Bill Damuth “All those kids are gone.”

October 15, 2009

REGION XIV MEDIA DAY: Time to bounce (w/coaches polls)

Lady Cards picked to win conference; coaches think Cardinals will finish second

By Jayson Larson Sports Editor
In this conference, the one-liners are almost as good as the basketball.

Take, for instance, Trinity Valley Community College Men’s Head Coach Pat Smith. Standing at the podium at the 12th Annual Region XIV Basketball Media Day, Smith said his players had been banged up and complaining of aches and pains throughout preseason workouts — right up until they played at the 2009 JUCO Showcase scrimmage last weekend.

“It was like Oral Roberts walked into our locker room,” Smith said, referring to the notable TV faith healer.

One of the highlights of Media Day is the release of the annual Coaches Poll. Conference coaches picked Smith’s Cardinals to finish second in the North Zone, behind reigning conference champion Navarro College. Navarro (26-11) received eight of the first-place votes.

“Some people say they really don’t care where they’re picked or that they don’t care about the polls, but I like it as a sign of respect,” said Smith, whose club was 21-11 a year ago.

Among Smith’s returning players are Adrian Forbes, a 6-8 sophomore who has already committed to Auburn.

In the South Zone, Lon Morris (26-6, 13-3 in conference) received 10 of 13 first-place votes.

TVCC Head Women’s Basketball Coach Bill Damuth’s Lady Cardinals — a perennial national title contender — were picked to win the conference in the women’s poll. Eight of the 10 conference coaches voted TVCC (28-8 in 2008) first. Angelina (24-7) and Blinn (14-17) also received first-place votes.

The Lady Cardinals were voted first despite having exactly zero returning players from last season’s team.

“Our team last year finished seventh in the nation, and that’s great, but it doesn’t help me any,” said Damuth, who was an assistant to Michael Landers last season. “All those kids are gone.”

TVCC men open the season Nov. 2 in Fort Worth against Texas Wesleyan JV. The women open Nov. 4 in Hillsboro against Hill College.



MEN

North Zone

1. Navarro (8) 82

2. TVCC (3) 77

3. Tyler (2) 74

4. Kilgore 46

5. Paris 44

6. Panola 27

7. Bossier Parish 14



South Zone

1. Lon Morris (10) 87

2. San Jacinto (2) 73

3. Lee (1) 62

4. Angelina 52

5. Jacksonville 36

6. Lamar State-PA 29

7. Blinn 25

Not voting: Bossier Parish



WOMEN

1. TVCC (8) 97

2. Angelina (1) 87

3. Blinn (1) 67

4. Kilgore 63

5. Panola 52

6. Tyler 50

7. Jacksonville 47

8. Lon Morris 44

9. San Jacinto 29

10. Paris 14