SHORELINE — Coach Jeff Menday believes the jury is still out on whether the Shoreline Community College men’s basketball team will be reloading or rebuilding this season.
The Dolphins lost eight players off last year’s squad including all-league players Maurice Reed and Delvaughn Tinned. Menday was named Coach of the Year for the Northern Division after leading the Dolphins to a 11-5 league record and the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges playoffs.
Still, they’ve started the season 3-1 and despite some struggles learning Menday’s system, the raw talent appears to be there.
“We’re young it’s going to take a few games to mature,” said returning starter Sean Tracey, a 6-foot, 5-inch sophomore power forward out of Shorewood.
Shoreline’s season depends on how quickly the recruiting class put together by Menday comes together. All the players, except Tracey and sophomore guard Derek Laws, are new.
Identical twins Jeremy and Nathan Rudd, all-Western Conference South Division players out of Lynnwood, were the first recruits to sign with the Dolphins last year.
Justin Grigsby, a quick 5-10 point guard from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., will have the task of running the break and distributing the ball on offense. Parys Fox, a quick 5-10 point guard out of Lynnwood, will back him up.
“We like to get out and rebound and push it,” said freshman JaRon Brown, a 6-6 power forward out of Decatur, who scored 16 points in the Dolphins’ season-opening win over Tacoma Community College.
Shoreline has significantly more size this season with Brown up front along with 6-9 Laurence Donelson from Oakland, Calif. and 6-8 Maika Usita from Maui.
Defensively, the Dolphins have implemented a full-court press, “that’s going to be the big difference,” Tracey said.
“We’re going to really focus on defense this year because we don’t have pure shooters like we did last year,” he said.
Improving team rebounding and cutting down on mistakes are also key.
“The biggest goal is rebounding and eliminating our turnovers,” said Laws. “If we get outrebounded by 12-15 a game we’re going to lose.”
The Dolphins’ goal is to win the Green River Crossover Tournament, Dec. 15-17 and make the NWAACC playoffs again this season, Tracey said.
The NWAACC is supposed to be improved overall, Laws said, with Bellevue and Peninsula, among the top teams in the North Division.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
