By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
There is a connection that coach Steve Ball has with the Live Like Geno Foundation, the sponsor of the Napa Valley College men's basketball team's season-opening tournament.
Ball grew up in Redway (Humboldt County), the same town as Gene "Geno" Cotter.
He learned so much about basketball from Cotter, who went on to play at College of the Redwoods-Eureka and Holy Names University-Oakland after starring at South Fork High School-Miranda.
"Gene Cotter was the one that raised me playing basketball basically," said Ball, who is in his 19th year of leading the NVC program. "We were in a small town, and he was a basketball junkie. He was always the older kid who wouldn't let you go home, because if you went home, he had to go home and couldn't play basketball anymore. So, he wanted to keep us out there as long as he could."
This week, Napa Valley College is the host of the Live Like Geno Foundation Tip Off, a six-team tournament with seven nonconference games, Nov. 1-3, that is played in memory of Cotter.
On Friday, Nov. 1, Los Medanos College-Pittsburg and Folsom Lake College play at 3 p.m., College of the Siskiyous-Weed and Napa Valley play at 5 p.m., and Redwoods and Sacramento City College meet at 7 p.m.
On Saturday, Nov. 2, it's Siskiyous-Folsom Lake at 3 p.m., Los Medanos-Redwoods at 5 p.m., and NVC-Sacramento City at 7 p.m.
There is just one game on Sunday, Nov. 3, with Redwoods and NVC playing at 2 p.m.
The Live Like Geno Foundation, according to its mission statement, at livelikegeno.org, was created to honor the memory of Gene "Geno" Cotter.
The organization's website points out: "The Live Like Geno Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a positive impact for underserved youth and their communities through mentorship, sports, facilities, and scholarships. Founded through the vision and philosophy of Gene "Geno" Cotter and his passion for youth development, we are committed to continuing his legacy using basketball as a vehicle.
"This foundation was created to carry on the mission and spirit of who Geno Cotter was. Geno touched the lives of thousands of young basketball enthusiasts, as well as their families.
"Following his tragic passing in July 2016, Geno's friends and family committed themselves to carrying on his passion for making the world a better place through the Live Like Geno Foundation."
The goal of Basketball Jones Hoop Camps, the company that Cotter founded, "is to bring a passion and excitement for life and basketball into the lives of young people," according to livelikegeno.org.
Ball definitely picked up on the love that Cotter had for the game when they were in Redway. It was Cotter who introduced Ball to basketball at a young age. He remembers hearing Cotter dribbling the basketball down the street as he made his way to Ball's home.
"It was Geno to come knock on my door and see who could dribble the ball between the legs a mile and a half to the outdoor courts the furthest. And, of course, it was always him," said Ball. "But the challenge for him, to set the bar that high for me, I feel improved because I had somebody like him to mentor me and to show me.
"He didn't treat me like I was four years younger than him. He wanted to beat me. He didn't care if I was a sixth grader and he was a sophomore. He was coming for me. So, it made you tougher. It made you more competitive. And it made you better."
Napa Valley has 13 nonconference games on its schedule. The Storm will also face Monterey Peninsula College, Cabrillo College-Aptos, Santa Rosa Junior College, Las Positas College-Livermore, Ohlone
College-Fremont, Reedley College, Skyline College-San Bruno, San Joaquin Delta College-Stockton, West Valley College-Saratoga and Canada College-Redwood City in nonconference games.
The Bay Valley Conference season starts on Dec. 14.
There are a number of things that Ball is excited about going into the 2024-25 season.
There is an improved look to the Storm, which was 3-25 overall, 3-13 in the conference last year.
The freshmen class and those players who redshirted last year are rock solid.
There is both size and depth to the team.
Chris Farrington, named to both the 2023-24 All-Bay Valley Conference team and the conference's All-Freshmen Team, leads the group of five sophomores.
"I think we have a much better team than we have had the past few years, and I'm looking forward to them progressing and helping them meet their potential," said Ball. "We also have some incoming freshmen that won a lot of games in high school, so they know what it takes to win, and they like to compete. So, it's a good mix. We just need to gel quicker, sooner rather than later.
"I'm really excited to have this group. I know we're much better than we were last year. We still need to progress and get better every day. But I'm excited about what this year could be if we continue to progress and take care of our details.
"I feel like traditionally, year in year and year out, we play our best basketball in January and February. This year, I'm hoping we can start in November and then progress from there and continue to develop.
"I'm excited about the incoming freshmen. I'm also excited about the group of redshirts that we had last year, that have been in the program for a year and are now finally being able to step onto the court and produce." Those players who redshirted last year are CJ Mitchell, E'Jay Rogers and Naajy Bynum-Bey.
The team's work at practice and the way they prepare is going a long way to helping change things, said Rogers.
"I feel like from here we're only going up," said Rogers. "I feel like we're tougher as a team. We're in the weight room every day. We're practicing every single day and grinding. We all have the same goal in mind. We work hard enough to where we're going to be prepared.
