A preseason national ranking of No.14 and coming off the best year in school history, most coaches and players probably would feel the pressure. That is not the case for Virginia Peninsula Community College men’s basketball coach Chris Moore and player Ky’Saan Bevier.
“It’s really more motivation,” Moore said.
Bevier, who made the Region 10 all-freshmen team last year, agrees.
“No pressure. I feel like we have all the pieces we need,” he said.
Last year, the Gators went 22-7 (the most wins in school history), won regular-season and postseason titles, and were one win short of making the National Junior College Athletic Association 12-team national tournament. They finished the regular season ranked 11th in the nation in the NJCAA Division III poll, another program best.
This year, they opened the season nearly in the same spot.
“It’s good to see the recognition. We’re just making history year by year,” said Moore, who has been the coach since the 2018-19 season. “It’s something that I cherish, but also something that I continue to give gratitude to those who did not have this opportunity to receive national recognition. We just want to keep it going forward.”
Bevier, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from Weldon, N.C., said this year’s team is better despite just five returning players. An influx of freshmen gives VPCC youth.
“We have more than we had last year. More scorers. More facilitators,” he said. “We’re young, so we can get up and down a lot. I feel like we don’t have a lot of weaknesses.”
The Gators lost the region player of the year, one first-team selection and two second-team picks. That’s not fazing Moore.
“We have some really, really, really strong freshmen and transfers that came in and will be able to fill voids that we lost,” he said. “I would say we’re young this year, but we’re extremely talented.”
They open the season at Hagerstown Community College on Nov. 4. Their first home game is against Frederick Community College at 1 p.m. Nov. 7, at SafeHaven Empowerment Center. Last year, Moore scheduled an early season three-game trip to Massachusetts, which he said was a great experience and helped the players grow on and off the court. He has no such trip this year but was purposeful in assembling his schedule.
“Our schedule is strategically made so guys can grow, handle adversity and we peak at the right time,” Moore said.
That is what happened last year. The Gators lost only one game in the second semester, not counting the postseason, after losing five in the first semester.
“My goal is always to challenge us early, see what we’re made of, grow through those moments,” he said.
Highlights on the schedule are the annual game against The Apprentice School, games against Bryant & Stratton, Richard Bland College and several NJCAA Division II foes.
“We don’t have the powerhouses for Division III, but we do have a lot of stronger teams that are in Division II and Division I to help us prep for our conference games,” he said.
Bevier is confident the Gators can compete with every team on the schedule. Moore does, too, and thinks they are setting the groundwork for a few great seasons.
“I think we are going to be good for the next two years because I have a really good freshmen group,” he said. “I’m excited to see how they mature over the next two years. I think they have a chance at winning (a national championship).”
Bevier said the players are putting the team first.
“We’re not just trying to get out of JUCO. We want to win it all,” he said.
After last year, Moore talked about reloading, not rebuilding. Still, no pressure.
“The end goal is still the end goal,” he said. “It’s not about how you start. It’s about how you finish.”
The top-ranked team in the preseason poll is defending national champion Northern Essex (Massachusetts). The Gators lost to them by just three on their New England trip. VPCC is the only Region 10 team in the poll, which ranks 15 teams. Sandhills is among others receiving votes. Joliet, which defeated VPCC in the District championship game in double overtime, is No.6.
