Rollin' Toward Destiny: Can #1 Moorpark women’s team be stopped?
“Retire? WTF!” I told my girl Barbara Rangel as we sat for lunch at Chipotle in her senior at Ventura High. She had decided not to play in 2017.
I went on, “You’re 6-2 and talented enough to help your team to a CIF chip as a junior, as smart, beautiful, cool, and mature as any youngster I’ve met. You owe it to the world to ball it up in college Barb.”
At that lunch I had flashbacks of when I almost quit hoop in 1986, my freshman year at Ventura High. Back then former NBA star Cedric Ceballos was a freshman at Ventura College.
Ced cared for us scrawny youngsters and he’d come over on the daily, teach us how to dunk, how to carry ourselves, how not to give up.
Barb? I had to pay that forward, try like hell to convince her.
Funny thing, I’d never begged anyone like this before, but I pleaded with her to believe she had a destiny to find hoop love again, see a future with teammates, the fire they would create together.
I even tried to remind her that a scholly meant less car payments to make on her bad-ass Camaro.
Have you ever begged someone to stay with it? I just told Barb to go for it, you have the talent to help win a state chip in JC just like my mentor Cedric did in 86’ for Ventura College.
Guess what?
She connected with Moorpark coach Kenny Plummer. KP, as his friends call him, he was raised in Harlem then moved out west to learn from legendary Moorpark coach Remy McCarthy in 1999.
When I first met K-Plummer he was this 6-6 star forward from Moorpark going on to ball at Montana. He even went on to play pro ball overseas.
KP? Big muscles, big knowledge of the game, a big heart that he uses to help run the local Boys Club. Dude has this Dwayne “Rock” Johnson charisma that Barb connected with and she decided to play the game again.
I’ll let Barb explain, “Coach Plummer, he’s methodical yet has a fun approach to the game and that got me going to love the game again. He cares about his players like he does his own kid. It’s important for me to connect with people who care for people, not just as players.
“I play my best for him, we work so hard, we get our skills up. But the whole school supports us too. So many of my teachers have helped me get ready to be a business major, prepare me to succeed in my future classes at the University of Hawaii.
“Our academic adviser Pablo Diaz and Ashley, they deserve a lot of credit. So many at Moorpark have helped me pursue my dreams, it’s been special. I made the right choice being here.”
Moorpark is currently ranked #1 in the Community College Association poll of JC coaches in California. Barb’s passion to play again translates to her scoring nearly 17 ppg, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks, shooting 60% from the field.
Mind blowing stats.
Her Moorpark team last year went deep into the JC state playoffs. But today? Filthy talented, possessing a 16-1 record (16-0 before a 1-point loss) and racing toward history.
Lean over, I’ll whisper you the secret sauce that makes this ridiculous Moorpark team flat out go.
The sauce for Moorpark is 5-7 former 4-star prep sensation PG Breanna Calhoun who graduated from Alemany High in 15’. She exudes swag beyond swag, that rare blend of confidence and skills.
Breanna shows flashes of my girl Jordan Canada’s game, the former UCLA and Pac-12 all time assist leader that just won a WNBA chip with the Storm. Yup, Bree got it like that.
How off the freakin charts fun is Moorpark to watch? Wait for it...more fun than watching the legendary UNLV monster squads of the 90’s, lead by Larry Johnson.
Bree helps make Moorpark must watch entertainment. She’s so bouncy, hyping up the tempo as she gets it crackin’ for her team that is scoring a mind blowing 82 points a game. Yet they’re so stingy on D, holding opponents to half that number.
Dang, cover the children’s eyes, that’s savage!
Bree triggers the offense with reckless, almost wild abandon on the break. Moorpark employs a system that starts 4 guards, they can all handle the rock.
Moorpark’s success these last few seasons has seen the power shift to them as being the top team over other traditional local JC’s that used to dominate in the county.
How many teams can keep up with Moorpark that is averaging 82 points, 20 assists, 46 rebounds, and a grip of steals per contest? Their stats are nearly leading all categorical areas in California women JC teams.
What sparks this? It often stems from B-Calhoun’s “steal your cookies and eat your lunch” mentality. Her stats of 19 points, 4 steals, and 6 assists a contest don’t do justice to what she brings: her triggering a tsunami of fast break energy.
I could go on forever about her but just check back to see my future individual story on her.
I must share why Bree inspires me so. She has overcome so many injuries that would’ve made others quit. And she writes such touching poetry, that comes from an authentic place.
Feel her grace as she relates the pain of dealing with a father who was once in prison but was released in her senior year in high school, wishing he was there for himself, there for her. Feel her sentiments in the poem about her father Joseff: Daddy’s Little Girl.
It begins with the stanza:
“Father why must it be so hard to forgive,
I’ve carried this weight since I was a kid.”
It goes on to say. “Lord give me the strength and be my witness.”
That’s real. Me, E-Woods I feel her pain, having had one of my parent in jail as well.
This is what Bree said about Moorpark, “I graduated [high school] in 2015 and had many scholarship offers. I did spend 2 weeks at San Jose St. It took finding a special coach and program for me to come back and play.
“Now, hoop is easy because Kenny gets it, he gets me. We all feel like sisters here. We feed off each other on the court because we’re all tight off the court. I appreciate being so accepted by everyone.
“We thrive under Kenny’s direction; we trust him and buy into the system. Whether it’s breaking down film or offensive strategy, coach Kenny always knows what is needed to win. I appreciate him because he takes the time to build us up as a person, to help us be what we always wanted to be.”
