Men's Basketball kicks off 2022-23 season on Thursday

The year's edition of the Orange Coast College men's basketball team kicks off the seasons with a few question marks, but according to associate head coach Jamaal Lee, the sky is the limit for this mixture of veteran players and fresh newcomers to the California community college level.

"This is a young group, but every day, they're growing mentally, physically and emotionally," Lee said. "We're excited about the guys coming back, including our grey shirt players who have been with our program and know what to expect."

Leading this returning group is sophomore guard Jydon "Boogie" Hall, who was a point-scoring machine for the Pirates last season, averaging 18.0 points, second-most among all Orange Empire Conference players. Hall reached double figures in scoring in 23 of 24 games played, including nine games with 20 points or more and his 3.1 assists per game was seventh-most in the OEC as well.

"In addition to being a very talented basketball player, he has taken his leadership skills to another level," Lee said. "We know he can score for us and we are hoping that the rest of his game takes that next level as well."

Another returner for the Pirates is guard/forward Logen Howard, who played in 25 games (24 starts) for OCC and averaged nearly 10 points, three rebounds and three assists per game last year. Howard had 14 double-figure games, including a season-best 18 points against OEC powerhouse Fullerton last year.

"Logen came out and had himself a decent year for us as a freshman," Lee said. "I think this year, he's tougher physically and we will be looking at him to be a bigger offensive threat for us as well."

Adding to the veteran mix will be sophomores Trent Williams and Clifton Brown. Williams played in 25 games (10 starts) and averaged 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, while Brown battled injuries last year, averaging 3.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16 games.

"Trent was an energy guy for us last year and we expect more of that from him this year," Lee said. "We can use him on the perimeter as well as down, so that gives him options all over the floor. "Clifton continues to improve his game every day and has been working hard on his post moves during the offeseason."

As for the newcomers, Lee is excited about several players, including 6'5 guard, Sam Hunter, out of San Clemente HS. "He's a lengthy kid that can flat-out shoot the ball from anywhere," Lee said. "We can use him inside and outside, but he's definitely a kid we want to see shooting the ball for us."

A pair of grey shirts – brothers Josh and Isaiah Lee – will see plenty of action on the floor for the Pirates after spending last year on the sidelines. "They're both 6'1, but they play much bigger than that," Coach Lee said. "They got to see what we are looking for and they're ready to show what they can do out on the floor for us this year."

Southwestern College transfer Noah Simmons comes to OCC, ready to show everyone what he can do on the basketball court. "He didn't get much of an opportunity at SWC, so he came to us and we're excited to give him that opportunity," Lee said. "He's a stroke shooter who can start or come off the bench and give us some good numbers and a ton of effort."

From the same cloth as Simmons is Santa Ana College transfer Kyndle Terrel-Jones, who came to OCC looking for that same opportunity to flourish on the floor. "Another pesky point guard for us who can back up Boogie and run our offensive system well for us," Lee said.

Down low, look for 6'8 freshman Christian Hilbert to be force in the paint for the Pirates this year. "He's our best post guy and he's very strong down low, shooting with either hand, which is great to see," Lee said.

Throw into the mix the depth of talented players like freshmen Aryan Talle, Nikko McNeal, Julian Daaboul, Jaiden Greene and Kui Ross and it's a group that can mix and match any number of ways, causing havoc for the other team's game plan.

"Talle is a kid who came to us from Irvine Valley College and from what we've seen, he's a kid who can really stroke it for us," Lee said. "McNeal has the ability to put up some points for us as well and for him, we are hoping this is the right place at the right time. Kui is a quiet kid, but he is a kid who works hard and really gets after it … a great IQ guy. At 6'7, Jaiden has such a high ceiling with his athletic abilities. His shot blocking ability can help us as he continues to work on his offensive game. Julian came to us as a former football player out of Corona del Mar HS and he brings that football toughness to the floor with him, which hopefully rubs off on his teammates as well."

As the season kicks off, the Lee knows the bread and butter of this program is to still be a pain in the butt on defense and find easy points off of turnovers, but there's more to this group.

"We definitely are still the team that likes to cause havoc on the floor," Lee said with a laugh. "This group is beginning to buy into who we are and they're up for the challenge. There's some raw talent there and we are excited about giving guys opportunities when they weren't getting them in other places. We've got shooters and post guys and guys who just love to play. The potential is there for something special."