Overview:
The ‘high motors’ of C.J. Shaw and Michael Simcoe, as well as Chauncey Andersen and Ava Rawlins, are expected to drive future Gaucho teams
Youth is no longer served in college basketball.
Experience is the X factor that coaches covet more than ever now that the NCAA has opened the Pandora’s box of professionalism.
You can buy it rather than develop it, thanks to the advent of NIL (name, image and likeness) payments and the loosening of transfer rules.
But looking to the future is not entirely a procedure of the past for UC Santa Barbara.
Coach Joe Pasternack has selectively sprinkled some potent greenery into a program that has been otherwise seasoned heavily with one-and-done transfers.
C.J. Shaw and Michael Simcoe, two of the most highly rated high school players ever recruited by the Gauchos, were the latest to sign with UCSB last month.
“It’s that exact mixture, which I compare to a bowl of soup,” Pasternack said. “You have to have different ingredients for it to taste good.”
He admits that this season’s roster is as instant a soup as he’s ever cooked.
Last year’s 9-11 record in Big West Conference play and first-round exit from the league tournament convinced Pasternack to age his inexperienced club as quickly as possible.
The Thunderdome had the look of a senior-citizen center during Thursday’s league opener against UC San Diego.
Five of the nine Gauchos who saw the court transferred in this year as grizzled veterans.
They include three graduate students — Stephan Swenson, Deuce Turner and Max Murrell — and senior Kenny Pohto.
But it would be wrong to think that youth hasn’t served UCSB well the last few seasons.
“We’ve been very successful with some freshmen,” Pasternack said. “You can’t bat 1.000 in recruiting. It’s impossible, and I’ve made my share of mistakes.
“But to get an Ajay Mitchell as a freshman — and an Amadou Sow, who was a four-time all-leaguer — was huge for us.
“And I think Jason Fontenet showed last year what an amazing freshman he was, too.”
Mitchell, who took over as the Gauchos’ starting point guard just five games into his freshman season of 2021-2022, has played a key role in his first 23 games with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA.
He’s averaging 5.8 points and 1.7 assists per game in 16.2 minutes of playing time while shooting a robust 48.2% from the field and 41.9% from the three-point line.
Sow has played in the top professional leagues of France and Slovenia since his graduation from UCSB in 2022.
Fontenet’s high usage rate as a freshman set him up for this year’s breakout season as a sophomore.
He’s averaging a team-best 13.6 points, shooting 45.2% from the three-point line and 53.6% overall, while pulling down 6.6 rebounds per game.
This year’s freshman class may get more play now that the strengths and weaknesses of the veterans became more clear during this week’s two Big West Conference defeats.
Zion Sensley, a 6-8 wing forward, and 6-2 point guard Zachiah (Z.Z.) Clark both flashed signs of brilliance when given a chance during the nonconference season.
“Zion and Z.Z. are going to be great players,” Pasternack said.
Both were top-rated high school recruits that, ironically, UCSB may have landed because of the NCAA transfer portal.
“Sometimes now these high majors aren’t recruiting freshmen because they just want to go get the older guys,” Pasternack said.
“Maybe we can get a steal here or there because of that … And I do think we’ve got great players coming in.”
Shaw Time
C.J. Shaw isn’t related to former Gaucho All-American Brian Shaw, now an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Clippers, but he will arrive at UCSB with his own stellar résumé.
The 6-4 senior guard has already led North Las Vegas’ Mojave High School to a pair of Nevada 4A championships. His cumulative scoring average since his freshman year is 21.7 points per game.
He’s vaulted to No. 82 in ESPN’s listing of the nation’s top recruits after averaging 17 points for his traveling team in last spring’s Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.
ESPN’s four-star ranking placed him at No. 24 for all shooting guards and as the third-best recruit in Nevada.
“C.J. scored at an incredible pace against the best players in the country,” Pasternack said. “He’s got an incredible motor and is able to both defend and play offense, which is what we were looking for.
“We’re losing several guards in Deuce Turner, Cole Anderson and Stephan Swenson, and we were looking for guys who are two-way players who can defend, rebound and score … and play offense.”
Shaw narrowed his choice of schools to West Virginia, Xavier, St. Mary’s, UNLV and Utah State before selecting UCSB.
