Falcons favored in SC South
Last season four teams made the post season from the South Coast South Conference. Los Angeles Harbor, Cerritos, Long Beach and Los Angeles Southwest all made the post season and three of the four teams were above .500. Los Angeles Harbor brought home the conference championship and won 25 games during the regular season. Cerritos finished in 2nd place and the Falcons won 19 games. Long Beach and LA Southwest both made the post season but from top to bottom the conference as a whole was very competitive. Coming into the new season we expect much of the same, as the South Coast South will be competitive again but coming into the new season we have Cerritos College as our favorites for the 2023-2024 season.
2023-2024 Signal The Light Basketball South Coast South Conference Preview
Cerritos (19-10, 7-3): The Falcons come into the season after winning 19 games last season and finishing in 2nd place in the South Coast South Conference. Cerritos started off the season blazing hot as the Falcons ran off their first seven games of the season with w’s posted in their win column. In those first seven games, five of those seven wins the Falcons picked up were wins against Ventura, Citrus, Copper Mountain, Alan Hancock and Pasadena which all made the post season. Following the hot start, the Falcons hit a rough part and followed that up with five straight losses and were flirting around a little bit above the .500 mark. After the trip up, Cerritos finished up non conference action winning five of their next six games and went into conference with a 12-7 record. After posting a conference opening win over Compton, the Falcons lost two straight games and saw themselves under .500 in conference action with seven games to go in the regular season. Cerritos ended the season with a 6-1 record and got to nod to play in the post season after posting 19 wins in the regular season. Cerritos was named the 9th seed in the Southern California playoffs and hosted Copper Mountain but the Falcons lost 94-91 and had an abrupt end to their 2022-2023 campaign.
Head Coach: Russ May
2023-2024 Outlook: Moving forward to the upcoming season, the Falcons will look to have another standout season. Cerritos lost leading scorer Jalen Shores and also some other key pieces (Gorden Boykins, Dennis Johnson) but return four players from last seasons team that finished 2nd place in the South Coast South Conference. “6-4” Gary Williams returns to the squad for his sophomore season after the forward was named all conference last season. Willaims averaged 8.9 points and 6.0 rebounds in his freshman season. The sophomore was the only freshman to be named on the South Coast South Conference first team a year ago. “6-7” sharp shooting Everett May returns to the Falcons for his sophomore season after averaging 8.7 points per game. May is a floor stretcher that made 51 three pointers a year ago, and will provide the Falcons a deep three point threat. “6-3” Taeo Thomas (5.3 points) and “6-7” Cameron McCoy (4.9 points) will also return to the Falcons for the upcoming season. Both these players, should see their numbers rise and McCoy will impact the Falcons at the defensive end being able to guard multiple positions on the floor. The Falcons return the most experience within the conference that are back from a year ago which could provide them with the early edge when you talk about top teams within the conference as a whole.
Newcomers: Cerritos comes into the new season and will have some new faces that should impact the program in their first season. “6-2” Miles Ceballos is a transfer from Ventura and should provide some back court scoring for the Falcons. “6-1” Dillon Botts (Mayfair HS), “5-7” Darron Henry (LB Poly HS) are two freshman that should impact the back court this upcoming season for Cerritos. Botts played well at the jamboree and Henry showed that he could score the basketball in a variety of ways despite his size. “6-6” Eric Clark (Cerritos HS), “6-4” Marcel Hayes (LB Poly HS), “6-5” Blake Brewer (Orange Lutheran), are three other faces that we could see in the rotation for the Falcons in the 2023-2024 season.
Projection: We project the Falcons will be a very competitive team for the upcoming season and are one of our favorites to win the South Coast South Conference championship. Out of the five teams that we saw within this conference, Cerritos looked the best and has a chance to be a really good basketball team for the upcoming season. The Falcons do lack front court size but have solid guard play which should be good enough to make the post season and a possible deep run. I believe that Cerritos will make the post season and have a chance to win a lot of games in the regular season.
Season Opener: 11/1 @ Chaffey
Los Angeles Harbor (25-5, 9-1): Looking back at last season, it was a season to remember for the Seahawks. Los Angeles Harbor started off the season with seven straight wins and never took their foot off the gas the rest of the season. After a set back against Miramar, the Seahawks went 8-2 the rest of non conference and came into conference play with a 16-4 record. In non conference action, Los Angeles Harbor had picked up wins against Ventura, Palomar, Santiago Canyon and East Los Angeles and had a chance to pick up a quality seed as conference play rolled around. In conference action, the Seahawks continued to play well and ran off 9 of 10 and brought home the conference championship. With the conference championship in hand, the Seahawks picked up a 6th seed for the post season and were able to get a first round bye. Los Angeles Harbor picked up a playoff win against Mt. San Jacinto at home but suffered a loss in the sweet 16 against East Los Angeles 99-91 to end their season with a record of 25-5.
