Photo: Antoine Thaxton, courtesy of Mario Cendejas
By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
Antoine Thaxton looks at the Napa Valley College men's basketball team as family.
A family that is together – connected by their work in the weight room, their work at practices, their individual skill work, all the time they put into the program.
They are connected to the game and learning all they can from head coach Steve Ball and Storm assistant coaches Tony Prescott, Rae Hubbard and Dakota Macias.
They are connected by a bond – doing all they can to generate success and have a winning season.
By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
Antoine Thaxton looks at the Napa Valley College men's basketball team as family.
A family that is together – connected by their work in the weight room, their work at practices, their individual skill work, all the time they put into the program.
They are connected to the game and learning all they can from head coach Steve Ball and Storm assistant coaches Tony Prescott, Rae Hubbard and Dakota Macias.
They are connected by a bond – doing all they can to generate success and have a winning season.
"We all get along. Everyone's communicating," Thaxton, a returning sophomore, said at the Storm's Media Day, on Oct. 2. "A lot of us are from different areas. But the time that we do have on the court, we are like a family. We're actually pretty close.
"Everyone comes here ready to work. Everyone has this learning mentality. Everyone wants to grow and everyone's willing to put in the work, to be a great team this year."
Thaxton, who played in 28 games last year, with 15 starts, wants to take on a leadership role with the Storm. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game last year.
He is one of four returners for Napa Valley, which opens its 2023-24 season at home with its Storm Classic, Nov. 3-4. The four-team event also has Sacramento City College, Folsom Lake College and College of the Redwoods-Eureka. NVC opens against Folsom Lake College on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 5:30 p.m. The Storm also faces Sacramento City College on Friday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
It's a 28-game regular season schedule. "Right now, I'm looking forward to being a leader and steering everyone in the right path," said Thaxton, a 6-foot-5 forward. "I'm a team basketball kind of guy. Anything you need – rebounds, finishing, shooting, defending the best player. I look forward to taking on any challenge."
Also returning for NVC is Raekwon Bell, a 6-foot-3 sophomore forward; Ethan Williams, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward; and Keith Nyangena, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward.
The four sophomores all bring something different to the team, said Ball.
Bell averaged 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game last year. He also had 19 steals and 11 blocked shots.
Williams averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last year.
"They all experienced some success," said Ball. "We had some very impactful sophomores last year that we lost. So, we're looking to those guys to really step it up and be the sophomores to replace the sophomores.
"(Raekwon) brings a lot of energy. We call him the fixer. If something's going wrong, he'll get an offensive rebound and a putback, cause some turnovers. He's a problem for the other team and he's great in the open court. He's working on expanding his skill set. But he's definitely a great defender, rebounder, and runs in transition.
"Ethan is a dynamic offensive player. When he's going, he's very streaky and effective. We need to have him be a little bit more consistent this year.
"Antoine is like a steady ship. He just keeps on going. He's effective. He shoots a high percentage from the floor. He doesn't take a lot of bad shots. He rebounds.
"Keith is as strong as they come, pound for pound. He's one of the strongest players I've ever coached. His mobility needs to continue to increase as it has over the summer. But we're looking for him to help us on the glass and help protect the rim a little bit."
Expected to see his first playing time for NVC is Chris Farrington, a 6-foot-1 freshman guard. Farrington has been in the program since 2021, but has not been able to play due to injuries.
There are 14 players on the NVC roster – four sophomores and 10 freshmen.
"We are a pretty tight group," said Thaxton. "We all bond as a team. We all work together. We all work well. We're on the same team. We all came to be a family. So, really just helping one another build."
Players in the program have been going at it – on the court and in the weight room – since last spring.
"It's a busy schedule. But we all manage. I'm looking forward to all of this. I think we've all put in the work. I'm just looking forward to the season. I'm pretty excited," said Thaxton.
Coach Steve Ball, who is in his 17th season at NVC, is excited as well. The Storm has 12 nonconference games and 16 Bay Valley Conference games.
"Every year, every group brings a different challenge. And this group is no different. The chemistry is great. Who's going to lead the group because we have a lot of potential to do some things. Somebody's got to show us the way. We need to know which guy it is, when we say, OK, there's 20 seconds left. Tie game. Take this ball. Go put it in there. Who's that guy?" said Ball.
NVC was hurt hard by injuries last year. The Storm was down to nine available players after losing Arthur Larry, Deontae Jenkins and Andrew Navarro due to injury.
Last year's team was led by Cameron Joseph and Albert Dennis. Signal The Light Basketball named Joseph and Dennis as Honorable Mention for Northern California, it was announced in a report on March 23 at stlball.com.
Joseph was selected first-team All-Bay Valley Conference.
