CANYONS TO TIP OFF WITH UNTESTED CREW.

Byline: Bryan Winchell Daily News Staff Writer

One is from Texas. Another is from Georgia. A third is from Maryland and a fourth is from New Jersey.

No, this isn't a beauty pageant. It's a partial list of players for College of the Canyons' men's basketball team, which officially began fall practice Tuesday.

It's not your typical junior college roster, with the majority of players coming from area high schools.

And because most of the Cougars haven't played much together before fall conditioning class began in September, veteran coach Lee Smelser isn't sure what to make of this group.

``Everything is up in the air right now,'' said Smelser, entering his 28th season. ``We are as far back as I've ever been with a group because we have not played together. Golly sakes, we have a lot of question marks.''

The Cougars return just two players from last year's team, which finished 9-22 and 4-6 in the Western State Conference. Only one of the two, point guard Mike Posey, started last season.

Over the years, Canyons has returned an average of five or six players, giving Smelser a mixture of experience and youth every season. But because this team is so young, one of the challenges is getting everyone on the same page before the first game Nov. 15.

``Some of the players come from other junior colleges and they have their own agenda,'' Smelser said. ``Others just want their chance to do well and get out of here.''

One problem with last year's team was a lack of depth. Smelser feels the team could have won four or five more games had it had a better bench, but he thinks this year's bench is improved.

That's key for the Cougars to run the kind of fast-paced breaking offense and pressure-oriented defense Smelser likes.

``We'll try to break as much as possible and pressure the ball a bit and I think we have a good group of guys on the bench that we didn't have last year to do that,'' Smelser said.

Posey will run the offense. Freshman Woodley Polynice, who is the brother of NBA player Olden Polynice and who just moved here from Texas, will play shooting guard with Romain Coleman, a 6-foot-3 sophomore from Savannah, Ga., who played half a season last year at Hiwasse Junior College in Tennessee.

Sergio Rascon, a 6-foot-8 freshman from San Fernando High School, will play center for Canyons.

He'll be surrounded by Kevin King, a 6-foot-6 freshman from New Jersey who has spent the past couple of years in the Navy; Josh Geary, a 6-foot-6 forward from Bakersfield; and Curtis Wills, a 6-foot-4 junior college transfer from Baltimore, who is one of the team's best defenders and shot blockers.

Smelser thinks the conference will be strong again, with Cuesta, Santa Monica and Valley leading the way.

While Smelser likes his team's depth, he is still waiting for someone to step up.

``Everybody is in the same boat in that they are progressing at the same speed,'' Smelser said. ``That is a concern because you want somebody you can go to in crunch time.''

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: Coach Lee Smelser

Has only two returning players