When I saw Bree play I bore witness to that special player who overcame a major ACL injury in high school. You’d never know because she displays these ultra fast wheels - Bree does to women JC’s what Kyrie Irvin does to the NBA. 100.
I was watching Moorpark a couple weeks ago as they were beating into submission, or rather let me be PC and rephrase “playing” an LA squad. Well, I’ll leave out their name to protect the innocent.
At the game this nice lady told me, “Ahhh, look at Moorpark’s 5-6 guard, # 21. She’s so adorable.”
I felt inclined to nicely tell her, “Excuse me Ms, #21 is Jazzy Carrasco and look at the terrified look of fear on her defender’s face.” Jazzy is a straight out sharp-shooting killer, scoring 3 treys a game, 15 ppg and 40% from behind the arc.
I admire Jazzy because she’s willing to wear her crosstown high school rival Buena’s colors. As did Jazzy, I also attended Ventura High so I remember being programmed to beat those colors.
I went on to tell the lady it’s probably pissing Jazzy off to wear blue so she’s taking it out on her opponents this season. Maybe off court she can afford to be adorable, but on court she’s adorably “killin it.”
Jazzy is a sweet girl that everyone loves. They call her the lone wolf because she’s on this dope path. Jazzy had good grades in prep but no scholarship offers until she got to Moorpark College this year. San Francisco St among others has shown her recruitment interest.
I asked Jazzy what she appreciates about the program, “Most of us on the team, we all grew up playing on Team 805 together. We feed off each other’s energy, we love folding Bree into our group.
“A big reason for our good play, is we all hang out a lot. Besides basketball, we do BBQs, shop, just try to support each other. Everyone agrees this year has been fun but we work hard to keep it going.
“We just have to keep believing and hustling for the whole rest of the season. Coach Kenny is a special guy, always raising our IQ to better our game, build up our skill. I drive 45 minutes round trip each day to Moorpark from Ventura. A lot of us do, it’s worth every minute of commuting time to be here.
“We appreciate that it’s done the right way here. You can’t put a price on having the time of your life, being guided to earn a scholarship. But let’s get it straight Erik: I don’t see any blue around here. I’m not wearing blue, I see the color azure.”
Other JC teams have had to totally readjust how to play vs. Moorpark because the Moorpark system is hyper advanced. How? They start four guards, they can all handle the rock, they pressure up on D, they have shooters to space the floor.
What does Moorpark represent? The small ball revolution that’s filtering down from the NBA. Moorpark can flip the script on offense when necessary if an opponent tries to put out 4 guards to match their line up.
Good luck, they’ll just run halfcourt sets and dump it down to the powerful and skilled 6-2 Barb, who can’t be stopped on the right block.
#Maddening match ups
Coach Plummer really develops his players’ skills. I saw what he did for Brianna Barrett at Oaks Christian where she was a McDonald’s All American before going on to star at USC.
Me, E-Woods, I’ve been a grade school teacher besides being a sports writer for 22 years, so I notice and celebrate human-first people. Kenny doesn’t only dramatically develop his player’s skills, he really cares for his players.
I asked K-Plummer what his program is all about, “We’re always asking our players what can the program do for you, whereas most places will only ask what can the player do for them.
“It’s vital to do team building, nurture relationships, establish trust. This allows us to share a common vision of great goals. If my players have the grades, I care about them enough to encourage them to spend only 1 year here at Moorpark. I try to help them connect to a scholarship so they can go right away to a 4 year university.
“That’s what our Athletic Director Remy McCarthy and I believe in, that you measure your success by how you help your players to go on to become successful people, contributors in society. Coaching these ladies is fun. They push themselves in many ways that make us proud. What more can you ask?”
George Albanez runs Team 805, the uber successful AAU travel team in the area. He told me, “My former 805 players are like a true family. That’s why they love playing at Moorpark, to continue that total family feeling.
"The local kids have helped build the program. I’m proud that my daughter Kayla briefly played for them and my other daughter Elise helped them to playoff success a couple years ago.
“This year’s team represents a great set of kids. How many college squads have every single player on the team poised to earn an athletic or academic scholarship? That’s special.”
I like to call the caring and savvy George a better trainer than Big Daddy Kane was a rapper. Why? George transforms his players into “smooth operators.”
Am I putting too many high expectations on Moorpark with this feature story? There have been other articles written by the LA Daily, Popscout.com, CCCAA and other outlets that have referenced a possible state title run to win that state chip.
#chasing the precious
http://www.dailynews.com/moorpark-college-womens-basketball-is-the-no-1-team-in-the-state
Whether or not that state title comes to pass, the real reward is seeing these women love the game, or learn to love it again, be in awe of their togetherness, feel excited to know they are earning scholarships and the respect for putting their Moorpark program on the map.
I could write a book on all the cool people that make up this squad. Like Ventura High’s Emily Herring - she’s scoring 11 ppg this year, getting major recruiting interest for a scholarship.
Or Hueneme High’s Isabel Ayala - her great defense and overall presence will surely see her playing at a 4 year school after graduating next year.
I could go down the roster and express something good about each and every one on Moorpark’s roster, like Kristen Sullivan’s technique and hustle, Mia Moore’s lean yet powerful frame and toughness, Autumn Santiago’s strength and aggressiveness, Sarah Soto’s poise and positive demeanor, Milan McGary’s athleticism, handles, and fast pacing.
That’s how much I respect what each player brings to this team.
How many of us wish we could be a part of something great like this, even just once in our lives? Being a part of something that is greater than ourselves?
That’s the spark in the darkness, that’s Moorpark’s march to destiny.