He is an honors student and plans to graduate early from Mojave High. Pasternack is trying to get him early admittance to UCSB this spring.
“We’re working through that right now,” he said. “That just tells you what kind of student he is.”
The quick, direct airline flights from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara aided Pasternack’s recruitment of Shaw.
“He comes from a great family that was blown away when they visited us,” he said. “We’re just really excited about the player development that he’s looking forward to getting.”
Rising Phoenix
Simcoe’s family also took appreciative notice of the direct flights from Phoenix to Santa Barbara.
The 6-8 power forward is ranked as a four-star recruit by 247Sports. The scouting service rated him No. 25 nationally for his position and 137th overall.
And while he plays a different position than Shaw, he checked many of the same boxes for Pasternack.
“I’ve recruited a long time and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen the total combination of academic, high-character, incredible family, and talent coming out of high school that I’ve seen in him,” he said.
“He’s a perfect fit, as in his brother, John … His twin brother is coming, as well.”
Michael Simcoe averaged a double-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and four assists per game last year for a Sandra Day O’Connor High School team that advanced to the Arizona 6A final.
Simcoe scored 28 points with eight rebounds in a 69-63 loss to Liberty High in the championship game.
“He has something that I believe is the No. 1 quality a player needs to be successful and that’s a motor,” Pasternack said. “He has an incredible motor.
“He can play inside, outside, shoot threes, drive the ball, post up. He’s a very versatile forward who can play multiple positions, defend and rebound, and has a great attitude.”
Simcoe entertained offers from Washington, UC Berkeley, BYU, Northwestern, Santa Clara and UC Irvine before signing with the Gauchos.
He, like Shaw, was attracted by UCSB’s own high rating — in the academic world.
“Mike is extremely driven to be a mechanical engineer,” Pasternack said. “Part of the reason he chose UCSB was the incredible academic prestige of this university.
“Michael is such a perfect fit for us.”
Women Recruits
On the UCSB women’s basketball side, new coach Renee Jimenez sought the same qualities in her first Gaucho recruiting class.
She signed 5-10 wing Chauncey Andersen from Jefferson High School in Portland, and 5-11 point guard Ava Rawlins from Folsom High. They are also teammates for the Cal Stars, a traveling team that plays in Nike’s EYBL.
“We were immediately drawn to Chauncey because of her character and toughness,” Jimenez said. “She is about family and winning, two of our program’s core values.
“She has a relentless spirit that drives winning and Gaucho fans are going to love to watch Chauncey compete every night. She is a fierce competitor who plays with an old-school toughness that is hard to find.”
Andersen averaged 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists as a junior, receiving All-State honorable mention.
She was also selected to the Portland Interscholastic League First Team after leading the Democrats to a co-championship.
“She has the ability to play and score from multiple positions on the floor, which will make her a tough matchup for our opponents,” Jimenez said.
“The grittiness that got Chauncey here will help her chase and achieve championships with us.”
Andersen, who has compiled a 4.0 grade-point average through her junior year, also considered offers from Air Force and Cal Poly.
“I chose UC Santa Barbara because I wanted to believe in a program as much as they believed in me and I found that with coach Jimenez and her entire staff,” she said.
“They saw me for more than I am, they saw me for what I can become, and they have shown their commitment to helping me become the woman that I aspire to be.”
Rawlins also considered two of UCSB’s Big West rivals — Hawai‘i and UC Davis, as well as BYU, Cornell and Davidson — before signing with the Gauchos.
“Not only do they care for me as a player but they also took the time to build a genuine relationship with me,” she said. “They recruited me with the vision that I could play a role in building something special and achieve the athletic and academic goals that I have set for myself.
“I have complete confidence that I will develop as a player and person while enjoying the beauty of Santa Barbara.”
Rawlins, an honor roll student at Folsom, served as team captain for a team that won a California Interscholastic Federation Section championship last season.
She also mentors youth basketball players and is a member of her church’s youth leadership group.
“Ava’s unwavering character and dedication to her team, basketball and her family is what immediately set her apart to our coaching staff,” Jimenez said. “She is going to make an immediate impact on Gaucho basketball.
“She is a dynamic scorer and playmaker who can affect the game in so many areas. Ava is a proven winner and embodies all the standards we are looking for in building a championship program.”
