2006-07 Season Review

The 2006/07 season did not turn out as projected as the Men Slugs finished the season 4-23.  Much of the disappointment came as a result of several key players not being able to play the season due to personal issues and injuries.

With 3 of the 5 projected starters out for the year with personal reasons and losing two others 10 games into the season with injuries, the Men Slugs were forced to count on several freshman to contribute major minutes to get through the season.

The young Slugs as they would later be call, counted on 4 recruited players and 7 walk-on freshman to become the back bone of the team.  Seniors Murphy Holmes, Lorenzo Hutton, Jarrod Heredia and Jared Crayton-Thomas all provided key leadership to the up-start Slugs.  Team Captains Holmes and Hutton, returnees from the past three seasons, were the energy and leaders.  Holmes finished in the top three of every offensive category and was named to the All Tournament Team in the UPS Tip-off Classic held at Puget Sound University. Hutton led the team in steals and was the team’s best defender who always took the challenge of guarding the other teams’ best scorer.  Heredia, a second year player and Crayton-Thomas, a first year player, were the teams’ toughness.  Heredia led the team in rebounding and was the main man in 3 of the 4 teams’ victories before going down with a season ending knee injury 10 games into the season.  Crayton-Thomas throughout the season was one of the top rebounders and defenders for the Slugs.  He to suffered an injury (ankle) in the later part of the season that limited his effectiveness toward the end of the season.

The surprises of the season were the freshman led by Greg Palmer and Ehson Mortezaie.  Palmer the lone recruited freshman led the team in scoring (254 points), freethrows (58-86) and field goals (94-227), and led the team in rebounding.  Greg also finished in the top 3 for the All Independent Team Rookie of the Year and was named to the Western Regions All Tournament Team.  Eshon Mortezaie also put together a great season finishing in the top 2 of every offensive category.  Mortezaie was forced into the starting point guard position the first game of the season and responded magnificently throughout the season.  Mortezaie like Palmer was also nominated for All Independent Rookie of the Years as well as making the All-Tournament Team in the Lee Fulmer Memorial Tournament held at Redlands University.

Neil Brennan, Miguel Smith, Ari Ben-Avram, Brian Loeb and Carlos Leon Jr., all contributed greatly to this year’s team.  Being all were walk-ons no one expected them to have the impact on the season they had.  Brennan finished second on the team in rebounding and posted the high score of the year with a 35 point performance (12 dunks) against Redlands.  Brennan also finished with 2 double-doubles and missed 5 others by one rebound.

Smith, Ben-Avram, Loeb and Leon all played utility roles playing multiple positions and gaining valuable experience as they were counted on throughout the season in critical times of games.

Even though the season didn’t finish as expected is definitely speaks well for the future.  With 7 players expected to return along with the return of Junior Jon Mercado and Junior Jon Morrison and what is shaping up to be a promising recruiting class the Slugs should be one of the teams to watch next season.