2009-2010 Team

The Westerner’s took a giant leap during the 2008-2009 season, going 21-10 and qualifying for the Regional playoffs for the first time since 1985. The Westerners and Coach Jason Sautter have their sights set on even greater achievements for the 2009-2010 season.

The Westerner’s return six players from last year’s team, including Edis Derversivic (New York, NY), Trevor Charles (Brooklyn, NY), Will Harrison (Bronx, NY), D’Angelo Johnson (Washington, DC) and Justin Stringer (Forrest, MS). WTC returns their leading rebounders in Charles and Derversivic. Derversivic was also the second leading scorer for the Westerners last year. Derversivic and Charles were selected to play in the top 120 camp this year, which featured the top 120 NJCAA players going into their sophomore year.

Gone is WJCAC first team all conference player Trevon Charles (Sam Houston State University), big man Damian Lewis (6’11”, 270 lbs.) who is playing at Houston Baptist University, and point guard Wayne Turner who was also all-conference in the WJCAC.

Sautter looks to a number of freshmen to contribute to the Westerner’s drive to win the WJCAC this year. Key recruit Jeremy Jones, a guard, hails from national high school powerhouse Simeon High School in the City With The Broad Shoulders. Jones was named all- city in Chicago. Also from the Chicagoland area are guards Malcom Herron (Woodridge, IL) and Daron Guyton (Schiller Park, IL).

Other additions to the guard court include point guard Jameal York (Fresno, CA) who was named player of the year in the Fresno Valley, averaging 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists for Edison High School. Jason Sharp was a member of the Lake Clifton High School undefeated state championship team last year in Maryland, and looks to be in the mix for playing time at guard. Also bolstering the backcourt strength are Lester Johnson (Shreveport, LA) and Lonnie Robinson (Deerfield Beach, FL).

New big men for the Westerners include Abidoun Adegoke (Atlanta, GA) and Ade Barak (London, England). While Adegoke, 6’8”, 255 lbs is a young freshman, who is raw, Sautter looks for him to develop during the season. Sautter looks for Barak, the 6’7”, 210 lbs forward to contribute, saying, “he is athletic, good around the basket, and plays hard all of the time.”

Sautter’s coaching philosophy includes a style of play that is dictated by its personnel. “My preference, with the right personnel offensively, is to play an up-tempo game, but it is important to match up the personnel with the offensive strategy,” assessed the WTC skipper. Coach Sautter subscribes to a defensive philosophy based on pressure defense.

Sautter looks for another balanced race in the WJCAC, with no one dominant team. “The coaches in the league are high quality coaches, and the WJCAC is a high quality league for men’s basketball,” stated Sautter. The pre-season polls by the coaches have the Westerners in the fourth spot in the conference, with South Plains as the favorite to win the conference. Last year’s conference champion, Midland College, made it to the NJCCA Division I championship game where they were defeated by Salt Lake Community College for the national championship.

WJCAC 2008-2009 OVERALL RECORD