When Pasadena City College’s all-conference first-team players Myles Watkins and Deen Abdur-Rahmann walk into Harry West Gym on Saturday, it will not be their first time.
It won’t be Lancers head coach Ryan Frazer’s, either.
As MiraCosta College’s head coach and with Watkins and Abdur-Rahmann then on his bench, redshirting before their freshman year, he knocked off the No. 4-seeded Knights to win the California Community College Athletic Association South region final, 68-64, on March 5, 2022.
“Myles kept the timeouts and fouls (statistics) for me in the San Diego City game,” Frazer recalled in a conversation Thursday with City Times Media. “We actually had lost games that year because of not knowing the timeouts and fouls. He just stayed in my ear the whole entire time.”
No. 2 San Diego City College (24-4) hosts Pasadena (19-10) in the second round of the 2024 2C3A men’s basketball championship south region tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Ticket prices to 3C2A tournament games are $12 for general admission. Identified students, faculty, staff, senior citizens 60 and over, and children under 12 years of age pay $8. Only cash will be accepted for payment.
Watkins’ experience as part of a talented Pasadena squad is evident to Knights head coach Mitch Charlens, who watched the No. 18 Lancers come from behind to beat No. 15 Los Angeles Southwest, 72-65, in their first-round game Tuesday.
San Diego City had a first-round bye.
“He’s tough,” Charlens said of Watkins this week. “He drives it so hard (and is a) great finisher. He’s a dynamic player.”
Charlens summed up the challenge his team will face in hopes of not having another Frazer-coached team spoil a Knights’ run deep into the postseason.
“They’re built way differently than we are,” Charlens said. “They don’t have traditional posts. All five guys on the floor can shoot the three, so the way we guard ball screens is going to have to be pretty tight.”
The Knights committed, or at least were called for, the most fouls in the Pacific Coast Athletic Conference during the regular season. This could be a factor Saturday, Charlens noted.
“(Pasadena) also drive the ball aggressively and if we’re not disciplined in our containment, they’ll either get right to the rim or draw fouls,” Charlens said.
Frazer knows it will be a challenge for his team on the road.
“They’re a very, very good team,” Frazer said. “They have not lost very many games this year. So we need to respect that.”
His respect for his Knights counterpart is evident also.
“I know Mitch and I know he’s a fiery guy,” he said. “He’s passionate about coaching and his teams always reflect that. They’re going to be ready to go.”
A Knights victory on Saturday will earn them the chance to play for the regional final on March 9 at Harry West Gym.
