NIC MEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Cardinals return 4, beef up schedule
When second-year North Idaho College men’s basketball coach Corey Symons put together the 2015-16 schedule, he wanted to do the best he could to challenge his squad, which features only four returning players.
Mission accomplished.
Oh, they’re plenty experienced in a few spots, just not in a Cardinal uniform.
Lucas Antunez, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Madrid, Spain; Braian Angola-Rodas, a 6-6 guard from Columbia; and former Lake City High standout Kyle Guice, a 6-7 post, return for their sophomore year. Zaequan (Ziggy) Satterthwaite, a 6-7 forward from Washington, N.C., redshirted last year.
“We’re excited to get going against someone else,” Symons said. “We’ve been getting after each other in practice for a few weeks now, so it will be good to play someone else.”
NIC, which received votes in the NJCAA preseason poll, opens the season tonight at 7:30 against Sheridan (Wyo.) College at Rolly Williams Court.
Angola-Rodas was a first team All-Scenic West Athletic Conference selection last year, when the Cardinals finished 24-8.
“He led us in almost everything and was second in scoring,” Symons said. “He was the glue that kept it together. It’s nice to have both him and Lucas back.”
Brayon (B.J.) Blake is a transfer from Cochise College in Arizona, and Caleb Warner — a 6-7 guard from Mercer Island, Wash. — transfered from Pacific of the West Coast Conference.
“Blake’s a really good player and will start at the four for us,” Symons said. “Caleb is a 6-7 wing that will start at the ‘3’ for us. We’ve got a lot of experience and are a little older than last year.”
Sam Dowd, a 5-8 redshirt freshman from Gonzaga Prep, joins the team after transferring from Carroll College in Helena, Mont.
Scott Turner, who prepped at Lake City High, joins the team after graduating from Boise State.
“He did his dual enrollment through us and left Boise with a degree,” Symons said. “He’s going to help us a lot. He’s a smart player that can shoot the ball really well.”
The tallest player on the NIC roster is Dylan Okoro, a 6-8 forward from Newark, N.J.
“We’re not as big as we’ve been in the past,” Symons said. “We’re really 6-6 across the board, but are tall and athletic. We’ll try to play that small ball and get up and down the court and take advantage of our speed.”
Trey Burch-Manning is a 6-6 freshman guard from Federal Way, Wash., that Symons expects to play a key role as a reserve.
After Friday’s opener, NIC travels to Arizona Western to play in a three-day tournament starting next Thursday, followed by the Bigfoot-Cardinal Classic at NIC, as well as the inaugural Cd’A Inn-vitational Dec. 28-30 at NIC, replacing the annual high school tournament. Other participating teams will be announced soon.
“When I first did this schedule, we didn’t have an all-star team on it,” Symons said. “We probably have the toughest preseason schedule we’ve had since I’ve been here. Since we open the (conference) season at home, we don’t have a lot of time to waste. Playing these teams will help us get prepared for our league.”
In the Scenic West Athletic Conference opener on Dec. 12, NIC will host Southern Idaho — the top-ranked team in the NJCAA preseason poll.
“They’re long and an athletic team,” Symons said of CSI. “Coach (Jared) Phay is doing a great job with them. Salt Lake is 15th in the nation, so everything this year goes through them. Especially CSI.”
The Region 18 tournament is scheduled for Feb. 25-27 in Twin Falls.
NIC will play eight of its 15 conference games at home this season, and 17 home games total.
“Playing in front of our crowd should help them gain some confidence,” Symons said. “Hopefully, it will give them some more time to get them to mature on the court.”