Just when Long Beach State men’s basketball coach Dan Monson thought he was getting his three top scorers back from last season, one of them opted out – an opportunity afforded athletes by the NCAA because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Senior guard Colin Slater, a team leader who averaged 10.2 points last season – third-highest on the team, made the decision to opt out. Senior guard Drew Cobb, who started 12 games and averaged 5 points in 2019-20, also opted out.
“Obviously, they’re good players and good-character kids, so on the court, we’ll miss their leadership, their depth, their experience,” Monson said.
Monson is understanding.
“This is a year where those things are secondary to everybody’s health, everybody’s comfort level and just making sure everybody is comfortable with the situation,” said Monson, whose 18-year-old daughter, Mollie, had a severe case of coronavirus in mid-July that saddled her with pneumonia and a fever of 104.7 degrees; she has recovered.
Monson noted it’s not just the players who have concerns. LBSU assistant coach Bobby Braswell has opted out of his coaching assignment for this season too.
What this does is give some of the other guards on the team a chance to show their wares.
“They say for every door that closes for one person, it opens it for another,” Monson said. “This absolutely gives an opportunity for Justin Rene (Long Beach Poly) and Jadon Jones and RJ Rhoden … and Shaden Knight.”
Rene, Rhoden and Knight are redshirt freshmen. Jones is a true freshman out of St. Anthony High.
“They’re going to have to step in and fill some of those minutes,” Monson said, “and it’s just an opportunity.”
Even before learning Slater and Cobb would be unavailable, Monson said the chances of the 6-foot-5 Jones making an immediate impact were good.
“Because he’s not afraid,” said Monson, whose team opens its season Monday night at No. 22 UCLA (1-1). “And we need some perimeter scoring and somebody that can get their own shot. He can do those two things. He can score in bunches on the perimeter and he can create his own shot a little bit.
“He reminds me of a young Chance Hunter and maybe it’s just because they’re both left-handed. But I think they’re both very similar players in that they just have a knack for knowing how to score. That’s something you can’t teach.”
Hunter, a 6-6 junior, led Long Beach in scoring (13.9 ppg) last season. Michael Carter III – a 6-5 junior guard – was next at 12.2 ppg.
Then there is guard Isaiah Washington, a senior transfer from Iona who began his college career at Minnesota, where Monson once coached. He averaged 11.4 points and 4 assists last season at Iona.
Monson likes what Washington provides.
“He’s just got experience, he’s got swagger and this team needs some swagger,” Monson said. “And he’s a true point guard. We’ve got other guys who have played the point and can play the point. But there’s a difference between guys who can play the point and players who have done it their whole lives.
“Isaiah’s been a point guard his whole life.”
Replacing 6-11 center Josh Morgan, who transferred to USC, will be difficult. He averaged 8.4 points and a team-best 6.1 rebounds as a freshman last season and also led the Big West Conference with 80 blocked shots.
Monson believes Trever Irish – a 7-foot junior who averaged just 8.5 minutes last season – can help. He said Irish is healthy, which wasn’t the case last season when he nursed a hamstring injury early, and there are others who are expected to contribute.
“And then Romelle Mansel having started all last year,” Monson said of the 6-9 sophomore forward. “He’s got great experience now. He comes back and knows what’s expected of him. Raymond Hawkins (6-9) is a transfer who’s immediately available from Alabama who gives us a lot of athleticism and size in there.
“And then we have a kid named Joe Hampton (6-8) who was a junior college player who has come in, so those four are all very capable players. It’s as deep as we’ve been for a while inside.”
One thing that must change this season is the assist-to-turnover ratio. LBSU doled out 354 assists but committed 515 turnovers while going 11-21 overall and 6-10 in conference play last season; there was no postseason conference tournament because of COVID-19, nor was there an NCAA Tournament.
“Isaiah’s gotta help us value the ball,” Monson said. “Last year we had more turnovers than assists and you just can’t be successful if you’re doing more bad than good when you have the ball.”
Also returning are 6-9 senior forward Jordan Roberts (5.1 ppg) and sophomore guard Max De Geest, who is still in his native New Zealand after traveling there following the initial COVID-19 outbreak, according to LBSU.
As for the Big West chase, Monson expects defending champion UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara will set the pace, but he believes his team can compete with them.
“Our margin for error is pretty small, but I think this team’s got all the pieces,” Monson said. “But we’ve gotta stay healthy, we’ve gotta stay COVID-free.”
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