Head Coach: Tony Carter-Loza
2023-2024 outlook: Coming into the new season, the Seahawks will look to have another standout season. After winning 25 games a year ago, Los Angeles Harbor has a lot of pieces to replace from their conference championship team. The Seahawks will have to replace two scorers that averaged over 20 or more points a night for them in Demetrius Douglas and Louis Walker as both players had all state caliber seasons. Harbor will also need to replace Vince Rodriguez and Newton Acevedo as they were two key back court pieces that had a lot of success from a year ago. The Seahwaks return five players from a year ago in sharpshooting “6-1” Kendal Parker (3.5 points), left hander “6-3” Sheldon Terry (2.8 points), “6-5” Tyler Mapp (2.9 points), “6-3” Eli Mageo (2.3 points) and “6-4” Ray Sims who played in five games a year ago. The task will be heavy replacing four key players but the Seahawks have some pieces in place to have another standout season.
Newcomers: The Seahawks had a lot of players listed on their showcase roster and should be intriguing to see who is actually on the roster by the time that the season roles around. “6-4” Blake Ballard is coming over from Cypress College after averaging 14.5 points per contest last year for the Chargers. “6-4” Tim Lofton and “6-3” Amir Woods will both provide sophomore experience for the Seahawks. “6-6” Max Majcher (West Torrance), “6-3” Xaiver Willaims, “6-2” Parris Broughton (Redondo Union), “6-0” CJ Nelson (Hamilton), “6-3” Osahon Ero (King Drew) “6-2” Marcus Calcote (Paramount), and “6-9” Yel Deng (Mary Star) all saw action at the jamboree. Calcote showed he could score the basketball and could be a player to watch for the Seahawks.
Projection: Can the Seahawks repeat the success that they had from a year ago? After winning the South Coast South Conference and losing two big time scorers will the Seahawks have enough firepower. Harbor has pieces but we project they will take a drop from a year ago. The Seahawks will be a fairly competitive team that could challenge at the top of the conference. Replacing a wing and front court player that averaged over 20 points per game is not an easy task to do and as time moves forward we will see who will be there go to go guy. We project that they finish in 2nd place and challenge for a post season bid for the upcoming 2023-2024 season.
Season opener: 11/4 vs West Hills Lemoore
Long Beach (16-13, 4-6): The 2022-2023 campaign for Long Beach City College was a season full of streaks. The Vikings started the season with two wins in a row but followed those wins up with three straight losses in their first five games of the season. Following the slow start, the Vikings caught fire and won eight of their next nine games and were cruising in non conference action putting together wins and found themselves in a great situation moving into the conference action. As conference started the Vikings had a 12-7 record and posted wins against Santiago Canyon, Cypress, and West Los Angeles. Long Beach started conference action losing their first four games and never found consistency throughout conference action. The Vikings went 4-2 in their last six games and finished tied for third place in the South Coast South Conference standings. Long Beach picked up a bid to the post season and the Vikings were named the 15th seed and were going to host a playoff game in the 1st round. In first round action the Vikings suffered a home loss against Cypress and ended their 22-23 season with a 16-13 record.
Head Coach: Barry Barnes
2023-2024 outlook: As the season approaches, the Vikings will turn to a lot of new faces for the upcoming season. Long Beach has over sixty points to replace within their line up and graduated key pieces from their team from a year ago. Long Beach will look to replace a very good starting five (Bonard Johnson, Kameron Mayhan, Shane Hunter, Chris Herrera and Lorenzo Marsh) and all of those players averaged in double figures from a year ago. Long Beach will return one player from last seasons team that made the post season. “6-1” Brandon Cerda who saw limited action will provide experience at the point guard positon. Cerda averaged 2.2 points per contest last season but the Texas native looked to be playing with a lot of confidence at the jamboree. The Vikings have two sophomores listed on their roster and will be a very inexperienced team.
Newcomers: The Vikings will have a lot of new faces for the upcoming season as Long Beach had a lot of incoming players that will need to step up to have a successful season. “6-1” Colin Weems is listed as a sophomore and will look to provide experience to the young back court. Weems can shoot the ball and will stretch the floor for the Vikings. “6-1” Franklyn Chambers (LB Jordan HS), “6-2” Kane Young (LB Jordan HS), “6-1” Dennis Redmond (LB Jordan HS), “6-1” Anthony Turner (Primavera AZ), “6-2” Jeff Mena (Grand Terrace HS), and “5-9” Jacob Topete are all players that should be in this mix for back court minutes this upcoming season. “6-6” Travin Thompson (Cabrillo HS), “6-5” Kunique Parker (Kapolei HS), “6-4” Destin Okafor (LB Wilson HS), and “6-5” Kason White (Cypress HS) will all look to provide minutes for the Vikings this upcoming season. A lot of playing time is available for the freshman and the Vikings have a solid class of newcomers that will have an impact this season for Long Beach.
