By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com Albert Dennis was looking for a place to play when he reached out to Carson Carattini, an assistant coach with the Napa Valley College men's basketball program, in 2020.

"He didn't have another place to go, really," Storm head coach Steve Ball said Wednesday. "He reached out to us. Coach Carson Carattini was a great recruiter for us." It was a great fit, as Dennis found a home at NVC and elevated his game in all areas – as a scorer, defender, rebounder – in the two years he played for the Storm.

"And now he's a scholarship athlete," said Ball.

Dennis, a 6-foot-1, 171-pound guard who was named to the Bay Valley Conference's All-Defensive Team during the 2022-23 season, announced last weekend that he is committed to William Penn University, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. As a transfer, he will receive an athletic scholarship to play for the Statesmen.

"I'm so excited for Albert," said Ball. "He's one of the toughest kids I've ever coached. He didn't complain about anything. He took numerous bangs and bumps and bruises and those sorts of things and didn't complain about it. Just went and saw the trainers, did what had to be done, and got back out there as soon as it was physically possible. Took care of business in the classroom and excelled academically."

Dennis, 20, a two-year starter for the Storm announced his commitment on Twitter, on Aug. 12. He plans to major in sports management or business.

"I wanted him to find a home because I know how he excelled once he decided to come here," said Ball. "He's a very loyal and very committed person. I wanted him to find that next spot. He was very patient with the process.

"I'm hoping it's a good home. I'm hoping it's a good fit for him."

William Penn University is a private NAIA school and plays in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

"I'm definitely ready. I feel like it's going to be a new chapter for me," said Dennis. "I talked to the coaching staff. They liked me a lot and they made me feel welcome."

As a freshman, Dennis played in 26 games and averaged 7.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game for Napa Valley. He shot 52.7 percent from the field, 18.8 percent from 3-point distance, and 49.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Dennis started all 28 games this past season as a sophomore and was a standout for the Storm, averaging 12.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He averaged 29.8 minutes per game and shot 50.8 percent from the floor, 32.1 percent from 3-point distance, and 66.7 percent at the free-throw line.

He was named as Honorable Mention for Northern California, it was announced by Signal The Light Basketball, in a report on March 23 at stlball.com. Dennis also took on a team leadership role.

"What is going to be missed is his lead-by-example mentality," said Ball. "Every day, he was a lunch pail kind of guy. He was going to show up with his hard hat and he was going to do the work that needed to be done. Nothing was beneath him," said Ball.

"If it was to guard a power forward, then he would do that. If it was to guard a point guard because we needed to contain penetration, he would do that. So, his ability to guard multiple positions is something that William Penn is going to really appreciate.

"He was really good in transition. His freshman year, especially, one of the things that he did really well was move without the ball. On numerous occasions, someone would turn their head and he'd just make a simple little back cut and get a wide-open lay-up. Why is Albert shooting 60 percent from the floor? Well, because he's getting uncontested layups, because he's reading the defense and making a back cut.

"So, that's what we're going to miss the most, is his leadership by example." Dennis got his sophomore season started in a big way.

He scored 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and had 10 rebounds and four steals in 19 minutes in the Storm's season opener, a 76-68 loss to Folsom Lake College on Nov. 4.

He scored 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting and had 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals in 34 minutes in the Storm's second game of the season, a 92-76 win over De Anza College-Cupertino on Nov. 5.

He scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the Storm's 75-64 loss to College of the Redwoods-Eureka on Nov. 6.

Dennis made a significant defensive impact, said Ball, as he was the only player to rank in the top-10 in the state of California in both defensive rebounds and steals this past season.

"He was a gem in that way," said Ball.

Dennis also worked closely in practice on his game with NVC assistant coaches Tony Prescott and Rae Hubbard. He made big improvements on his 3-point shooting.

"He spent so much time in the lab with our assistant coaches, Tony Prescott and Rae Hubbard," said Ball.

"With his ability to attack the rim and finish around the rim, it made him really difficult to guard on the perimeter. You could back off him as a freshman and he would knock down a 3 – enough to make you honest as a defender. And now that opens up his penetration so much. So, he improved. Hard work pays off."

Ball said he spoke with Dennis over the weekend.

"He was gracious as always, very happy to find his next step in his progression, hoping he can continue the academic excellence that he started here and get his degree in a couple of years and be able to move on from there," said Ball.

Dennis recalled the day he reached out to NVC, which was in 2020.

"I texted Coach Carson. He made me feel welcome," he said.

From there, Dennis had a connection to NVC.

"Coach Carson told me that he loved the way I played. He said I could have a good opportunity there. Out of all the schools that I messaged, they're one of the schools that actually reached out to me," said Dennis.

"It was two great years. I feel like I developed so much as a player and as a person. Coach Ball helped me a lot."

In March, Dennis played in the Sophomore Showcase, a series of games throughout the day, at College of Sequoias, in Visalia. The Sophomore Showcase is put on by the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association.

In May, Dennis played in the JC Premier-JC Elite Northern California community college all-star game during "All-Star Saturday Spectacular" at NVC. The event was sponsored, directed and organized by 707 Premier Sports, Signal The Light Basketball and Simply Basketball.

Dennis is from Moreno Valley, CA and graduated from San Jacinto High School in 2020.

* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.