Click here for the 2009-20010 Schedule
Click here for the 2009-20010 Roster
Date October 28, 2009
By DAVE JORDAN
The Brunswick News
Gerald Cox is not one to boast or brag or lavish praise on his teams. But Cox's wry grin should tell you something about how he feels about his year's version of his Mariners, the men's basketball team at College of Coastal Georgia.
About to begin his 28th season as the CCGA coach, Cox likes the makeup of his team and can't wait to get started. The Mariners will wrap up their preseason schedule on Friday at Armstrong Atlantic in Savannah before starting play for keeps Sunday in the two-day Sante Fe Tip-Off tournament in Gainesville, Fla.
"We've got pretty good size, and we're very athletic but we're very young," said Cox, whose 13-man roster consists of 10 freshman and just three sophomores. "But we'll be pretty good if the enthusiasm keeps up and all goes well."
Last season, the Mariners team which went 22-8 overall, but fell in double overtime to Albany Tech in the first round of the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association tournament. The team put together one of the best starts ever under Cox, but struggled some in conference play where it went just 8-6.
"Twenty-one wins is not bad," Cox said of last season. "The trouble is, everybody finishes with a loss unless you are the champion. We have to look at the positives. We got off to a great start and were 12-1 at the Christmas break. After Christmans, it got serious."
Back this year to try and add to that 21-win total and playoff misstep will be a couple of familiar faces. South Carolina native Antonio Tribble, who led Coastal in scoring with a 15.4 points-per-game average and led the conference with 6.9 assists per game, will return, along with Virginian Paul Finn, who put up solid points (13.7 ppg) and rebounding numbers (6.0 rbg) for the Mariners.
"Paul is an extremely good player," said Cox of Finn, a 6-foot-4, 208-pound forward. "He shoots well and he's strong offensively and defensively. I'm very glad to have him back.
"And Antonio (a 5-11 point guard) was one of the best players in the conference and was nominated for All-America."
Tribble and Finn will join 11 other Mariners from three different states, including Glynn Academy graduates Don Eason and Aaron Gittings and Brunswick High grad Ernest Fuller. Gittings, who was red-shirted last season, is the team's other sophomore.
As usual, Cox's team will get up and down the floor, utilizing a dribble-drive-motion offense patterned somewhat after the Memphis Tigers of the NCAA. Cox said he likes the offense and his players are adapting to how he likes it run.
"We're getting after it pretty hard. They're getting used to the system.
They pretty much know how its run and they're beginning to learn what we want.
"The DDM (scheme) is our basic offense, but we'll use a lot of different variations off it."
As for what it will take to make his team successful, Cox said there is no substitute for hard work and smart play. Rebounding, defense and making shots is what wins basketball games.
"We have the right kind of attitude and we ought to be better on defense (eventually). We're quick jumpers and are aggressive and therefore we foul a lot. Hopefully that will clean itself up.
"I can't fault the effort."