COASTERS: The Bucs’ Madness

Steve Virgen

“March Madness” began Thursday for the Orange Coast College men’s

basketball team. So what if it was an ugly brand of basketball? The final

three minutes of OCC’s win over Irvine Valley mirrored the intensity of a

Final Four game.

Yes, this is January, but with the competition in the Orange Empire

Conference it might as well be like March -- tournament time.

The Bucs “upset” win at IVC, the No. 10-ranked team in the state, is

perhaps OCC’s biggest victory of the season. Yet, the Pirates might point

to their 87-84 win over College of the Desert as the biggie.

Regardless, when Coast pulled off its win over the Lasers, the Bucs

not only strengthened themselves in the OEC standings, but they made

believers out of their most important critics: themselves.

While other OEC teams have received notice and rankings, Orange Coast

is in the background, underrated because all the Bucs have is Nick

Burwell, as many would think.

But, that is why the 72-66 victory over IVC is so huge. It proved the

Pirates can win when Burwell’s shooting touch is off. They can turn to

Ryan Earl for his penetration or they can go down low and inside to Chad

Hagedorn.

OCC’s triple threat will be much needed in the OEC because the Piates

are definitely not among the favorites. The favorite? That would be

Saddleback, the No. 3 team in the state.

The Gauchos are the team to beat in the OEC because they are old

school, methodical with the fundamentals. Picture five John Stocktons.

After Saddleback, the OEC is wide open, another reason for the

importance of the Bucs’ conference-opening victory. The Bucs need

victories against the other teams, and then hope they bring their “A”

game against the Gauchos, Jan. 19 at home, and Feb. 14 at Saddleback.

The OEC also features Fullerton. But, the Hornets fell to the Gauchos

at home Thursday night. Fullerton can still contend for the OEC title

because the Hornets had their chances against Saddleback.

Riverside is another team that can vie for the championship. The

Tigers are No. 18 in the state and they began the season with an easy

83-61 win over Golden West, a team that will most likely be at the bottom

of the OEC.

The other contenders are Santa Ana and IVC. Cypress will have to

improve quickly if it wants to make any noise.

The Bucs will face Cypress today at 5:30 p.m. The seats at OCC’s gym

will probably be near-empty, which amazes me. The competition in the OEC

should give basketball fans plenty to watch.

But, it’s almost comical that basketball in these parts is so

underappreciated.

OK, I’ll get off my soap box. Seriously, the OEC season should make

for great drama in the weeks to come. After the Bucs took down Irvine

Valley, Burwell was hugging Earl and shouting, “That’s how you start

conference, baby!”

Hey, Nick, how do you finish?