younger squad SMC men’s hoops set to begin a youth movement this year
SANTA MONICA COLLEGE The name of the game might be basketball, but for Jesse Teplitzky, success will be defined by how well his players perform both on and off the court.
That was the tone of the first press conference held Friday by SMC’s new head basketball coach, whose team tips off its 2007-08 season against Santa Ana College on Nov. 7.
“What I’m trying to change is the culture of the program to a winning culture,” said Teplitzky, who replaced Trevor Shickman in the spring.
Shickman coached the Corsairs’ men’s team for three seasons.
While the goal of every head coach is to attain the ever-elusive championship, Teplitzky is taking on the added task of ensuring that every one of his players will transfer to a four-year college, whether it’s to play for a Division I, Division II or NAIA team.
That lofty goal will require cooperation from both players and the coaching staff, Teplitzky explained, adding that the first thing recruiters from big programs ask from a player is their transcript.
“I know that four-year programs recruit from winning programs,” he said.
But good grades or not, Teplitzky is sure to have his hands full this season as the Corsairs return just five players from last year’s squad, one of which red-shirted due to an injury.
The 19-member team is a collection of new faces from across the world, some of whom made their way to Santa Monica from as far away as Sweden, others as close as Venice High School.
“He is real goal-oriented and a family kind of guy,”said Derrick Thompson, a sophomore who transferred from LaGrange College in Georgia.“He’s here to make a change.”
Expected to be a key contributor this season is sophomore guard Noah Gottlieb, a Venice High School graduate who recently represented the U.S. team in the Maccabi Games this past summer.
The biggest question that lies ahead is how a team that has suffered four consecutive losing seasons will be able to turn things around under a first-time head coach. The Corsairs finished 11-17 last season.
The 29-year-old head coach spent close to a decade as an assistant before landing the head coaching gig at SMC. During his assistant coaching tenure, Teplitzky’s teams captured seven league titles and two Division II championships. The championships came in 2000 and 2002 at Metro State College, where Teplitzky began his coaching career.
He later moved on to Ohlone Community College in Fremont, where his team won the Coast Conference North Championship two of his three years there.
Needless to say, Teplitzky knows how to win.
“I’ve never had a losing season,” he said. “In terms of coaching and quality recruiting, all I can do is apply (experience) to this program now.”
Teplitzky has already made some changes to the program, hiring a new coaching staff in Joe Cascio and Aaron Landons, who just completed his own college playing career at the University of La Verne. Cascio’s coaching background includes stints at Redondo Union High School and Loyola High School.
The Corsairs are expected to take the court with a defensive-minded strategy, putting a lot of pressure on the ball and playing some form of full-court defense 75 percent of the time.
Many coaches make the mistake of having their offense take the same pace as their defense, Teplitzky explained.
“If we don’t have the offense, we won’t swing the ball,” he said. “I’m not just teaching them how to run a play, I’m teaching them how to play.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 18, 2007. Read the original PDF.