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• In 2008, Kerns was promoted to assistant coach after
serving as Director of basketball Operations for one season at
Santa Clara.
• While a graduate assistant at the University of Tennessee
(2003-04), Kerns reached the NIT with the Volunteers.
• Kerns played his high school ball at Dobyns-Bennett High
School (Tennessee), which ranks first in the nation in all-time
wins at the prep level. Through the 2008-2009 season, the school
boasted 2064 victories.
NCDS: Dustin Kerns, Asst. Coach - Santa Clara
By: Dustin Kerns, Asst. Coach - Santa Clara
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and enjoyed some quality time with their family. It is always an interesting time of year for college basketball as our players have no class and some get the one opportunity during the season to go home for a few days.
Here at Santa Clara, we are fortunate to host the longest standing on campus Holiday tournament in the nation. This year is the 43rd Annual Cable Car Classic put on by Bay area basketball legend Art Santo Domingo. Schools like North Carolina, BYU, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Maryland, Alabama, and many others have played in the Cable Car Classic. This year's tournament includes another solid field in Northeastern, Wofford, and Kent State. All three of those teams were predicted near the top of their respected conferences and are all very good teams.
Have you ever heard the saying, "the two things you can't control in basketball are injuries and officials?" Since my last entry, our leading scorer and last season's WCC Co-Newcomer of the year Kevin Foster broke his foot at UC Santa Barbara and has since then had surgery and is out for the remainder of the season. Kevin was averaging 20 points per game and was on the brink of having another breakout season. Kevin will gain a medical redshirt this season and will still have three seasons of eligibility left.
I love this time of year coming up because it always means everyone's conference season is right around the corner and I love to see some of the traditional rivalries amongst all of the leagues. Our conference has had a very good non-conference season and it should be another exciting year in the WCC. Also, with our players being out of class, it is a great time of year to do some team functions and community service. We took our team to an NBA game and to movies to get them out of their quiet dorms and hotels.
Well, I am headed down to shoot-around for our game against Northeastern tonight. Happy New Year to all!
In hoops,
Coach Kerns
