New Giants coach and brother duel in debuts
By Nick Giannandrea
COS Athletics
Cherie and Kort Jensen will arrive at Porter Field House on Friday with their loyalties split right down the middle.
Half will be dedicated to College of the Sequoias, the other half Gavilan College of Gilroy.
What else are parents to do when their two eldest sons - COS' Dallas Jensen and Gavilan's Derek Jensen - match wits for the first time as opposing college basketball coaches?
"Come Friday, we will be with both families, cheering for both teams," Kort Jensen said. "As a fan, I can sit and enjoy the game. But as a dad, I'll be nervous for one side or the other. And my wife will be the loudest person in the gym. She will go nuts. Normally, she can get a breather (because she's only rooting for one team.) I can't wait to see her go 60 minutes of no voice control."
Cherie Jensen plans to be decked out in neutral colors and her signature boots for stomping in the stands when the Giants, ranked No. 6 in the California Community College Men's Basketball Coaches Association preseason poll, tip off at 7 p.m. against the No. 25 Rams in the season-opener for both teams. The first 200 COS fans through the door will receive free orange t-shirts.
"I can't show any favoritism to one team or the other. I'll be stomping the whole time for both teams, no rest. It's going to be fun," Cherie Jensen said. "The only bad thing is there has to be a loser. I wish it could be like soccer and there could be a tie and everyone would be happy."
Hired as the 15th men's basketball coach in COS history in May after two highly successful seasons at Gavilan, Dallas Jensen said he expects between 30-40 family members and friends to be in the stands for his Giants debut, which comes against his best friend, former assistant and replacement at Gavilan.
"More than anything, having the opportunity to play against your best friend is going to be a lot of fun," Dallas Jensen said. "People have told us we'll be all fired up and intense. And I admit I want to win. But we'll probably look over at each other a couple times and laugh and giggle that this is even happening."
The battle of the Jensen's became a reality thanks to a convergence of events that none of them could have seen coming this time a year ago.
Dallas Jensen was entering his second season at Gavilan, which had lost 20 or more games for 17 straight seasons before he led them to a 24-5 record and a co-conference title in 2017-18.
Then last season, after bringing on younger brother Derek from Gilroy's Christopher High to be his lead assistant, Dallas Jensen's Rams went 27-3, achieved a state ranking of No. 6 and reached the third round of the Northern California Regionals.
When COS' job opened in March following the retirement of 18-year coach Rusty Smith, Dallas Jensen applied to take over a team coming off a state Elite Eight appearance.
And three weeks after COS announced Dallas Jensen as its new coach, Gavilan turned to Derek Jensen to fill the opening he left behind.
"Dallas' career has just skyrocketed in such a short time and Derek is following suit," Kort Jensen said. "They are both great recruiters because they are great people. They take after their mom and treat people with kindness. That's what makes them so successful."
The Jensen brothers have followed Kort into the coaching profession. Kort has coached basketball at various levels for the past 30 years. He's currently the boys basketball coach at Oakwood High in Morgan Hill.
"There are a lot of things my brother and I do a little different than dad," Dallas Jensen said. "But the way he approaches the game and the way he values his relationships with his players, those things have trickled down to how Derek and I coach."
The Jensen brothers talk all the time, have similar coaching styles and philosophies and share a competitve streak passed down from their father, who admits he quit playing one-on-one against his sons when both got into the eighth grade because he could no longer beat them.
"I have bragging rights because we haven't played a game since they were 12," Kort joked. "They are viciously competitive. They come across as nice, but they don't want to lose at anything."
There won't be many surprises between the brothers Friday night as both look to win their debuts.
"I have an idea what he wants to do, and I'm sure he has an idea what I want to do," Dallas Jensen said. "We want to make sure we come out and do the right things and have a great showing. Our mindset is making sure we are progressing and starting the season off on the right foot."
Dallas Jensen inherited four returning contributors - 5-foot-9 point guard Dewayne Holmes (Riverside), 6-5 forward Garrett Shelton (Houston), 6-6 forward Savion Johnson (Hanford) and 6-7 forward/center Elihu Cobb (Santa Maria) from a COS team that went 22-9 last season.
The sophomore class is rounded out by 5-9 point guard Tiyon Martin (Pasadena), a transfer from NAIA Simpson University in Redding.
Four locals - 6-0 guard Milton Burnett (Bullard), 6-5 guard/forward Ryan Johnson (Hanford), 6-5 forward Juelein Fox (Lemoore) and 6-7 forward/center Tiveon Stroud (Selma) - highlight a freshman recruiting class that also includes 6-4 guard Carlos Allen (Atlanta), 6-6 forward Amil Fields (Hayward), 6-7 forward Ayo Aderoboye (Lagos, Nigeria) and 6-8 forward lamine Ndione (Dakar, Senegal).
"I think this group is long, athletic, versatile and deep," Dallas Jensen said. "If everyone finds a way to make an impact, and guys remain engaged, as they become better and better teammates and approach things with a business-like mindset, I think we can be pretty successful."
Dallas Jensen said COS will play a wide-open style of basketball as it attempts to push the tempo. He wants his players to be flexible and fill multiple roles on the floor.
"I think we have a good chance to make a run at the conference and state," Dallas Jensen said. "I know those are lofty goals in year one, but that's what we're aiming for. We want to build off what Rusty did while he was at COS."
