COS Men's Basketball Preview

COS men's head basketball coach Rusty Smith has high hopes for his 2016-17 team, but he preaches patients early on in the season to allow his team to grow.

"We are so inexperienced," Smith said. "We are not currently ready to compete at a high level, understandably. It's not a put-down. We have such an abundance of youth that it is particularly difficult."

Last season the Giants finished 8-4 in conference and 20-12 overall. They appeared in the State Final 8 and lost to eventual champion, San Francisco.

"Last year was fantastic," Smith said. "The players were a great collection of guys, whose main focus was the team. I'm very pleased on how the team performed last season."

In his 15th year at the helm, Smith makes it clear that despite being young, the team's goals are not changing.

"Our goal isn't changing despite that," Smith said. "We want to constantly be improving, and that is really important with this team. We just have to go out and compete. We'll let the chips fall where they lay."

To begin the season, COS has tough tests in its first two tournaments. They face two State Final Four teams in Saddleback and San Francisco. It's a challenge that Smith is glad to have now, rather than later.

"I rather play Saddleback the first game of the year," Smith said. "I'm assuming it will be a little bit of a wake up call for our team. It's going to show them how good this level is and how you need to play."

When it comes to the starting five, Smith only has three players locked in. They are Bobby Kazar at center, Kentrey Bynum at forward, and Austin Armstead at point guard.

Battling for last two spots are Connor Tuttle, Zac Nuttall, Isaiah Johnson, Austin Molezzo, and Ruben Parks.

Parks was an All-County selection at Edison High School.

Molezzo was named Visalia Times-Delta Player of the Year in his senior season at Mission Oak High School. Smith doesn't believe the hype will affect the freshman guard.

"I'm not worried about Molezzo," Smith said. "He's really well grounded and he understands that this is a different level. He's a very humble kid."

Smith made a comparison of this year's squad, to the 2013-14 team that went 5-10 in preseason, as they started four freshman. They would go on to win 10 straight games down the stretch, win a conference championship, and finished with an overall record of 15-14.

The Giants goal this season is to get better every day, and gain as much experience as possible.

"We want to have the guys go through a season and get that experience," Smith said. "I'm hoping to build and get better in the preseason tournaments. So when we hit conference, we are prepared and ready to compete."