It’s not hard to find out about the winning tradition of the men’s basketball program at DVC. All you need to do is take a step in the gymnasium and see the walls lined with championship and playoff banners. The 2011-12 season saw a continuation of that tradition, with the Vikings finishing in the Sweet 16 of the CCCAA Men’s Basketball State Championship.

The Vikings ended the season with a stellar 24-6 overall record and 10-4 in conference, which is great considering the Big 8 was the most competitive conference in the state with five entrants into the state championship tournament this year.

“We were disappointed in falling to Santa Rosa twice this season,” said head coach Steve Coccimiglio. “Those two close games against Santa Rosa kind of told the story for the Big 8 this year. Other than that, we had some signature wins this year that we are very proud of.”
Those signature wins included handing the highly touted Citrus College their only loss of the season. The Vikings also beat their rival Fresno at their home gym and finished high in the Chevron and Thanksgiving preseason tournaments.

“We peaked with the win against Citrus,” said Coccimiglio. “Then in January we started to get hit by injuries here and there. Injuries happen to every team, but we just didn’t have the depth to compensate. A team has to have depth to go deep in the playoffs. I’m happy with who has committed to come back, but with only three returning freshman, depth is going to be the focus moving forward.”

The close of the 2011-12 season will prove to be an end to an era, with a group of All-Conference sophomores moving on to greener pastures. Center Raphael Carter is the only player having committed to a school, and is preparing to join the Wolf Pack at University of Nevada, Reno. Ronnie Baker and Tyerelle Phillips are being highly recruited as well, but have yet to make a decision.

“We don’t have an All-Conference player returning,” said Coccimiglio. “We’re going to be a young team and play time is going to be competitive. I think we’ve definitely become a destination for talent. Players come in and see what kind of tradition we have here, and they would like to be a part of it. With new talent coming in, it should be exciting to watch.”

Damon Jones, Devon Pouncey and Andrew Garner are the returning freshman. Pouncey was the recipient of the Most Improved Player award for this season. Coccimiglio says that nothing is going to be guaranteed, and is instead leaving positions up for the taking.

If there is one player that DVC will truly miss, it’s Brian Goins. Goins led the conference in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game and making 52 three-point shots. He is only the second Viking to ever be selected All-Conference twice, the first being Mo Charlo in the early 2000s. Although the ballots have not been turned in, Coccimiglio believes a performance like that will earn Goins an All-State title.

“Brian is the type of player you’re going to see once every 15 years,” said Coccimiglio with a reminiscent sigh. “It’s been a great experience coaching him and looking down the road, I can see great success for him in the future.”

Overall, this season saw nothing new out of the Vikings, just the time-honored success our campus has become accustomed to. And Coccimiglio intends to keep it that way.

“Our team bonded well and it was exciting to watch, for me and I think for the fans,” said Coccimiglio. “It’s disappointing that we didn’t get as deep into the tournament as we would have liked, but next year will be exciting in its own right.”