By @ArionArmeniakos
The Las Positas College men’s basketball team is off to yet another positive start this fall as the California Community College Athletic Association men’s basketball (CCCMBCA) season begins to take shape and teams slowly ramp up their preparation for the beginning of conference play in January.
The Hawks tipped off this season with an impressive six game win streak before losing two of their last three games to bring their record to the current (7-2), as they look to send a statement to the rest of the league after suffering an early exit from the post season last year at the hands of Santa Rosa.
Despite the strong start, fourth year head coach James Giacomazzi has remained coy on his teams achievement so far with his focus being solely on getting even better ahead of the big games coming up.
“Our record is solid but we need to focus on the things we need to do to improve and keep working to get better and not become complacent, said Giacomazzi. “Right now, we’re playing okay in my opinion but we have a lot to improve upon and if we acknowledge that we will get even better in a hurry. It’s all in the details,” he added.
Even though it’s still early days, it’s not difficult to see that this Hawks team is having fun while playing good basketball right now and Giacomazzi has admitted that despite there still being work to do, the team has developed a tight bond early on.
“The guys seem to really get along with one another and have a close bond, which is a positive. But we feel strongly that we’ll keep progressing in our camaraderie and cohesiveness as the season goes along,” said Giacomazzi.
The team also looks to have identified their leader through the emergence of the talented freshman guard, Michael Hayes.
The high-flying guard Hayes, who stands at 6 feet 4 inches tall, joined the Hawks out of West High School and has taken the community college scene by storm by putting up impressive numbers and leading the Hawks to their hot start, all while being the only freshman in the starting lineup.
Through nine games, Hayes has averaged 20.2 points per game on 60 percent shooting from the field which puts him in the top 15 in the state. Hayes’ latest high scoring performance came in the Hawks most recent win on Dec. 8 against West Valley where Hayes scored 32 of the teams 71 points.
Hayes also leads the Hawks in rebounds, averaging 9 per game and making his presence felt on both ends of the floor.
While noticing the undeniable talent of his guard, Giacomazzi is most excited about the future and how good Hayes could become in the years to come.
“Michael is a talented player but what’s exciting is that he still has so many areas to his game where he can get better. He wants to improve facets to his game and he’ll have to work hard every day to achieve his goals and what he wants in terms of recruitment,” said Giacomazzi.
The Hawks entered this season ranked at No. 14 in the CCCMBCA pre-season polls and they will be looking at a top ten spot when the new rankings drop if they can keep up their good form heading into the conference play next month.