Projection: Long Beach comes into the season with a lot of point production to replace from a team that won 16 games and made the post season a year ago. The Vikings will figure it out on the fly and be a very talented but youthful team. Brandon Cerda and Colin Weems are the two sophomores on the team, and the Vikings do not have a lot of size. Franklyn Chambers, Travin Thompson played well and provided scoring for the Vikings. It will be interesting to see how fast the freshman grow up as they have a very talented core. We project that the Vikings will finish in the middle of the pack for the conference and could contend for a post season berth for the 2023-2024 season.
Season opener: 11/2 @ Santa Ana
Compton (8-19, 4-6): Last season was a tough season for the Tartars as Compton College struggled from the jump in the 22-23 season. Compton started the season losing their first four games of the season and never really found a groove for the rest of the season. Compton struggled in non conference action as the Tartars finished non conference action with a 4-13 record with wins coming against Cal Miramar JV, Los Angeles Pierce twice and knocked off Rio Hondo. In conference action, Compton was a streaky team and struggled to find consistency. The Tartars had streaks of three straight wins, and three straight losses and ended the regular season winning two of their last three games. At the end of the season Compton finished with an 8-19 record and finished tied for third place with two other teams in South Coast South action and the Tartars missed the post season.
Head Coach: Keith Holliman
2023-2024 outlook: Coming into the new season, the Tartars have a lot of key components to replace from last seasons team that won eight games. Compton lost four players (James Baker Dunlap, Denzel Okoli, Derrell Jones Jr, and Lamin Williams) that averaged in double figures which accounted for 53 points of their offense last season. Compton lost a lot of firepower and the Tartars also only return one player from last season and Kenyon Wall but the sophomore only played in three games and will not provide a lot of court time experience at the junior college level for Compton. The Tartars will lack experience but have brought in some pieces to provide immediate help for the 23-24 season.
Newcomers: The Tartars will have a lot a new faces for the upcoming season and will have some transfers coming into the program. “6-2” Malvin Payero (Biola Transfer), “6-5” Todd Evans, “6-6” Jacob Tenberge (Tacoma CC), and “6-8” Alvin Cannady (NE Oklahoma A&M) will provide sophomore experience. Tenberge averaged 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds at Tacoma CC. The wing should provide a scoring option and stretch for the floor for Compton this upcoming season. “6-8” Alvin Cannady will be another standout for the Tartars as the transfer should be a standout throughout the whole state as he showed he can score the basketball at the jamboree in mid September. Payero has the ability to stretch the floor and should provide some immediate help in the back court. “6-3” Edward Spencer (Cypress HS) can shoot the rock, “6-4” Jontue Cooper (Mayfair HS), and “6-3” Jamerion Fouce (Marion, IN) are three freshmen that should contribute for the 23-24 season. The newcomers will be a big part of the Tartars success in the upcoming season.
Projection: Compton will be another team within the conference that will have a lot of new faces and could take some time to gel. The Tartars have some pieces that can score the basketball but lack front court size and could struggle on the glass at times. Cannaday will be an all conference player and could average a double double and the Tartars have some talented young guards. Compton could take some hits early with so many newcomers coming into the program. This will be a team that will improve as the season moves along as we expect the Tartars to be a very competitive team and finish in the middle of the pack team in the South Coast South Conference.
Season opener: 11/2 vs Orange Coast
El Camino (13-15, 2-8): Looking back at last season, the Warriors had a much improved season from the year before. El Camino came into the 22-23 season, and started the campaign winning four straight games to start the season. El Camino picked up wins against Santa Barbara, Imperial Valley, Santa Ana and Golden West to start the season. The Warriors stayed hot went 5-2 in their next seven but cooled off as conference rolled around and finished non conference action with an 11-7 record. After losing their conference opener against Los Angeles Southwest, El Camino picked up a big win against Long Beach but the Warriors lost their next four games and ended the season losing seven of their last eight games in South Coast South Conference action. It was a much improved season for the Warriors after going 2-25 in the 21-22 season. The Warriors finished their season with a 13-15 record and finished in 6th place in conference play and missed the post season but took a step in the right direction moving forward.
