November is here. Along with the change in foliage and anticipation of the holiday season comes another wonderful event, the Fresno City College basketball season.
The FCC Men’s Basketball team returns to the court following a 31-3 overall finish in the 2010-11 season and a ninth consecutive Central Valley Conference title. After reaching the final four of the state tournament last season, the Rams hope to go even further.
Coming into this season the Rams are ranked No.2 in the state according to pre-season polls, only behind No.1 Diablo Valley. Also at the top of the polls is No.3 City College of San Francisco, who for years occupied the top spot in the rankings.
Assistant Head Coach Lucas Gabriel, said the goal of the team this season remains the same. “We expect to win a state championship,” Gabriel says. “Over the past 10 years, FCC has had the highest winning percentage in the country.”
In the past decade, the Rams have appeared in the state’s final eight seven times, and have won two state championships.
This season, the Rams will have to overcome the loss of experienced players who have now gone on to play in the NCAA or International Collegiate programs.
Last season’s electrifying superstar, Quinton Watkins, is now playing at California State University, Los Angeles, along with FCC teammates Cheyane Alcala, Percy Lemle, and Jibreel Nasir. Alex Fletcher, the vocal team leader last season is now competing for Lethbridge College in Canada, and Earl Jefferson now plays for Texas Pan-American University.
With the majority of the playmakers from last season’s 3-3 team playing elsewhere, the Rams will have to rely on the leadership and playmaking abilities of Rodney Webster and Tomas Sanchez, the only two returning players.
The Rams will be welcoming 13 new freshmen who will be expected to contribute and make a major impact right away according to the coaching staff. “This is potentially the most talented group of freshmen that FCC has had in a long time. It will be interesting to see if we as a coaching staff can get the most out of them,” says Gabriel.
The talent that the Central Valley has produced has translated into great players on the roster for the Rams this upcoming season. Joining the Rams are local talented players DeAndre Medlock (Clovis West), Junior Morgan (Liberty), Marcus Hall (Bakersfield), and Randall Jackson (Garces.)The rest of the roster is composed of talented players from around the state and from across the country.
The Rams will be challenged with a daunting and by some opinions intimidating schedule. The schedule will have the Rams taking on tough competition from the get-go. Already the Rams have faced No.3 City College of San Francisco in the preseason. They will also take on Southern California powerhouse Los Angeles Trade Tech and No.1 Diablo Valley College before the preseason culminates. Head Coach Ed Madec describes the schedule as, “The hardest schedule in the state.”
The Rams find themselves in a tough division as they will face teams such as College of the Sequoias, who the Rams believe will be their biggest competition this season. Last season, the Rams defeated COS on COS’ home court by a very thin margin.
Even with the potential and recent success however, the coaching staff still sees many areas in which the team needs to improve in order to be successful this season. “The greatest challenge for this year’s team will be to overcome our own youth and lack of maturity,” said Gabriel.  “If we are able to tap into our potential, we have a chance to be better than last season’s final four team. However, that’s a big if.”