Minus a trio of players who lost their eligibility during the holidays due to academics, an up-and-down 2022-23 Chabot College basketball team and Coach Keenan McMiller faced the second half of its schedule with a reduction in firepower and depth. Yet the remaining squad then blazed a 14-game winning streak starting on January 9 that markedly turned their season around.
Label the 2022-23 Chabot season initially hot due to a 4-0 season
start, then inconsistent and cold because of a three-game losing
streak, including a pair of two point losses. A win, another loss,
then a victory came next. However, a trio of losses followed.
Granted, many of these were close contests. Even in the January 6
Chabot - CCSF contest, a 101-81 loss to the Rams, McMiller found
positives, offering "we played four guys recovering from the flu
and another suffering from hives and we still won the second half
by three points."
Close Contests
The tight games for the Gladiators covered the spectrum:
- November included a 58-55 loss to Merritt plus a 92-90
loss to host MPC,
- December brought a 92-90 defeat at the hands of host San Jose City College and a 79-76 loss to Cuesta College in the Hancock tournament,
- February being notable for an 89-87 victory over
visiting #1 San Francisco City College.
The Gladiators concluded the regular season 20-8 overall, with a 13-1 Coast North Conference record. Their 14 game winning streak is rife with a bevy of high-scoring games: 82 points, 75 points, 88, 98, 104, 93, 89, 94, 90, 103 and 107 as Chabot closed out the regular season with an 84.1 points per game scoring average. Coach Keenan McMiller earned the honor of co-coach of the year in the Coast-North Conference as the first African American coach to do so. The Gladiators shared a league championship with CCSF.
In the playoffs, the Gladiators first faced Los Medanos College
on February 25 and Jaiden Rivera's 33 points carried Chabot to an
89-82 home court victory. McMiller's crew earned the right to
face host San Jose City College on March 4 but fell
82-68 on Saturday to the Jaguars in the NorCal Regional Final
with Zach Broadous' 18 points leading the points production while Diggy Winbush and
Jaiden Rivera contributed 15 points apiece.
The Prominent Gladiator Turnaround Factors
A team-bonding exercise promoted growth and maturity.
"Utilizing the bonding exercise began when I was still at Merritt
and took place this year mid-season on Avila Beach" (near San Luis
Obispo) as the Gladiators were also preparing for participation in
a basketball tournament. "It's a check-in to see how the guys are
doing. Next season, we are going to do one early in the season and
also keep the mid-season one. I call the biggest thing coming out
of our bonding work as a come-to-Jesus moment. They learned
so much about each other. What works for the team and you is your
goals being their goals," McMiller explained.
Also while in San Luis Obispo, McMiller set up a dinner with his
assistant coaches to have a "where are we at?" dinner. The
question surrounding "why can't we win league?" was addressed by
all. The January 20-point loss to CCSF hung heavy in the air but
McMiller witnessed the aforementioned positives: four of his players taking the court
still in the throes of the flu and one suffering an in-game hives
attack which stopped play for 20 minutes or so. Also, that Chabot
won the second half of the game by three points. "Our players
weren't mentally tough enough and mature yet."
Call his communication processes promoting greater
trust and chemistry.
McMiller also utilizes a post-season questionaire, a process
allowing his student-athletes to provide formal annual feedback on
what worked and what needs improvement. The relationships he built
with his talents over the season shined through in the honest and direct
responses as well as the thanks offered. "We do this every year."
As for next season, McMiller sees more success on the horizon. He loses five sophomores (6-foot-11 Terrence Craft earning a full scholarship to Bellevue University) but recruiting is going well due to a number of early commits.
The top Gladiators (regular season)
- 6-foot-1 sophomore Diggy Winbush, 13.3 ppg, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals, Coast-North Conference co-MVP/All State honoree (recruiting interest from Big West Conference and Southland Conference universities)
- 6-4 freshman and team captain Zach Broadous, 13.3 ppg, 4.2 rebounds, First Team Coast-North Conference honoree, member of All Freshman team
- 6-4 sophomore David Hector, 14.4 ppg (team-leading), 9.4 rebounds (team-leading), 3.5 assists, First Team Coast-North Conference honoree, member of All Defensive team, honorable mention all state (recruiting interest from D1 Southwestern Athletic Conference and Great Northwest Conference universities)
- 6-foot-3 sophomore Jaiden Rivera, 14.3 ppg, First Team Coast-North Conference honoree, member of All Defensive team (recruiting interest from D1 Southern Conference and Great American Conference universities, just returned from an official visit to Southern Nazarene University, AP top 15 ranked Division 2 program)
- 6-foot-9 sophomore David Ogunleye enjoyed 46 blocked shots this season as an Honorable Mention Coast North Conference honoree (recruiting interest from D1 Southwestern Athletic Conference universities)
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