By Vinnie Lavalsiti
While the majority of us will be home for winter break, our men's basketball team will be staying on Grossmont's turf hooping. This past month, the Griffins have put up solid numbers in some preseason events and tournaments. They currently sit at a 5-2 record, and will tip-off their first home game on November 22nd at 5:00 PM against Compton College.
Coach Doug Weber's team is led by some very strong returning players, including sophomore guards David Wheeler, Josh Moran and Bryce Parsons as well as sophomore forward Ronald Blain, all in the top four in scoring on the team.
However, the Griffins have a steep climb to the top of the Pacific Athletic Coast Conference standings as the current number one school in California, as well as last year's CCCAA Champion San Diego City College resides atop, looking down on everyone else. Last year, Grossmont finished in second place with a 7-3 conference record, trailing only the undefeated San Diego City College Knights. That's not to say the Griffins expect to lose those games against City College. Instead, it will be a statement game for them, and will allow them to gauge where their talent lies in comparison with other teams in their conference. In their first of two visits, San Diego City College will be coming to Grossmont on Jan 17th at 7:00 PM to try and steal a win from our Griffins. We'll see what Weber and Co. have to say about that.
Currently in fifth place in the PCAC, Grossmont leads the conference in field goal (47.6) and three-point (42.3) percentages, and are second in turnovers allowed per game (11.4).
For the Griffins, conference play starts on Jan. 12 at San Diego Mesa and will be ending Feb 6th. After that, the Griffins hope to have a long playoff run to send their sophomores off into the sunset before transferring.
