The second-longest tenured head coach in Bakersfield College men’s basketball history according to gogades.com, Rich Hughes, is heading into his 10th season at BC with a remarkable, yet unfulfilled term.

Hughes has a won-lost record of 161-108 for a .599 winning percentage. He took over a program in June 2005, which previously hadn’t clinched a playoff birth since 2002, and revitalized it with visits to five straight regional playoff appearances (2005-2010), a state-leading record of 30-3 in 2006-2007, and even a Final-Four State Championship appearance in 2008 as an 11th seed to begin his campaign.

“Well, we’ve had ups and we’ve had downs, much like with anything – but it has been fun, it has gone by quick and it’s hard to believe it has been 10 years – but I enjoy coaching, coaching here, and enjoy the game of basketball,” Hughes said on his journey over the years.

Despite early success, Renegade basketball has been held in check over the last four years from making the postseason in their resilient Western State Conference-South Division which includes: newcomer and defending champions Antelope Valley, conference-rival Citrus, Glendale, LA Valley, Santa Monica, and West LA.

“That conference (WSC-South) prepares you. If you do well in the conference you’re going to do well in the playoffs, that’s how we look at it…we’re trying to get back there (postseason) in year 10, hopefully,” Hughes said.

With only two returners, Alex Daniels and Jose Nava, from last year’s group bringing “sophomore stability” – as Hughes called it – which went 13-14 overall and finished tied for last place alongside Santa Monica in the conference (3-9), the Renegades have a lot of new faces from numerous places as listed on the roster.

To add some experience, the Renegades bring in sophomore transfers Gary Dysart (Allan Hancock), Demontrey Mitchell (Western Oklahoma State College), Isaiah Rogers (Northwest Kansas Tech College), and David Wilson (Doane University, Crete, Nebraska).

With previous intercollegiate-level experience under their belts, Hughes is expecting big contributions from these guys.

“They’ve been through it. They got a lot of experience, which should be helpful even though they haven’t played for us. At least they’ve played a college game,” Hughes said.

For the rest of the cast and as well as the sophomores, it’s a time where they are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the season.

“This year was the first time we were able to play a fall showcase (held on Sept. 19 and 20 in Cerritos, BC went 2-2). We got to put in some stuff six weeks, then go play in a fall showcase, and then now we’re on about an eight-week stretch before we start playing. So right now we’re in that stage where guys really want to play…it’s coming,” Hughes said.

It has shown on the court during practice as guys are chasing down loose balls, being aggressive on both ends of the floor, showing togetherness by clapping for one another and even coach Hughes and assistant coach Aaron Chavez joining in on push-ups with their players throughout practice.

It becomes evident guys are coming together and are ready to contend in the preseason, regular season and hopefully the postseason despite being pushed to the limit.

When Hughes was asked what it’s like to adapt through seeing players move on after two years and then having a bunch of new faces join in and not always expecting the same returners, Hughes responded, “that’s JC life, baby.

“This is my 20th year of junior college basketball and you just never know… you’re always having to re-teach but I’ve been in it for so long I’m just used to it,” Hughes added.

A key fresh face for the Renegades will be Washington Union High (Fresno) product, Deandre Dickson. Dickson is a 6-foot 9-inch freshman wing (the tallest player to play at BC in Hughes’ 10 years) who averaged 15.4 pts, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks a game during his senior year for the Panthers.

“He’s a very talented player at 6-9. He can do a lot of things: shot-block, rebound, create havoc for other teams, and is skilled offensively,” Hughes said. Hughes also stated that Dickson may even see the point guard position which will be called on by committee due to the scoring abilities of the multi-faceted depth chart.

Another interesting new face is freshman Gregory Glamoc. Glamoc is the second French player to come to Bakersfield in the last two years. He heard from former Renegade center Paul Lecurieux-Lafayette who went back to France to concentrate on school after one year playing for BC last season and instilled Glamoc on the potential opportunities as a student-athlete.

The 6-7 swingman is excited to be a Renegade and is excited for the upcoming season to begin, which will tip-off on Nov. 12 when the Renegades travel to Fullerton for a 3-day tournament.

“The level is really good here, I really like it. It’s a little more aggressive and the shot clock is 35 seconds instead of 24 seconds in Euro, but I feel like I could be a pretty good player here,” Glamoc said.

Although the Renegades finished 10-5 in preseason last season, rebounds and turnovers were the difference-maker during conference play. With an increase in size, Hughes expects more boards and shot blocking from his team.

“We can’t be handing out steak dinners on a platter. That was one of our problems last year; rebounding and turnovers last year were big for us,” Hughes said.

It has been a slow and steady offseason trying to implement the foundation to the team and taking a while the freshmen adjust, but it’s expected.

“The first tournament is always wild… we don’t want to be at our best at preseason, we want to peak during the midseason to get ready to compete for a conference championship and continue peaking later into the year,” Hughes said.

According to cccaasports.org’s Coaches Association Preseason Regional Rankings, defending WSC-South champions Antelope Valley leads the Southern California rankings with Bakersfield not making the top 15 list, but that won’t stop the Renegades from making some noise.

On the preseason rankings, Hughes said, “The list is useless. Not everyone gets to vote, and it’s based on what they saw last year.”

It’ll be up to Hughes and company to overcome the odds against them as the season tips off Nov. 13 at Fullerton.

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