Merritt College looking to improve

Merritt College head Coach Troy Johnson had to like what he saw last weekend at the Diablo Valley College Jamboree last week. Johnson is entering his second season has a head coach at Merritt College. JucoJunction had a chance to watch the Thunderbirds play. Merritt's two top players, Chris Busch and Andre Martin, should receive plenty of attention, along with some of their teammates.

Chris Busch, (SO) 6-foot-6 (220) from San Leandro, CA. Busch transferred into Merritt College last season and sat out for the Thunderbirds. Chris played his freshman season at Santa Rosa CC back in 2005-2006 where he averaged 9.7 ppg and 8.6 rebounds.

"Chris is a tweener on the floor, 3/4 man than can create mismatches while posting up smaller guards," said Johnson. "Chris is a lot more athletic than what people think."

Weber State and Western Illinois have made early calls on Busch.

Andre Martin, (FR) 6-foot-4 (190) from San Diego, CA.

"Andre is one of the best freshman players I saw this past week in California," said JucoJunction staff member Bret Swanson. Andre is an athletic point guard with great size that has a great basketball knowledge of the game. He has great explosion to the basket and always wants the ball in his hands."

Martin attended high school at Mount Miguel High School in San Diego but, did not play his senior season.

"I think Andre has the potential to be a high major player," said Johnson.

The one thing he must improve on is his perimeter shooting.

Joe Powell: (SO) 6-foot-7 (215) from Englewood, NJ. Powell averaged 5.8 ppg and 6.4 rebounds last season for the Thunderbirds. The left-handed power forward shot 53.7% from the floor.

"Joe can really run the floor like a deer," said Swanson.

Jeff Pyrol: (FR) 6-foot-9 (230) from Brooklyn, NY. Pyrol attended South Shore High School back in Brooklyn. Jeff had previously attended College of Sequoias for a semester but didn't play in any games.

Matt Busch: (FR) 6-foot-5 (210) from San Leandro, CA. Busch is the brother of teammate Chris Busch. Matt did not play in the event, but he is an academic qualifier according to Coach Johnson. Matt has received some early interest from California State-Northridge.

Anthony Daniels, (FR) 6-foot-7, and Dion Meredith, (FR) 6-foot-4, will be enrolling at Merritt college this coming fall. Daniels and Meredith should see plenty of playing time when arriving on the Oakland, CA campus. Merritt College plans on improving on its 13-13 record from last season.