Larry Reynolds has a different team this year—very different and very young.
The head coach of the Cal State Stanislaus men's basketball team said goodbye to seven seniors in the offseason and is left for the 2015-16 year with just one senior on this year’s roster—Alek Carlson.
Carlson, the former Turlock High Bulldog has thrived in his role as “'the man” at Stanislaus on the court. With just a year left, Carlson hopes to lead a group of youngsters that is made up of a variety of players, including seven transfers and five freshman.
“Last year we were a very experienced squad, very battle tested. But after losing as many seniors as we did this is practically a new team. We had to recruit many transfers and also found some stout freshman,” said Reynolds.
Last year, Carlson was part of a postseason team that went 18-11 overall and 14-8 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association before eventually losing in the second round to Chico State in the CCAA tournament.
Carlson shot .309 from three-point range in all 29 of the Warriors games, averaging 5.2 points per game while averaging 17.2 minutes per game.
In the new up and coming season, coach Reynolds will rely heavily on Carlson for leadership support and the remainder of the team may have to find an identity quick if they hope to rank high in the always competitive CCAA.
Reynolds welcomes back three redshirt players from last year who come in as freshman but really got a grasp for the program’s direction after learning last year. Richard Medina, Kyle Gouveia and Christian Bayne are the second year players that should expand in their roles and really play some solid ball this year. The freshmen are Tim Thymes, AJ Bigornia and Joseph Alvarez.
“Early in the year we will have to rely on defense being at the right place at the right time. Because it’s a new team it will take time to establish ourselves,” said Reynolds. “That is going to be what we will hopefully change as we go on and by the end hopefully we will progress into a more productive offense.”
The next game for Stanislaus will be at home against Dominican University at 7 p.m. Saturday.
