March 19, 2010
Yuba: Less is More
Yuba College was headed for a fall this winter, a goodbye to the lofty standing so often associated with Coach Doug Cornelius’ basketball teams. The unexpected late departures of Bobby Evans (Seattle), Tyler Monroe (Seattle) and Milos Milkosevic (Valparaiso) decimated the 49er frontline. With a break here or there, maybe a .500 record could be achieved. It wasn’t. Try 25-5 overall, 15-1 in league play and another Bay Valley Conference championship.
Henning is thinking about the northeast
So how did Yuba do it? Synergy, the sum being greater than the parts in winning a fourth straight conference championship. It’s something that can’t be planned nor will pleading bring it into being -- it simply appears when the mix is just right.
The Yuba basketball schedule concluded with a 75-65 loss to Ohlone College in the North Regional, one game short of the California Community College Athletic Association Final Eight.
"This season was so much better than expected," said Cornelius. "We were looking to rebuild after the big losses but these kids had great chemistry."
Among Cornelius’ youngsters:
6-foot-3 Mike McChristian, who earned league most valuable player and all-state first-team honors while battling on the 49er frontline. The Will C. Wood High graduate scored 13.3 points per game this season as well as performing in the role of a numbers generator. "He filled up our stats sheet -- scoring, rebounding, grabbing steals and blocking shots -- he did it all," is how Cornelius described his extremely athletic workhorse.
6-foot-3 scorer/passer Bo Henning, a bounceback from Cal Poly, was named to the all-state honorable mention squad as well as a first-teamer All Bay Valley Conference.
6-foot-5 Kyle Allen of Sacramento High averaged a team-leading 13.5 points per game while garnering a first-team, all-conference nod.
6-foot-5 Jovan Daniels, a high flyer from Natomas High and College of the Sequoias.
6-foot-1 Keenan Prince, out of Marysville High.
McChristian is looking to return for a second year at Yuba. "We’re going to be working to transition him into a point guard for next season," Cornelius offered.
Henning is looking at Maine of the America East Conference plus Portland and a number of other schools. Former 49er Jon Sheets enjoyed a successful tenure at Maine from 2005-2007.
Allen is looking seriously at Chaminade University in Hawaii.
Daniels has a handful of D-1 offers but still has some academic work to complete. D-2 powers Cal State San Bernardino and Kentucky Wesleyan are ready to snag him if his transition to the highest level doesn’t pan out.
Prince is receiving attention from numerous low D-1, high D-2 schools -- particularly Southland Conference member Central Arkansas which is led by former Arkansas and NBA great and newly-named coach Corliss Williamson. The connection? Cornelius worked with the Sacramento Kings when Williamson played in the state capital, plus Tayshaun Prince, Keenan’s cousin, also played with Williamson when both were with the Detroit Pistons.
Additionally, 7-foot Josh Figueroa, a Pleasant Valley High graduate, is being eyeballed by a bevy of D-2 colleges.
So it looks like the Yuba roster will be relatively barren next season and prognosticators will be issuing another forlorn prediction. But that’s the way it looks now. Come November or especially March 2011 and matters will more than likely be different, as usual.