Cal State player invited to basketball showcase

Marlon Pierce, the senior guard from Cal State San Bernardino who has earned all-conference, all-region and honorable mention all-America honors this season, is heading to his second post-season all-star event later this month.

Pierce, the 6-2 guard from San Diego who competed in the NCAA Division II All-Star game at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., on March 28, will this time compete in the Collegiate Basketball Invitational on April 24-26.

The three-day event features eight teams of eight players representing NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA schools. Each team will play three games in the tournament, considered a showcase for pro scouts from various  pro leagues including the NBA.

An all-star game, featuring 20 players chosen from the 65 that will be playing in

the tournament, will be played on Saturday, April 26, at 8 p.m. central daylight time and be televised live on cable channel ESPNU.

            CBI will take place at Wadsworth High School in the town of Wadsworth, Ohio, located 16 miles from Akron and 40 miles from Cleveland. Wadsworth’s roots date back to its founding in 1814 and is named for a Revolutionary War hero named Elijah Wadsworth.

            “I am confident that this class of players will help make the public aware of the high level of talent at the NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA levels,” said CBI founder John McCarthy. “With approximately 1,000 colleges and universities within these divisions, the selection of players has truly been a challenging task. Narrowing this field to 65 players has been very difficult.”

            The three-day event exposes the players to professional team representatives, agents and national media while competing against many of the best non-Division I players in the nation.

            Each of the eight teams is sponsored by a Wadsworth business or organization and Pierce is on the Premier Pontiac-GMC team coached by Jim Tribbett of Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C. His teammates include 7-foot center Eder Araujo of Walsh College (NAIA), 6-8 forward Jeremy Black of Tampa, 6-3 guard Ryan Williams of Pace and 6-5 wing Sam Belt of Central Oklahoma.

            Other West Region Division II players playing in the tournament are: Rob Will, a 6-10 center from Seattle Pacific; 7-foot center Marko Lkoaric of Chaminade; guard Luke Cooper of West Region champion Alaska Anchorage;

            Also in the tournament are 6-5 guard Jonte Flowers and 6-8 forward John Smith from NCAA Div. II national champion Winona State.

            “This event is simply good for the game of basketball on several levels,” McCarthy said.

            Pierce’s team opens the tournament at 10 a.m. on April 24 against Renacci-Doraty Chevrolet led by Kolaric of Chaminade.

            Each team has a host family from the city of Wadsworth.

            Pierce averaged 12.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and nearly four assists per game for the Coyotes in 2007-08, helping them win a share of the California Collegiate Athletic Association title and a berth in the NCAA tournament. The team finished 22-8 on the season and ranked 14^th in the nation.

            He scored a team-high 13 points with three assists in the the Coyotes’ 67-63 loss to BYU-Hawaii in the West Region quarterfinals.

            He earned all-CCAA first-team, all-West Region first team and Division II Bulletin all-America honorable mention. He scored a career high 29 points against UC San Diego.

            At the Div. II all-star game in Springfield, Mass., Pierce acquitted himself quite well, dishing out six assists and making four steals for the West All-Stars while scoring four points, making two of four shots from the field.

            Pierce played at Cuyamaca Community College in San Diego for two seasons before coming to CSUSB at the start of the 2006-07 season, helping the Coyotes win the West Region title and advance to the Division II Final Four for the first time in the history of the men’s basketball program. He is a graduate of Helix High School in San Diego, the same school that produced NBA and former UCLA great Bill Walton.