By Bill Sheehan
The Cal State Fullerton's men's basketball team had to overcome multiple challenges to become the 2022 Big West champions.
Five new players joined the team last summer. Two assistant coaches, a graduate assistant and a director of player operations were newcomers to the staff. Because of the NCAA's Covid-19-related protocols, three games were cancelled, and several players missed contests.
Picked to finish seventh and eighth respectively in the Big West Coaches and Media preseason polls, the Titans (21-10) defied the odds and won the title Saturday night by edging Long Beach State, 72-71.
Head coach Dedrique Taylor, who will be taking the Titans to the NCAA Tournament for the second time since 2018, is clearly the architect of the team's success. But Taylor credits fourth-year assistant coach Anthony Santos with helping the team handle all the bumps in the road.
"I can't even put into words the impact Anthony has had. He obviously makes our program go; he's indispensable. If for some reason he's not present, it makes me nervous and uneasy.
"Anthony sees the game at an unbelievable pace in terms of not only having an idea of what our team is, but he also has an idea of what our opponents do and how we can and need to impact them," he said. "And he does a great job breaking things down and communicating with our players. Then they go out and execute those things."
No. 15 seed Fullerton faces No. 2 seed Duke on Friday
The Titans learned at a Selection Sunday watch party that they would be playing Duke (28-6) in a first-round matchup in Greenville, South Carolina. The West regional game, which pits a No. 2 seed (Duke) against a No. 15 seed (Fullerton), will tip off Friday at 4:10 p.m. PDT and be televised on CBS.
Many of the Titan faithful at the watch party, which was held at a Fullerton restaurant, were still abuzz over the team's dramatic win in the Big West showdown in Henderson, Nevada.
Fullerton overcame a 14-point deficit to take a 32-31 lead at halftime. The Titans trailed 54-50 midway through the second half before going on a 14-2 run to take the lead for good. Still, the
Titans had to make a defensive stop in the closing seconds, keeping Long Beach from getting off a potential winning shot.
Fullerton President Fram Virjee said he had a difficult time watching. "It was nerve-racking the whole time. I was looking at the game through my split fingers. The last three minutes were absolutely crazy. And it came out the right way, so it feels fantastic."
In a way, Taylor said, the game was a microcosm of the Titans' season.
"It was an unbelievable, see-saw game that was kind of indicative of our season. A lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of things going on. This group found a way to stay together, to stay connected," he said.
Facing adversity helped the team come together, Santos says
Santos, who works with the team's guards, said the experiences and adversity the Titans faced during the year allowed them to come together in the game's closing moments.
"It was an up-and-down game and so emotional. Both sides did great things, and either team could have come out as champions. We got that final stop, and that allowed us to be the champs and get to the NCAA Tournament."
Other staff members are assistant coaches Chris Walker and Joey Brooks, director of operations Ryan Hamm, graduate assistant Scott Cutley and video coordinator Garret Boaz.
Taylor is in his ninth year at Fullerton, but Santos has been around the team even longer. As a fifth-year senior, he served as the team's student manager for the 2010-11 season. After graduating with a kinesiology degree, he served as the basketball program's director of operations from 2012 to 2017. In 2014. received a master's degree in kinesiology, with a concentration in sports performance/sports psychology.
"It's been a journey. I had three different head coaches in my first three years," said Santos, 32, who hails from Covina. "I learned a lot -- what I wanted to do, what I didn't want to do. I showed up every day. I wanted to be a sponge and tried to take in as much as I could."
Santos said his relationship with Taylor has grown the past four years and that he has learned not only from his current boss but everyone he's worked with at Fullerton. He cited as major influences Danny Sprinkle (Montana State), John Smith (Cal Poly) and Brandon Dunson (University of Denver), who were all former Titans assistants before becoming head coaches.
"Coach Taylor has always empowered us. I saw what he did for these guys. I'm really trying to follow in the same footsteps. I want to be a head coach. I'm thinking ahead and trying to develop into the best coach I can be."
Anthony Santos received his Cal State Fullerton undergraduate and master's degrees in kinesiology. Photo by Bill Sheehan
'My goal is to help the team and each individual player become better.'
"I'm a young guy, energetic and feel I connect with guys on a different level. I coach them up, but I'm also hard with them. My goal is to help the team and each individual player become better."
Santos said he enjoys recruiting. "We're in essence competing with other schools to get these kids. It takes a grind-it-out mentality. Our most important job is spending time to get to know each kid."
A good recruiter will dig for information about the prospect, watch film, build a vision as to how the recruit fits into the program's system and culture, and identify areas in which the school can help them develop, he said.
Taylor said Santos is laying the groundwork to leading his own team. "Anthony will probably be a head coach in the next couple years, if I have anything to do with it."
Santos watched basketball on television as a youngster before getting on the court, said his younger brother Ray. The two took up the game in grammar school and later played – but not together – at Don Bosco Technical Institute, a Catholic high school in Rosemead.
Ray, who is four years younger, competed at Concordia University in Portland and then Rio Hondo College in Whittier. But a series of basketball-related injuries, including two torn ACLs and a fractured femur – kept Santos from playing beyond high school.
An assistant coach at Bosco Tech while attending college
To stay with the game he loved, Santos served as an assistant coach at Bosco Tech while attending Cal State Fullerton. In his fifth and final undergrad year, he landed a job as the Titans team manager. A year later, he began his stint as the program's director of operations.
"He definitely has come a long way," said Ray, an L.A.-based barber who has made a name for himself by cutting hair for professional basketball players. "He never got a chance to play in college. But that didn't stop him from wanting to learn and grow in his industry.
"Anthony played the sport and knows about communication and teamwork. Those are just some of the skills that have taken him this far. He has a willingness to learn, and that is always going to help you move up to the next level."
In the off-season, Santos enjoys traveling the world. He has visited Australia and Europe and calls the Greek island of Santorini his favorite destination. "Our basketball season is so organized that when I travel, I like moving around and seeing what's out there without a plan or itinerary."
He also began playing golf for the first time during the pandemic. He is now a regular on Southern California golf courses and has just ordered a new set of clubs.
Santos said his experience from the Titans' NCAA appearance in 2018 is a big plus in preparing for the Duke game. "Before, the tournament was an unknown for the staff. But Coach Taylor and I now know more about preparation, travel and what to expect. Hopefully, they guys will soak in all the the moments because they won't be together after their last bus ride, whenever that is," he said.
"The team has a workman-like mentality. The players jelled and found common ground. Now we're on the ultimate mission. We've been successful so far, but it's not over yet. We want to keep it going."