery was actually born in a province Manchukuo that no longer exists) and eventually ended up in the bay area.  Meschery went to high school at Lowell High School and after playing well at some All-Star games was heavily recruited.  He chose to stay local as he wanted to play for the Christian Brothers, the founders of this prestigious University.  He has been the man since he enrolled here but has been stuck on bad teams and virtually has had no national recognition.  He has been one of the better power forwards in California for the last four years but was virtually off the radar and had little chance of being drafted until this year.  He of course plays in a conference that has got some very solid big men in a state where there are unbelievable players playing his position.  Still, Meschery stands out because of a complete game that not many can match. He is not big but he is adept at all facets of the game.  He can score, board, pass, and is a physical defender who led the WCC in personal fouls his sophomore and junior year.  Meschery did earn second team all West Coast conference recognition and he deserved it.  Meschery is a solid go to guy under the basket but makes his living taking big men out to the perimeter and hitting fifteen footers or driving by much slower players.  He is big and strong and used his muscle to get position and averaged almost ten boards a game.  He will not give an inch no matter who he is playing against.  He is a solid rebounder but can really hurt you on the defensive end and we do mean hurt you.  He was by far the best player on his team and that hurt him because the Gaels did not have anyone that could compliment his consistency at least until this year and he found himself playing center all too often. Meschery on a really good team would be a great role player with his ability to bang underneath at the power forward position and still hit big shots when needed.  Here he was the go to go guy and got his fair share of double teams.  Still he manages to have a fine season and will be healthy addition to any pro team that wants to take a chance on a 6 foot 6 power forward.  He is worth the risk. 

Fellow seniors Steven Gray and LaRoy Doss also got plenty of minutes up front for the Gaels and bring much to the table. They are nowhere near as talented as Meschery but they have had stellar careers at St. Mary’s. Gray in particular comes into the year with high expectations after a solid junior year playing next to Meschery up front. At six foot four it is hard to compete at this level but this local kid gets the job done with skill but has shown he can be overmatched at times. Bennett has brought in an entire group of players who are much bigger to compete for this role.  Doss is only 6’5 and has been manning a post next to Meschery for quite some time but last year it became obvious that he was having issues hanging with the likes of Cartwright and Awtrey in the middle.  It is sad but sometimes time just passes you by and in the case of these two the youth and size movement is coming. Change is inevitable and after all it is not the sixties anymore and this is not the Monterey Pop Festival we are talking about.  

Point guard will be an enigma wrapped in a conundrum for Bennett from the get go.  He goes into the year feeling pretty good about transfer Nick Pappageorge being the lead dog but there is not much depth behind this go getter with the fabulous name.  A local product Pappageorge spent a couple of years of seasoning before coming this way and he will contribute at least on the offensive end.  A stellar ball handler with a knack for setting up teammates Pappageorge is by far the best passer on the Gael roster.  He is not the fastest point guard you will ever see and is a liability on the defensive end and Bennett wants more quickness.  Another junior, Rick Bernard, got most of the starts last year with mixed results. Not quick enough to guard other point guards of the WCC (sounds like a depression era program) Bernard can score but is in serious jeopardy of losing his job this year.  Fellow Junior Maurice Harper is probably the best option after getting most of the backup minutes for most of his first two years. Harper did actually start a few games last year and proved he can play but does not shoot well enough for Bennett.    

Bennett will also mix it up on the wings.  Senior Frank Kudelka is a legend at Saint Mary’s but he was one of those that an injury cost him not only his starting job but eventually relegated him to watching from the sidelines.  Kudelka was the top scorer on the team two years ago and was projected to be again last year but an injury early on put him on the bench. When he came back the coaching staff had given up on the bad year and was trying to transition the Gaels into the present.  Sophomore David Vann provided the type of offensive firepower you need on the wing in just his first year. This kid is not afraid of anything and will take a shot from the bench if he thought he was open.  His emergence into the lineup was a big move forward as this kid has size at 6’5 and can score.  You see with Kudelka and Vann together the Gaels have a valid set of wings who might not be as athletic as some but can play this game the Gael way.   Vann was one of the only Gaels to play in every game (as a true freshman) and is consistent and talk about a kid who never passed up a shot this is your guy.  He was getting about ten minutes a game behind Kudelka and then went up precipitously once he went down and he took advantage of his shot.  Sure his overall number are not supreme but Vann is the man with the plan for the Gaels and almost for sure will continue to get more minutes and shots next year.  Now if he can improve his defense (like all of his back court mates) this kid might even become a star but of course that is a big if? 

 Bennett has many options to go to with his bench and some tough decisions for next season.  Arguably the best athlete on the team is sophomore Peter Thibeaux.  Caught behind Meschery, Thibeaus was amongst a group of second year forwards who had played often as freshmen but with the influx of bigs coming in this year the group got caught in the shuffle.  Thibeaux could explode next year as he shown in limited minutes some real ups but he is caught behind Simpson and Kickert now and might not start again.  There is a huge group of sophomores who did not get much of a chance this season but will really push for time next year.  At least with Meschery, Gray and Doss gone the likes of sophomores Robert Haugen (the leader of the JV team who had a great year) and David Cooke who is green but has a body made for the four spot, will get their shot to prove they can play even if it is off the bench. Seniors Odell Johnson was a former starter who got pushed aside and by mid-year was planted deep on the bench which is sad because he and Doss were real game changers for the Gaels being the first two African-Americans to play for the Gaels.  Bill Sanchez is in a similar boat on the wing.  But so are a whole slew of upperclassmen who at one point contributed heavily in Moraga. Mike Rosenski and Herman Brown are a couple of juniors who have some size but have not progressed much on the offensive end.  Seniors Dick Sagity, Jerry West (no not the Logo) and Jim Moore are in the same situation and will be lucky to get minutes at all.  Sophomore David Cooke played next to Thibeaux on the JV and has some real size but is green and will probably be stuck there again. 

You would like to say the Gaels weathered the storm but puns aside this team did not have a very successful season in the WCC last year.  The Gaels did win 4 of their 6 overtime games so they knew how to win a close one with the storm hitting which bodes well for the future especially with such a young roster.  On the downside, they did not win any game by more than 12 points so they really did not have the athletes to blow anyone out.  A 7th place finsh in the West Coast conference, a first round exit in the conference tournament, and now you got a new coach.  Not a good trend!  But the sky is clearing in Moraga and as Coach Bennett said the future is now.  Hopefully these new kids complement the vets well and the Gaels are a tsunami next year in the windy WCC.