At 6’10, senior Amari Stroud is in his second and final year with Long Beach State who defeated Cal Poly on the road Thursday night, Jan. 4 in front of a solid crowd at the Mott Athletic Center. What fans didn’t see was the long road it took to playing for The Beach.
“I just look back and thank God that I'm here now," Stroud reflected as he thought about the other two stops it took to get him to Long Beach. "I got through that phase that made me actually get better as a person and as a man.”
After two years at Division II's Chico State, Stroud got a call from Allan Hancock College's Head Coach Tyson Aye which led the Fresno native to spend the next two years from 2020-2022, grinding away at the junior college level for a chance at a Division I scholarship.
“He's like, 'Coach, I want to come play for you. I want to be closer to home, but not too close. I want to play for you an try to play to the Division I level', Aye recalled of the recruiting process. "You want talk about somebody that bought into the process, he was even here during COVID.”
But Stroud isn’t the only person to reach their dreams under Coach Aye and his coaching staff. In the last ten years, every single player in the program has earned an offer to play at a four year university and it’s because they win quite frequently. In Aye's tenure, the program has 125+ victories, four postseason appearances, and one conference title.
“That's why I'm here is to come win," sophomore Noah Haaland explained. "When you come to JUCO, you want to leave to go to a better school and the only way to do that is win. You go to a good school and compete and get minutes, everybody eats, everybody goes on."
Just like many of the teams in year’s past, the Bulldogs are once again very good having won seven straight games in the month of December and currently on an 8-game streak which included a win over powerhouse Citrus College. The common denominator of success for the Bulldogs: Focus
“You got to be focused every day, one after the other and it takes time to develop that habit.”
While conference titles and win streaks are what a team wants out of a season, in the junior college landscape, specifically at Allan Hancock, it’s about growth.
“That's my purpose as a community college coach is to help these these young men achieve their goals," Aye said. "I'll be honest, I got goose bumps when I watch our former players succeed and where they're at.”
That includes Stroud, who also grew and matured in his time as a Bulldog and continues to evolve as a player and human being in his final season of Division I college basketball.
“I really, just prove what I can do on the court and grow even more as a man and be able to provide for a family whenever I'm ready for one.”
For the AHC coaching staff that continues to keep tabs on their former players including Shroud, it's their progress off the court that has them just as excited as their progress on it.
“I know he was on honor roll academically last year, which we were fired up about," Aye said. "We're just happy to continue following what he's doing, knowing where he was.”
The Bulldogs are 12-4 on the season and their last ranking was at No. 16 in the state back on Dec. 18 but now at eight straight wins and a win over Citrus, that will change in the next poll.
Meanwhile, Long Beach State is having a magical season with Stroud coming in off the bench as an integral role player capable of a high defensive impact. LBSU has big wins over Power 5's Michigan and University of Southern California this year. They are 10-5 overall.
