Eighth year at SRJC Coach McMillan came to SRJC after coaching overseas. He was the head coach of professional teams in Kuwait and Lebanon for a total of four seasons. Prior to his experience abroad, he spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee, Marquette University and the University of Arizona. McMillan was a starting guard for the Arizona Wildcats Final Four team in 1988 and he helped lead Cloverdale High School to back-to-back state titles while playing for his father at Cloverdale High School. “I am really happy with the high caliber of players we have been able to attract and the success they have brought to the program.” Nearly every player that has played two seasons for Coach McMillan has earned their degree.
Maurice Thompson, Assistant Coach
Seventh year at SRJC Coach Thompson was a star player at Rancho Cotate High School and went on to play for SRJC and Chapman College. “Maurice has a great feel for the game,” said McMillan. “He does an outstanding job developing our perimeter players and is an excellent teacher. He relates extremely well to the players.” Maurice has also been involved in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, scouting and game preparation.
Brian Long, Assistant Coach
Fifth year at SRJC Brian joined the SRJC staff after coaching the Varsity team at Geyserville High School for eight seasons. His teams went to the NCS playoffs three consecutive years and won two NCL III titles. He played basketball at Cardinal Newman High School and went on to play baseball and football at SRJC before graduation from Chico State. Brian has specialized in the development of post players. “Brian brings a lot of experience, energy and enthusiasm to the program,” said McMillan. “He has really helped in the development of the post players.”
Troy Stevenson, Assistant Coach
Second year at SRJC Troy is in his second year on the staff and has already taken on a tremendous amount of responsibilities. He has been heavily involved with recruiting, scouting, and practice and game preparation. Additionally, Troy works with the guards in skill development drills and shooting. Troy is a former Bear Cub guard and recently received his Master’s Degree from Howard University. “Troy has a great work ethic and is extremely enthusiastic,” said McMillan. “He has already done a huge amount for the program in just his second year.”
Alberto Estrada, Statistician
Tito has a variety of responsibilities for the program. Primarily he is the team statistician, but he also helps with drills in practice and around the office.
highlight of the early season was winning the Shasta Knights tournament and beating the highly ranked American River Beavers in the championship game. Additionally, they had a big win against a highly touted Ohlone College team. At other times the Bear Cubs have shown their youth and inexperience but they have been improving and are optimistic about their chances this season. The Bear Cubs return only two lettermen from last season led by Forward Kelly Berry, but they have a nice blend of talented & athletic newcomers. Local product, Donald Weddington from Cardinal Newman has played well early and has been the leading scorer along with Darius Foster from DeAnza High School. Up front, Justin Baker has picked up his game and is also averaging double figures in scoring. The Big Eight Conference again looks like one of the top in the state led by San Joaquin Delta C
ollege, Diablo Valley College, and American River College, who are currently ranked #1, #5 and # 8, respectively, in Northern California. The Bear Cubs, however, aren’t content to take a back seat to anybody & are hopeful that they can be competitive & maybe compete for a league championship this season.