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Men’s Basketball Program 2014 -2015

2014-15 Men’s Basketball Numerical Roster

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown/High School

0 Nick Gruninger G 5-10 160 Sr./1V Kaysville, UT / Davis HS

1 Jaylen Bland G 6-3 205 Jr./TR Reseda, CA / Grover Cleveland HS

3 Charles Standifer G 6-5 185 Sr./TR Sacramento, CA / Capital Christian HS

4 Kris Acevedo G 6-0 185 Jr./1V Hemet, CA / Hemet HS

5 Taylor Johns F 6-7 220 Jr./2V San Francisco, CA / Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep

10 Steven Jones G 6-0 175 Jr./2V Northridge, CA / Taft HS

12 Robert Boezeman F 6-7 220 Fr./HS Dordrecht, Netherlands / Canarias Basketball Academy

13 Steven Thornton F 6-4 215 Sr./1V Santa Clarita, CA / Golden Valley HS

15 Brian Wright G 6-3 170 Fr./HS Carson, CA/St. Anthony HS

20 Cheick Thiero F 6-9 225 Jr./TR Barnako, Mali / Arlington Country Day

21 Alex Larsson F 6-9 245 Fr./HS Södertälje, Sweden/ Södertälje Knights Club Team

22 Colin Gruber F 6-5 190 Sr./1V Aptos, CA / Harbor HS

31 Chris Tang G 6-3 190 Fr./HS Jiangsu, China / Canarias Basketball Academy

35 Austin Quick G 6-2 180 Sr./3V Murrieta, CA / Murrieta Valley HS

Head Coach Dennis Cutts (2nd season)

Assistant Coach Stephen Sauers (2nd season)

Assistant Coach Justin Bell (3rd season)

Assistant Coach Keith Wilkinson (2nd season)

Director of Sports Medicine Tony Ontiveros (11th season)

Director of Basketball Operations Terence Morales (3rd season)

Kristopher Acevedo #4

Jaylen Bland #1

Robert Boezeman #12

Colin Gruber #22

Nick Gruninger #0

Taylor Johns #5

Steven Jones #10

Alex Larsson #21

Austin Quick #35

Charles Standifer #3

Chris Tang #31

Cheick Thiero #20

Steven Thornton #13

Brian Wright #15

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Riverside—UC Riverside Head Men's Basketball Coach Dennis Cutts announced today that Chris Tang, a 6-4 combo guard from Lianyungang City, Jiangsu, China, has signed a national letter of intent to play for the Highlanders beginning in 2014-15.

Tang currently plays for the prestigious Canarias Basketball Academy, and led CBA's U-18 Team to a berth in Spain's 2014 National Youth Championships averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game while shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc. Prior to attending CBA, Tang played for three years in the United States—as a freshman and sophomore at Hampton Roads, where he earned First-Team, All-State Honors both seasons, and as a junior at Oak Hill Academy, where the Warriors finished 33-6 and finished the year ranked 18th in the nation.

"We are extremely pleased to add Chris Tang to our program," said Cutts. "His development this past year under Coach Rob Orellena at the world-renowned Canarias Basketball Academy has been tremendous, and we are very fortunate now to have two of Coach Orellena's players joining us at UC Riverside this year."

"Riverside is getting one of the biggest steals in the late signing period in Chris ... who is known for his deep range three-point shooting and play making," said Orellena. "I am very excited for Chris and his family with the great news."

Tang is the second member of the CBA to commit to the Highlanders this season. He joins 6-7 forward Robert Boezeman who signed his NLI back in November.

"My goal is to help UCR Basketball win a Big West Championship, earn my college degree, and one day represent the China Men's National Team and participate in the Olympic Games," said Tang.

Canarias Basketball Academy’s Chris Tang Signs NLI to Play at UC

Riverside

Story by gohighlanders.com

http://gohighlanders.com/news/2014/4/24/MBB_0424144428.aspx

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The teams have had a true "Warm Up" with games under their belt, but we still had the chance to catch up with UC Riverside coaches Dennis Cutts and John Margaritis for our #BWCWarmUp series. How are things shaping up so far for these Highlander squads?

Men’s Basketball

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN 2014-15

Close Game Conundrum: Billy Joel once coined the lyrics to a song called “Pressure” that might summarize the 2013-14 UC Riverside season. The Highlanders encountered lots of pressurized situations, leading the Big West with 16 games decided by five points or less. Needless to say, the margin between being 10-21 and perhaps a .500 club was miniscule. UCR ended up going 5-11 in those close games, which gives the program a heightened optimism in 2014-15 that some of those outcomes change in its favor.

