By MARTY JAMES martyjames.sports@gmail.com
Al Dennis is off to a super start for the Napa Valley College men's basketball team.
Thirteen points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, 10 rebounds and four steals in 19 minutes in the Storm's season opener, a 76-68 loss to Folsom Lake College on Friday, Nov. 4.
Thirty points on 12-of-20 shooting, 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals in 34 minutes in the Storm's second game of the season, a 92-76 win over De Anza College-Cupertino on Saturday, Nov. 5.
Twenty points on 8-of-10 shooting in the Storm's third game of the season, a 75-64 loss to College of the Redwoods-Eureka on Sunday, Nov. 6.
Three games in three days – a total of 63 points, to start off the 2022-23 season.
"He's always hung his hat on his effort defensively and his toughness and his speed," said Napa Valley head coach Steve Ball. "He gets to the basket with such aggression that I don't think people see him coming downhill at him. He's put on some strength and weight over the summer. I don't think they want to stand in there and try and take a charge on him.
"He gets offensive rebounds and put-backs. He's just so aggressive and athletic. He can drive it really well."
There is something else about Dennis, a sophomore guard from San Jacinto (Riverside County).
He is playing with a ton of confidence, much more so than last year.
"Last year, I didn't play as much, because I wasn't confident in scoring, so I wasn't really a threat as much," said Dennis. "I wouldn't even look at the rim if I caught the ball. I'd just pass it away. But now, since I've been grinding, I'm very confident. Very confident."
The grinding for Dennis was over the offseason, as he got in the weight room and worked and he was in the gym, working on his game with Ball.
"I just feel like I'm trying to do anything to win," said Dennis. "Last year, I wasn't as confident as a freshman. But now, since I'm a sophomore, I feel way more confident. And summer got me right. I was with Coach Ball all summer, just getting right for this season."
Dennis increased his weight, adding 13 pounds, and is now at 169 pounds.
He did his weight lifting in the morning during the summer. After that, he was in the gym, working and training and focusing on ball handling, shooting, defense.
"I feel like as long as you listen to what Steve Ball says, then you're going to get to where you want to be. I've been listening since I was a freshman. I gained way more minutes this year. I'm playing way more than I was last year," said Dennis, who graduated in 2020 from San Jacinto High School.
Dennis started all three games for the Storm during the Napa Classic, a four-team, three-day tournament.
After opening the season with a loss to Folsom Lake, Napa Valley came back to beat De Anza. The Storm concluded the tournament, losing to Redwoods.
"I feel like we're starting to play way better together. As long as we keep trusting each other and not be selfish, then we're going to be great," said Dennis. "To go 1-2, we played some good teams here. They're all good teams. We're aiming to have a better season than last year."
Dennis averaged 7.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game last year for Napa Valley. When the season ended, he kept working on his game.
"He was one of our hardest workers in the weight room and in the gym," said Ball. "He worked excessively hard in the weight room. We spent a lot of time on his footwork, being able to stop a variety of ways so that he can finish or kick out. He worked on his jump shot. He was not as comfortable last year, shooting the 3-pointer. And now he has expanded his game to be able to shoot the occasional 3-
pointer and make it a respectable shot, that someone now has to close out on to it. And if they do that, then he's just going to take advantage of his foot speed and his explosiveness."
In the game against De Anza, the Storm also got solid play from Chris Thompson, with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range, along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals; Andrew Navarro, with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, 4-of-4 from 3-point range, and three rebounds; Antoine Thaxton, with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting and five rebounds; Doentae Jenkins, with six points, two rebounds, three assists and four steals; Cameron Joseph, with four points and three rebounds; Arthur Larry, with four points and three rebounds; Ethan Williams with four rebounds; and Raekwon Bell, with two rebounds and two steals.
NVC shot 50.8 percent from the field (32-of-63), 55.6 percent from the 3-point line (10-of-18), and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line (18-of-27).
The Storm was ahead 54-35 at halftime.
In the loss to Redwoods, Joseph scored 20 points and had four 3-pointers, and Navarro scored 12 points.
NVC (1-2 overall) was 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.
Redwoods (3-0 overall) was in front 38-32 at halftime.
NVC got to within three of Redwoods in the second half at 41-38.
"We had a slow start with transition defense and second chances," said Ball. "We played very hard. When the rope started to slip a little bit and they made their run, we played a little desperate at times rather than tighter with our rotations, leaving our feet a couple times.
"I think when we played sound, I feel like we were right there with them. When we played a little more desperately, I feel like that's when they made their run. They were also at that time out-sizing us as well."
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.