"We're going to be pressuring. We're going to be aggressive the entire time. It's going to be a fast-paced game. I feel like we have enough people who can control the ball, enough to where we can kind of get out there, push the ball a little bit. If we have to, we can slow it down.
"The biggest part is working on our defense a lot more this year."
The Storm's returning players are Farrington, Jerard Jackson, Hassan Flemming, Nate Broome and Jamari Taylor.
Farrington and Jackson, both guards, were named Freshman Honorable Mention for Northern California by Signal The Light Basketball last year.
Farrington averaged 15.5 points per game on 39.3 percent shooting from the field, 28.9 percent from the 3-point line, and 65.5 percent from the free-throw line. He also averaged 6.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
He scored 20 or more points in nine games and scored in double figures in 20 games.
"We're still building, still creating chemistry with each other," said Farrington. "We've got a good group, a fun group. I feel like we have a chance to change the culture and do big things this year. We're just trying to build off each other and build together.
"My biggest thing this year is I just want to win. I want to be better than I was last year. I want to be able to get my teammates involved. I want my teammates to have a big year as well. I just want to be a good team player, go out and just do what I can to help us win."
Jackson averaged 8.6 points per game on 33.2 percent shooting from the field, 32.7 percent from 3-point distance, and 80.0 percent from the free-throw line. He also averaged 1.8 rebounds per game
He scored in double figures in 12 games.
Taylor averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Flemming averaged 4.1 points and 2 rebounds per game.
Broome averaged 7.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
"I really like the group that we have," said Broome. "There's a lot of chemistry. A lot of the freshmen that we have are people who have been to section (playoffs) and they've won. They have already bought into sharing the ball and knowing what their strengths are.
"I feel like I'm trying to keep the same work ethic that I had last year."
NVC's assistant coaches are Tony Prescott, Rae Hubbard and Doentae Jenkins.
A look at the NVC team
A look at this year's NVC team (listing player, position, class, height, weight, hometown, high school):
* E'Jay Rogers, guard, freshman, 6-3, 170, Fairfield, Vanden High School
* Chris Farrington, guard, sophomore, 6-1, 165, Shorewood, WI, Shorewood High School
* Jerard Jackson, guard, sophomore, 5-9, 151, San Jacinto, CA, San Jacinto High School
* Naajy Bynum-Bey, forward, freshman, 6-5, 200, Sacramento, Inderkum High School
* Angelo Torres, guard, freshman, 5-6, 135, Pinole, Pinole Valley High School
* Jacob Segura, point guard, freshman, 5-7, 160, Stockton, Venture Academy
* Jamari Taylor, wing, sophomore, 6-2, 180, Fairfield, Vanden High School
* Jayden Robinson, shooting guard, freshman, 6-1, 200, Fairfield, Vanden High School
* Hassan Flemming, wing, sophomore, 6-4, 167, American Canyon, American Canyon High School
* Liam Kilroy, forward, freshman, 6-5, 201, Ross, The Branson School
* Kieran Mannion, point guard, freshman, 5-10, 155, Petaluma, Petaluma High School
* CJ Mitchell, shooting guard, freshman, 6-2, 195, American Canyon, American Canyon High School
* Royel Freeman, wing, freshman, 6-0, 185, Los Angeles, Dorsey High School
* Nate Broome, forward, sophomore, 6-6, 195, Benicia, Benicia High School
* Caedom Lain, forward, freshman, 6-8, 215, Fairfield, Fairfield High School
CCCMBCA regional preseason poll
City College of San Francisco is No. 1 in the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association-Northern California regional preseason rankings, announced in a report by the California Community College Athletic Association, at www.cccaasports.org.
The rankings also include:
No. 2 West Valley-Saratoga, No. 4 Modesto, No. 5 San Jose City, No. 6 Las Positas-Livermore, No. 7 Chabot-Hayward, No. 8 Skyline-San Bruno, No. 9 Yuba-Marysville, No. 10 Santa Rosa, No. 12 Redwoods-Eureka, No. 13 Diablo Valley-Pleasant Hill, No. 14 Butte-Oroville, No. 18 Contra Costa-San Pablo, No. 20 (tie) American River-Sacramento, Sierra-Rocklin.
Those listed as "others" includes Cabrillo-Aptos, Los Medanos-Pittsburg, Canada-Redwood City, College of Marin-Kentfield.
Signal The Light Basketball NorCal Preseason Rankings
Signal The Light Basketball announced its NorCal Preseason Rankings on Oct. 24 at x.com/sgnlthelgthoops.
The rankings are led by No. 1 San Francisco.
College of the Sequoias-Visalia is No. 2, Modesto Junior College is No. 3, San Jose City is No. 4 and Chabot College-Hayward is No. 5.
Also, in the rankings:
No. 6 West Valley College-Saratoga, No. 7 Santa Rosa Junior College, No. 9 Contra Costa College-San Pablo, No. 10 Skyline College-San Bruno, No. 11 Diablo Valley College-Pleasant Hill, No. 12 Yuba College-Marysville, No. 13 Fresno City College, No. 14 Lemoore College, No. 15 Las Positas College-Livermore.
* 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.