Continuity With Cutts: Dennis Cutts, a six-year UC Riverside assistant coach turned interim head coach in 2013-14, shed the interim label on April 2, 2014 when he was given the official reins to the program. With newfound stability comes the freedom to implement his style of play and overall philosophies. As Cutts puts it, “If you saw us play (last year), I think we played with a lot of energy and spirit, and we want to move that forward.” Well, the Highlanders are off to a 5-3 start, which is the first time the program has had a winning record through eight games since 2009-10.

Dear Johns: The Highlanders return an all-conference talent on the frontline in junior Taylor Johns. The 6-7 forward averaged 12.0 points and a conference fifth-best 7.8 rebounds last season, and his 72 blocked shots ranked No. 2 on the Highlander single-season Division I list. Johns is a core piece and building block for the UCR program, and how he performs in 2014-15 will greatly impact the team’s ultimate fortunes. So far, so good –through eight games, Johns is averaging 15.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in helping the Highlanders to that 5-3 start.

Spicing Up The Offense: The Highlanders have witnessed a big uptick in their offensive production so far. Consider that their current numbers – .480 field goal percentage, .394 three-point field goal percentage and .728 free throw percentage – would all be Division I single-season bests should they hold up through the end of the year. Junior Jaylen Bland has helped provide the sauce needed to infuse the offense. The guard currently ranks No. 8 in the Big West in scoring (14.6 ppg), and No. 2 in total three-pointers made (23) and sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.460). The Murray State transfer is a leading candidate for Big West Newcomer of the Year.

International Pipeline: Cutts and his staff inked four international players to the roster – Robert Boezeman(Netherlands), Alex Larsson (Sweden), Chris Tang (China) and Cheick Thiero (Mali). The Highlanders have had prior success with foreign talent, as last year’s leading scorer Chris Patton hailed from Australia. Cutts sees international recruits as “an avenue for us to go to try to find better talent to keep up with this league.” Larsson and Boezemanseem to be paying immediate dividends. Larsson, a 6-9 freshman forward, has started all eight games and ranks second on the team in rebounding (4.6 rpg). Boezeman is averaging 5.0 points and 3.2 rebounds while playing slightly over 14 minutes per contest.

#BWC Winter Warm Up – UC Riverside

QUOTABLES – DENNIS CUTTS

(On optimism for this season): “We have maybe the most impact guys coming back in a long time. That’s exciting, and I think we’ve added some really key pieces to that.”

(On going from interim to official head coach): “We’re looking at it as year one. Last year, we kind of always felt we were in a holding pattern. The interim was a unique situation. We feel now that we’re stable. We’re ready to build it forward.”

(On expectations): “I think we can win some games early, which will hopefully help that winning process. We’ve got an optimistic group. We’re expecting to go in there and win some games.”

(On Taylor Johns): “There is a great core, and it starts with Taylor Johns. He’s an all-conference player as a sophomore, made a big jump, and we need him to make another one. He kind of embodies our program. There’s a spirit to him, there’s energy to him that we really rely on.”

(On going 5-11 in games decided by 5 points or less last year): “A play here or there would have changed that, but that’s the nature of college basketball, and we’ve got to find a way to win those games that are close.”

BY THE NUMBERS

7 – Big West Tournament appearances in the last nine years.

9 – Double-doubles from Taylor Johns last season, which tied for fourth in the Big West.

10 – Total victories in 2013-14, a plus-four improvement from the previous season.

16 – Number of games in 2013-14 that were decided by five points or less.

72 – Blocked shots total for Taylor Johns, the second-most in the school’s Division I history

See more at: http://www.bigwest.org/story.asp?story_id=18144#sthash.w9ol8cpb.dpuf

Women’s Basketball

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN 2014-15

Ending The Tourney Drought: UC Riverside had an impressive six-year run, achieving program firsts in 2005-06 with a Big West Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearances. Through the 2010-11 season, the Highlanders made five trips to the postseason – three NCAA and two to the WNIT – and finished 65-27 in conference play during that stretch. But mounting injuries over the last three seasons have kept UCR in last place and out of the Big West Tournament. The elixir for tenth-year head coach John Margaritis may just be the ability to field a complete team over the course of an entire season. If so, look for the Big West Tournament to beckon again.

