A lot to be excited about as NVC men's basketball continues its work in advance of 2025-26 season
Photos are of Steve Ball, head coach, Napa Valley College men's basketball
By MARTY JAMES
There wasn't a lot of time off during the summer for players in the Napa Valley College men's basketball program.
They were at work, taking part in a summer session, for four days a week, that had a focus on offensive concepts and skill development.
They returned to work at the start of the fall semester, in August, and are continuing their preparation in advance of the 2025-26 season.
"We haven't done nearly as much defense as I have in the past. But I think with an influx of guys, we really need to get the chemistry within our offensive concepts hammered down," Napa Valley head coach Steve Ball said.
The spring time was also where Ball added players to the program. There are over 20 players out for basketball, with Ball looking to trim that down to 15, an "ideal" number to go along with another five players redshirting, the coach said, for the season.
"Spring recruiting went really well this year. I'm very happy with the group that we brought in. I'm happy with the level of character and returners that we have also. I'm just very excited," said Ball.
There is definitely a lot to be excited about – as Napa Valley has a combination of experienced players returning, joining a very talented incoming freshmen class, and also much better depth all the way around.
"I think we brought in quite a bit of talent, and it's now just a matter of getting everybody, all that talent, to fit in together," said Ball. "Our depth, I feel is very strong, and our rotation is going to be deeper and more improved."
Napa Valley will scrimmage two opponents on Sept. 20 at the SoCal Jamboree, to be held at Cerritos College-Norwalk. It's put on by the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association.
Two more scrimmages follow for the Storm on Sept. 27 at the NorCal Jamboree, to be held at American River College-Sacramento.
The Storm has practices during the fall, five days a week, Monday through Friday.
Napa Valley returns four players:
* Jayden Robinson, who averaged 6.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year.
* E'Jay Rogers, who averaged 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last year.
* Kieran Manion, who averaged 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game last year.
* Liam Kilroy, who averaged 1.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last year.
Kenny Brown will join the Storm after redshirting last year. He averaged 12.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game as a senior for Benicia High School during the 2023-24 season.
New to the team are four players who were with Golden State Prep:
Jayden Russotti, AJ Loustau, Russell Gibson and Andrew DeGirolamo.
Golden State Prep, according to www.prolificprep.org, is a fifth-year post-graduate men's basketball team. It's a "training based organization that players utilize during their gap year," according to www.prolificprep.org.
Also, new to the NVC program is:
Ryan Rice, from Casa Grande High School-Petaluma, a two-time All-Vine Valley Athletic League player, and Jomari Bean, from Fremont-Oakland High School.
Rice averaged 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.8 assists per game last year for Casa Grande.
Bean averaged 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last year for Fremont.
NVC opens its season by hosting the Live Like Geno Foundation Tipoff, Nov. 1 and 2. Six teams are entered in the two-day event.
Napa Valley (4-24 overall, 3-13 Bay Valley Conference) tied for eighth place in the league last year.
* 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.