Dennis was selected to the Bay Valley's All-Defensive Team.
The 2023 All-Bay Valley Conference team was announced by the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association.
Joseph averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He shot 36.6 percent from the floor, 29.3 percent from 3-point range, and 77.9 percent at the free-throw line.
Dennis averaged 12.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Dennis shot 50.8 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from 3-point distance, and 66.7 percent at the free-throw line.
Joseph and Dennis each started all 28 games for Napa Valley.
Joseph signed a national letter-of-intent on May 15 to attend University of Redlands and play basketball as a transfer from NVC.
Last year, Napa Valley averaged 68.8 points on 40.5 percent shooting from the field, 29.9 percent from 3-point distance, and 67.0 percent at the free-throw line. The Storm (7-21 overall, 2-14 Bay Valley) also averaged 37.6 rebounds and 10.7 assists per game.
Ball said this year's team has been committed to getting stronger in the weight room.
"We did some weight room all summer long. We did some skill development stuff. They say players are built in the summer; teams are built in the fall. So, they did a good job of getting themselves prepared, those that were around and developing a skill set and honing in on some weaknesses and learning what to eliminate from their game and what to go in the lab and work on," Ball said.
"We're running a little more motion scheme than last year. We are a little more balanced. Everybody kind of has to pull the same way, in the same direction. So, I would say that they've all worked on their skill set enough to know that they can do some things on the court. They can look to be a little more aggressive than they have in the past."
NVC played four games in September – against West Hills College Lemoore, Los Angeles Harbor College, Cypress College and Ventura College – at the SoCal Fall JUCO Jamboree, put on by the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association. The trip to Southern California gave the players the very important insight into just how physical of a game it is.
"We weren't super aggressive on our penetration. We dribbled the ball rather than drive the ball. And so, if there was somebody there, we would avoid contact and then therefore lose our driving angle. So now we have worked on driving angle, driving angle, driving angle. Now, we're not afraid to get in there.
We're going to have to learn how to deal with some contact. And they've taken that to heart, since realizing their eyes were wide open coming out of that Los Angeles tournament, and have really carried over that competitiveness and that fearlessness of contact," said Ball. Signal The Light Basketball takes a look at NVC
In its Bay Valley Conference preview, Signal The Light Basketball said, at stlball.com, on Oct. 13: "As the new season approaches, Napa Valley will look to regroup and have a better 2023-2024 season. The Storm (has) a lot of scoring to replace and it may take some time to figure out where the scoring is going to come from.
"The Storm will welcome in plenty of new faces for the upcoming season. Napa Valley will look to improve from a year ago and will turn to their youth to fill the void."
John Bynum Jr. is a writer and scout for Signal The Light Basketball.
In its projection, Signal The Light Basketball said: "We project the Storm will be an improved team and finish in the middle of the pack for the upcoming season." Donnellan transfers to Lamar State College Port Arthur Aidan Donnellan, who was in the NVC program last year, has transferred to Lamar State College Port Arthur, in Port Arthur, TX. He played in six games for the Storm. Donnellan is listed as a 6-6 sophomore forward at Lamar State College Port Arthur.
CCCMBCA announces preseason rankings
The California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association announced its preseason state Top 30 rankings and Northern California preseason Top 25 in a report, on Oct. 26, at www.cccmbca.org. Yuba College-Marysville, from the Bay Valley Conference, is listed No. 2 in the state poll.
There are four Bay Valley Conference teams in the Northern California preseason Top 25:
No. 1 Yuba, No. 17 Contra Costa-San Pablo, No. 22 Merritt-Oakland, and tied for No. 25 Los Medanos-Pittsburg.
A look at the NVC team
A look at this year's Napa Valley College team (listing player, position, class, hometown/high school):
* Oliver Aandahl: guard, freshman, American Canyon/American Canyon
* Chris Farrington: guard, freshman, Milwaukee/Shorewood
* Jerard Jackson: guard, freshman, San Jacinto/San Jacinto
* Jalen Encinas: guard, freshman, Fairfield/Vanden
* Raekwon Bell: forward, sophomore, American Canyon/American Canyon
* Ethan Williams: forward, sophomore, Bangkok/Rio Lindo Academy
* Nico Franco: guard, freshman, Napa/Napa
* Jalen Moore: guard, freshman, Fairfield/Armijo
* Jaleel Turner: freshman, forward, Richardson/JJ Pearce
* Antoine Thaxton: forward, sophomore, Fairfield/Vanden
* CJ Mitchell: guard, freshman, American Canyon/American Canyon
* Hassan Flemming: forward, freshman, American Canyon/American Canyon
* Keith Nyangena: forward, sophomore, Richarson/JJ Pearce
* Nate Broome: forward, freshman, Benicia/Benicia
* 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.