Building Blocks: In prognosticating a turnaround for this 2014-15 Highlander squad, that can’t be too far-fetched especially when the last two Big West Freshman of the Year honorees are on the roster. Brittany Crain, a 5-8 guard, captured the award in 2012-13 and followed up with first team all-conference plaudits last season as she led the league in scoring (19.2 ppg). Then backcourt mate Simone DeCoud stepped up and gave the Highlanders back-to-back FOY honorees. DeCoud, who also played with Crain at John W. North High School, averaged 11.9 points per game and led the Big West in steals. Look for this dynamic duo to lead a Highlander resurgence.

Intangibles: Margaritis related an important moment from last year’s season finale. The Highlanders were fighting for the last available Big West Tournament slot, and Crain, who scored a game-high 31 points, fouled out with 4:54 remaining against Long Beach State. “It was a two-point game,” said Margaritis, “and she was more vocal than she had ever been in the first two years that she’s been here.” For all of the on court production that Crain had provided, she still found a way to contribute from the sidelines. Margaritis would like to see her translate that voice to the floor. “I think it was a teaching moment for her. You can lead and motivate and encourage while you’re still on the floor.” Margaritis sees that sort of leadership as the next step in Crain’s development.

Options Equal Depth: The Highlanders competed the majority of last season primarily with seven players. But Margaritis expects increased depth to help the team’s cause. UCR started the season on a five-game winning streak, and is currently 5-2 overall going into a showdown at UCLA. Contributions from newcomers such as junior forward Jaelyn Wilson and freshman guard Michelle Curry have helped, as has the return of senior guard DyneseAdams. After missing almost all of the last two seasons, Adams has started all seven games.

Ito A Big Key: Margaritis also will look to junior Annelise Ito to play a big role in the team’s success. “If we’re going to change anything, it’s going to be because other people are contributing, and Annelise is certainly part of that group,” he emphasized. Ito currently ranks third on the team in scoring (10.9 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.7 rpg).

QUOTABLES – JOHN MARGARITIS

(On keys to improvement): “I feel that we need to have people on the floor that can play at a certain level for 40 minutes. I thought that was our biggest problem last year. We could play with somebody for so many minutes and then whether we got into foul trouble, whether we didn’t have any depth, whether we got tired – we played at different levels during the same game.”

(On Brittany Crain): “I think in as far as her game is concerned, there’s still a lot to improve upon, including how well and how hard she plays on the defensive end, and what is her repertoire on offense because she’s capable than she’s shown the first two years.”

(On Simone DeCoud): “I think there were highs and lows throughout the year last year. She had games where she took over games, but it seemed like she couldn’t hide. She was either the hero or the goat. She couldn’t avoid being one or the other. So it will be interesting to see how she does this year because she’s still going to be in front of us as the point guard.”

(On newcomer Michelle Curry): “She’s very competitive. Until you see her play, you don’t even really think she’s a basketball player. And then she’s on the floor, and she’s tough. She’s hard to play against in many ways.”

(On what constitutes success against a tough non-conference schedule): “Our ability to compete and win some of the games that we’re supposed to, and see improvement from week to week, game to game.”

BY THE NUMBERS

2 – Back-to-back Big West Freshman of the Year honorees in Brittany Crain and Simone DeCoud.

3 – Consecutive seasons that the Highlanders have missed the Big West Tournament, the longest hiatus in program history.

26.1 – Crain’s points per game average through seven games, ranking fifth in the country.

76.0 – The team’s points per game average to currently lead the Big West.

150 – Number of victories head coach John Margaritis will have accumulated at UCR with his next triumph.

See more at: http://www.bigwest.org/story.asp?story_id=18144#sthash.w9ol8cpb.dpuf

UC Riverside women's soccer alum, Heidi Garrett, has traded her cleats for shears. Now an instructor with the

Trade Foundation, Garrett shares her talents abroad by teaching women who have been affected by sex trafficking the art of hairdressing.

The Hair and Makeup Girl, Heidi Marie Garrett, and the Trade Foundation are trying to change women's lives in Cambodia. “What would you do, if you didn’t have to do this?”

The women stared back blankly, without any idea as to how to answer the question posed.

A woman spoke up, “Hair and makeup.”

Summer 2002

Most of the boys stared in disbelief. Some of them smiled, some of them even gave her a high-five.

None of them were actually expecting her to show up that morning.

