By Joseph Baroud
Staff Writer
Following an injury-plagued season in which the CSUDH men’s basketball team posted a 13-17 record and were bounced from the first round of the California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, head coach Steve Becker looks to add some mileage to the trip and make it to the NCAA Division II tournament.
“We’re going to get to the national level. The NCAA tournament has always been a goal of ours,” Becker, now in his sixth season as head coach, said. “We’ve come close, and this year we really want to make a push to get that done.”
The last time the Toros advanced past the first round in the conference tournament was 2010-11, when they won the championship and made the NCAA’s. Cumulatively, CSUDH has played in eight NCAA tournaments, advancing to the second round three times.
With 10 new players, Becker and his staff have a challenging road in front of them in building a well-tuned machine before their first game Nov. 9 versus Western Washington in La Jolla as part of the West Region Crossover Challenge.
With such a new roster, the Toros will need to work closely together to find a connection with one another, especially on the defensive end, Becker said, where last season they gave up a conference-high 75 points per game. Becker said he’d like to see that number dip below 70 and feels that a solid recruiting class of freshman and transfers will help the team reach that.
“We recruit hard working, good people into our program. For me that’s important that continues,” Becker said. “We want guys that are taking care of business in the classroom. Guys that are reflecting well upon the program in the community [and] on campus. That’s something we never compromise.”
The Toros lost a couple of key players from last season. Jonathan Nichols, who led the team with 13.2 ppg, graduated and Malcolm Johnson, a second team all-conference selection who led the conference in rebounding, transferred.
The Toros do welcome back one key offensive player in guard Deshay Gipson, who scored 42 points against Cal State San Marcos to match the program’s single-game record. He also tied another school record with nine 3-pointers in a game last season.
The Toros have advanced to the CCAA tournament the past two years and Becker is not only setting his sights on a third consecutive appearance, but also advancing past the first round. But along with on-court success, Becker is determined to give his players the opportunity to build something together, an experience he says they can draw on the rest of their lives.
“Ultimately you want to give your student-athletes the best experience they can have,” Becker said. “I think a lot of that goes along with having pride [in what] you’ve built and having people prideful in the community.”
Photo from gotoros.com
