Understatement of the year candidate: The Long Beach State men’s basketball team — which is set to take the Walter Pyramid floor Saturday against Hawaii-Pacific — will look more than slightly different than it did a year ago.
Anybody who followed 49er hoops last season will not need to clean their glasses, adjust their TV sets or double-check their ticket stubs. This is still going to be LBSU basketball they are witnessing.
Regardless of the fact that last year’s squad had only two seniors, there will be only two returning starters and a total of six returning players on this season’s roster.
The major departure is obviously James Ennis, who took his talents to South Beach by way of the NBA draft. Head coach Dan Monson and his staff also let go of three major contributors (two starters) and a total of five players in favor of leading the team in a new direction over the off-season.
With Keala King, Tony Freeland, Deng Deng, Kyle Richardson and Jerramy King gone, LBSU will need to look first and foremost to the veteran leadership of its only remaining starters, Mike Caffey and Dan Jennings, in order to be successful in its quest for a fourth consecutive Big West Conference title.
Both Caffey and Jennings will need to step up as vocal leaders on the court while adjusting to the myriad of new teammates. UCLA transfer Tyler Lamb is clearly the most experienced and immediately capable newcomer and could play a vital role in the teams’ success, especially if he plays substantial minutes at point guard, allowing Caffey to slide to the two and take advantage of his natural scoring ability.
Veterans Nick Shepherd and Kris Gulley will also play key minutes. Shepherd was once referred to by Monson as “the future of the program,” and Gulley proved last season to be a threat on both ends of the court. Both players will have to improve, though, in order the fill the voids.
All of this leads to the redshirt freshman who is likely to very soon become one of the most important contributors on the squad: Branford Jones. The 6-foot-1 backup point guard broke his leg in the opener last season, forcing Mike Caffey to play nearly 38 minutes a night the rest of the way. Jones, who impressed in the few minutes of action he saw, is now fully healthy and will provide valuable minutes of rest for Caffey and a consistent scoring punch off the bench.
The lingering question is, with all the new members, which freshman or transfer player will exceed expectations from the early stages and provide the ‘Niners with the much-needed depth they seem to lack on paper at this point? Who will be the next fan favorite? After all, the Monson Maniacs will be mighty quiet without their nightly chants of “Who’s Your Pappa?”
With all this being said and all the question marks surrounding the 2013-14 edition of Long Beach State’s basketball program, the 49ers should have the talent to ultimately compete for the Big West championship and a trip to the NCAA tournament.
A bold prediction?
Not really. Monson, the three-time reigning Big West coach of the year, will have his team prepared as usual. His roster moves will pay off once the players gain experience and trust in one another. The team will be tested early and often with key nonconference matchups against Arizona, USC, Michigan, North Carolina State and others, but it will only get better with each contest.
Maniacs: Don’t sleep on your 49ers this season. Learn their names and a new chant just may create itself.