Head Coach: Robert Uphoff
2023-2024 outlook: Looking into the new season for the Warriors, El Camino will look to have a competitive season. The Warriors will look to replace two players that averaged in double figures in Gabe Hubbard and Mo Cruz along with Dwayne Moore and some other pieces to a team that won 13 games a year ago. El Camino lost a lot of sophomores from a year ago but leading the list of returnees is “6-2” Billy Ray Barnes. The sophomore averaged 13.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game a year ago while shooting 60% from the floor. The left handed slasher scored in double figures 15 times and scored a season high of 27 points against Pasadena in his freshman campaign. Barnes is expected to have another big season for the Warriors. “5-8” Miguel Javier returns to the team as well but the guard only played in 8 games last season but gives El Camino some much needed experience to the young team. The Warriors will lack experience and could take hits early as the freshman will need to grow up and gather experience when conference rolls around in mid January.
Newcomers: The Warriors will have a lot of new faces on the sidelines this season and will lack experience for the upcoming season. “6-4” Jordan Webster leads the list of newcomers and is a transfer from UC Merced, the freshman should provide some scoring punch to the lineup. “6-3” Shemar Carter (Culver City HS) showed he could shoot the three ball at the jamboree and should provide a scoring option for the Warriors. “6-5” Darius Alexander; “6-6” Aaron Cortes (El Camino Real), “6-4” Ari Anderson (Bell HS), “6-2” Zachary Bates (Sulphur HS – Louisiana), “6-3” Vaitai Tuione (Redondo Union HS), “6-8” Logan Kingston (West Yellowstone HS- Montana), “6-9” Stefan Brakels are all freshman that will look to contribute for the 23-24 season.
Projection: El Camino will be a very young and inexperienced team as the Warriors return two players from last season. El Camino had a lot of players at the jamboree as it seemed that they are trying to find the right players to bring into the program. The Warriors have some young talent but experience is the best teacher but I feel the Warriors will struggle in the 2023-2024 season. We project the Warriors will be a competitive bunch but still finish toward the bottom of the conference for the upcoming season.
Season Opener: 11/1 @ Santa Barbara
Los Angeles Southwest (12-15, 4-6): Last season it was a season of streaks for the Cougars as Los Angeles Southwest started off the season with three straight wins. Following the hot start, the Cougars lost five of their next seven games and struggled to find consistency throughout the non conference part of their schedule. Los Angeles Southwest did play against some stiff competition but picked up wins against Mt. San Jacinto, Sequoias, Santiago Canyon, and Moorpark and had some good losses (if those exsist) throughout the season. As conference rolled around the Cougars were 8-9 and were on the bubble for making the post season but started off conference action with three huge wins including two over Long Beach and Cerritos and looked to be a force within the conference. Following the hot start, the Cougars faltered and lost six of their last seven games and staggered to a 4-6 conference record and a 12-14 overall record. Despite the slow finish, the Cougars had accumulated enough quality wins and got the post season nod as a 19th seed. In the first round, Los Angeles Southwest went on the road and the season ended with a 79-63 loss against 14th seeded Riverside.
Head Coach: Mack Cleveland
2023-2024 outlook: Coming into the new season not a lot is known about the Cougars as Los Angeles Southwest did not participate at the Socal Jamboree. What is known is that the Cougars lost four key pieces that averaged in double figures and have a lot to replace for the upcoming season. Los Angeles Southwest lost Koron Davis, Dondre Watson, Kendall Collins and Randarius Jones all to graduation. The big four were a very talented bunch as Davis signed with Louisville and Randarius Jones committed to Troy State. “6-5” Omarion Shackelford is the lone returner coming back to the squad. Shackelford averaged 11.9 points last season and is expected to have another solid season for the Cougars after putting up double figures in 13 games last season and had a season high of 26 against Los Angeles Trade Tech.
Newcomers: As we mentioned above, we do not know a lot about the Cougars but six incoming players were named in discussions with the coaching staff for the upcoming season. “6-10” Martice Mitchell (Minnesota/N.Illinois) , “6-10” Solomon Ray (Wallace State CC), “6-7” King Sutton (Coffeysville CC), “6-4” Omar Gardner (Western Oklahoma State), “6-1” Daveon Henderson (Macon, GA), “6-2″Jahzeem Gaskin (Newark, NJ) were all names that will be part of the Cougars program. Coach Cleveland has a knack for bringing in talent so it is very interesting to see the talent he has put together. We expect the players to be very talented and will have an immediate impact by all means.
Projection: It will be interesting to see how Los Angeles Southwest looks this season. With only one face back from a year ago, the Cougars will be meshing as the season moves along. If there is one thing we know about coach Cleveland is that he can recruit and his track record shows that they will have talent on the floor. The question will be how quickly the Cougars mesh but it will be intriguing to see.We believe that the Cougars will be competitive but how good we dont know at this time.
Season opener: 11/2 vs Copper Mountain
STLB Projected South Coast South Standings
1. Cerritos
2. LA Southwest
3. LA Harbor
4. Long Beach
5. Compton
6. El Camino