But, there she was, standing at the steps at 7 am ready to go. She was in it. And she was in it for the long run.

As someone who had been playing club soccer for some five years as she headed into her freshman year at King High School, Heidi Garrett made a bold move to test her skills in another sport – a very different sport starring the finest young gentlemen decked out in pads, cleats, and shiny helmets.

“If you’re going to do this, you’re going to do this,” Heidi remembers her father saying when they discussed the possibility of her trying out for the football team. “There’s no quitting. You’re not going to be the girl that goes and plays and it gets too hard and then you give up. I’m telling you you’re going to do every single thing that the boys do.”

That summer leading up to her first-ever football season, Heidi did just that – she lifted weights, survived Hell week and double days and still competed with her club soccer team. Between all of the practices, Heidi even found time to attend a kicking clinic on the weekends to prepare for the season opener.

“I loved the competition,” said Garrett. “I loved having to prove myself.”

Knowing the unique circumstances under which she would compete, simply because she was a girl playing a “boy’s” game, warranted a warning from her father.

“Stay humble, and always remember why you’re playing,” he would say. “You’re playing because you want to and because it’s a challenge and it’s an opportunity.”

Hair and Makeup Girl Story by Olivia Phelps (@OliviaGPhelps)

Fall 2004

An opportunity presented itself the evening King High was playing Paloma Valley (Menifee, Calif.) under the Friday night lights. After winning over her teammates as a freshman (she beat her coach in a kick-off), the now junior had more than proved she deserved a spot on the varsity squad.

King prepared to kick a field goal and out jogged Garrett.

Remembering back to the summer her father taught her how to kick a football, Garrett lined up and never once flinched, despite the Knights going for a 48-yarder.

Snap.

Kick.

It was good.

Garrett helped her team to a 24-14 win that night and became the kicker of the longest field goal ever made by a female– a record Garrett still holds to this day.

“I learned how to perform under pressure,” said the two-sport athlete who would go on to sign with UC Riverside for a coach who built the women’s soccer program from the bottom up, Veronica O’Brien.

Fall 2006

In Heidi’s first year as a Highlander on the women’s soccer team, UCR went 10-7-1 overall for a 2-4-1 record in the Big West just a season after O’Brien took Riverside to its first-ever NCAA Tournament. As a freshman, Garrett netted four goals, with five assists for 13 points, good for second-best on the team. Her three game-winners tied for the most on the squad that season.

2008

Even when a season-ending injury kept Heidi off the field her sophomore year, it didn’t keep her coaches and teammates from naming her a captain.

“When [Heidi] sets her mind to something there is no stopping her,” said coach O’Brien. “She takes pride in being the best at everything she does. She has a tremendous work ethic and has accomplished extraordinary things in her young life thus far.”

Heidi worked tirelessly to make her way back onto the pitch for a stellar junior campaign that saw 9 goals and three assists for 21 points, the second-best on the squad.

That fall, Garrett stood huddled in her mother’s kitchen when she said, “Mom, I think that God’s going to lead me somewhere overseas for beauty,” something that might sound out of place for the athlete who became a three-year letterwinner at UC Riverside and went on to play semi-professionally.

Her mother did not entirely understand at the time, however it came as no surprise that her daughter looked to pursue cosmetology. Garrett had always been the one on the soccer field in full hair and makeup – sometimes spending hours before a game creating innovative updos or decking out her ponytails with ribbons and bows.

Hairdressing was a talent her parents had noticed when she was young. Her father stopped going to the barber when she was just 13 years old and she has cut his hair ever since.

In the midst of playing two sports, neighbors and friends would solicit Heidi’s expertise for Prom and high school formals.

“Every dance season I was fully booked if I didn’t have a soccer tournament,” shared Garrett on her love for hairdressing.

“All I knew is that I loved doing hair and makeup and that’s what I wanted to do.”

With support from her parents, Heidi decided to attend a university before pursuing cosmetology full-time. As she studied business off of the field and in the classroom, Garrett began unknowingly gathering the tools that would allow her to run her own business in the not so distant future.

Heidi completed her collegiate athletic career ranked fifth in the Highlander record book with 13 goals, 34 points and 96 shots.

While her noteworthy stats jump off of the screen, what might be the most noteworthy on Heidi’s Riverside bio is a quick note listed at the bottom: “likes doing hair and make-up in her spare time.”

Early 2013

Her parents fully supported her decision; there was a peace about Heidi that no one could disturb when it came to traveling to Cambodia.

