After a 4-22 season that saw the CSU East Bay men’s basketball team average a paltry 62.3 points per game, head coach Will Biggs signed a class of nine players that he hopes will invigorate the team’s style of play and eventually lead the program back to the success it had at the Division III level.
“In my early days when we had a lot of success at Cal State we averaged 95-96 points,” said Biggs. “We’re going to try and get back to that. We want to play an exciting brand of ball and we want to dictate tempo. So we really went after and targeted athletic kids with length that we thought we could press with so we could really create some things defensively.”
The nine signees tasked with cultivating that culture at East Bay are Vince Capellino, Quinton Lilley, Felix Mapanda, Nick Marshall, Tre Mauldin, Ota Okungbowa, Jason Smith, Jurell Turner and Jacari Whitfield.
The jewel of the class might be Marshall, a 6’7” transfer from Las Positas Community College, who drew rave reviews from Biggs as one of the most talented players the team has had in a long time.
“He’s definitely what we see on other teams, he’s 6’7” strong, long, and can do a lot of things more than just shoot,” said Biggs. “He gets in the lanes defensively. He’s got great timing on his rebounds, he’s at the rim and he’s a really good teammate.”
However, the addition of Mauldin might be seen as the savviest one made by Biggs in this recruiting class.
Mauldin, a 6’0” combo guard from Santiago High School in Corona, signed during the early signing period. He impressed coaches throughout the league as he improved during the season.
In fact, Biggs credited Mauldin as the springboard to this recruiting class, as it proved to others that CSUEB would be a good place for a team to form.
Buying into the team was Whitfield, a 5’7” point guard from Alameda, Mapanda, a 6’4” wing from Fresno City College and Lilley, a 6’4” wing from Fontana. All three come to CSUEB from winning programs and want to continue to win at the collegiate level.
Whitfield was the captain for Division V state champion team at St. Joseph’s where he averaged 13 points and seven assists. He describes himself as a pass first point guard who is committed to winning.
“I love to win and I will do anything to win, it’s been that way my whole life and I feel like I can help to change the program,” said Whitfield.
Mapanda was a crucial reserve for the Fresno City team that went to the state community college Final Four. His experience there taught him what it takes to win.
“Basically being the hardest working team is how you win,” said Mapanda. “Everyone’s got to buy into the system, your fourteenth guy has to be working as hard as your first guy, your first guy has to be working as hard as your fourteenth guy; everyone has to be on the same page.”
Lilley also comes from a winning program, as he captained Summit High School to the Division II State Finals before losing to champion Archbishop Mitty by three points. His time at Summit taught him several things that he thinks will be crucial for the team to win.
“I think the number one thing for us to win is going to be trust, I don’t think you can win without having teammates that trust each other on the court,” said Lilley. “And we have to be able to believe that we can win, if we don’t go into every game thinking we can win then we’re not going to.”
With proven winners such as Whitfield, Mapanda and Lilley combining with the talent and skills that each member of the new recruiting class possesses, Biggs hopes that combined with current Pioneer leading scorers Mark Samuels and Roshun Wynnne, the team will make an immediate impact in the CCAA and return the Pioneers to their winning ways.