“Mom,” Heidi said again, some five years after the first discussion in the kitchen, “this is that conversation. It’s happening in real life.”

After a series of fortuitous events, Heidi was introduced to a nonprofit called the Trade Foundation whose mission is to restore victims of sex trafficking and abuse by teaching women the art of hairdressing.

Now a licensed hairdresser after completing the Riverside Community College Cosmetology Program, Garrett went a step further and became an instructor through RCC’s beauty school, allowing her the opportunity to be a part of the Trade’s team as an instructor heading to Cambodia in August of 2013.

So, Garrett geared up to spend three months in a foreign country with the hopes of teaching the skill of something she loves, to women who have a history of abuse in their past.

Shared Coach O’Brien, “The best way to describe Heidi is someone who really embraces her passions. Her passions are always in the best interest of positively affecting the lives of those around her.”

August, 2013

The Trade asked one day during a class, “What would you do, if you didn’t have to do this, [sex trafficking]?”

The women stared back blankly, without any idea as to how to answer the question posed.

A woman spoke up, “Hair and makeup.”

Heidi and the Trade spent months preparing lesson plans and schedules for the women they would have the opportunity to teach in Cambodia.

Partnered with a Cambodia-based non profit called Agape International Missions (AIM), whose roots are in the United States, the Trade is the next step for women who have been affected by sexual exploitation. AIM acts preventatively, in rescue, and in the rehabilitation of young women who have been affected in one way or another by sex trafficking.

When Heidi and the Trade began teaching the women in Cambodia the art of hairdressing, salon business and makeup, the instructors were surprised at how knowledgeable the women were and how skilled they were at the craft.

Heidi and the Trade soon came to realize that the women they were teaching had been mastering the skill of hairdressing for as long as they could remember.

The women in the program had oftentimes worked in Karaoke TV bars, much like a club here in the United States. For five dollars, men could purchase a Karaoke girl for the night – meaning the woman would accompany the paying customer even after he left the establishment.

The women were so used to doing their own hair and makeup for their shifts at the Karaoke TV bars that they excelled through the training sessions much quicker than the Trade had anticipated.

While teaching the skills needed to run a salon, the Trade’s instructors realized they had an even bigger mission than the one they had set out to accomplish.

The women, used to hearing how beautiful they looked, had never had someone tell them they were beautiful for any other reason. But this time, when the Trade commented on their beauty, it wasn’t directed at something superficial; this time it was directed at their hearts. The Trade works from the inside out, teaching women that who they are as a person, matters – that inner beauty and the reflection of that beauty on the outside is a woman’s strength.

November 2014

Joining the Trade this January, Heidi will be heading to Siem Reap, Cambodia, to begin establishing a full service hair salon and beauty school. The Trade will provide students with the proper training and education, including classes in English.

“Our goal as a team is to mold self sustaining women and provide them with the skill set and the confidence they need to succeed on their own,” says the Trade.

“We want our students to have a presence in their community that they can use to make ripple effects, inspiring new generations of empowered women.”

The Trade has been to seven different countries in four years and continues to tailor its courses to the culture and the women’s specific needs.

While gearing up for her second trip abroad with the Trade, Garrett has continued to practice her own business, “Hair and Makeup Girl,” with which she does everything from hairdressing, to weddings and events. With the ability to have a career in something she has been passionate about since she was a little girl, "blessed" is a word Heidi would use when describing the opportunity to practice cosmetology.

Like the foreshadowing conversation Garrett and her mother shared in the kitchen, Heidi’s athletic past also led her to the Trade.

Said Heidi on how athletics has prepared her for her life now, “Being an athlete at such a high level in a way not only prepares you for things like being involved in an organization like the Trade, it prepares you for life.

“I think that when you’re playing soccer specifically, so much of the game is anticipation and really not knowing what’s going to happen next. Having to go to a third-world country, you don’t know what to expect and you really have to be able to make a smart decision on the spot. I think that mentally soccer prepared me for that.”

“What would you do, if you didn’t have to do this?”

The women stared back blankly, without any idea as to how to answer the question posed.

A woman spoke up, “Hair and makeup.”

For more information on the Trade Foundation, please visit supportthetrade.org and instagram.com/supportthetrade.

For more information on Heidi Garrett, please visit instagram.com/HeidiMarieGarrett. - See more at: http://www.bigwest.org/story.asp?story_id=18106#sthash.wE5aJlvT.dpuf