|
Set to start his second
season as the Cerritos College men’s
basketball coach, Russ May has a
predominantly freshmen-laden team to work
with this year. Last season, May led the
Falcons to the South Coast Conference South
Division championship and came close to
advancing in the Southern California
Regional Playoffs. Their season came to an
end with a 67-65 loss to Mt. San Antonio
College in the first round, and the team
concluded with an 18-11 record. May came
back to Cerritos College after spending the
last 10 years as the head coach of the Los
Alamitos High boy's basketball team. May was
a finalist for the Cerritos job the year
before he returned to the Falcon program.
May inherited a team that went 16-13 overall
(including a forfeit win over Los Angeles
City College) and won the conference title.
May, who was also Los Alamitos High’s
athletic director, resigned both positions
to take over at Cerritos, where he played
for two years (1989-91) and served as an
assistant coach from 1994-99. May will also
teach a full slate of classes at Cerritos
College.
Under May, Los Alamitos won CIF crowns in
2006 (Division I-A) and 2007 (I-AA) and
reached the Division I Southern California
final in 2006. In 2008, the Griffins were
seeded fourth in the I-AA playoffs before
being upset by Lynwood in the second round.
May also led his teams to nine league
championships in his 10 seasons and was also
named both the county and CIF Coach of the
Year during his tenure with the Griffins.
As a player for the Falcons, May was a South
Coast Conference Honorable Mention selection
as a sophomore, despite missing the latter
part of the season with a broken foot. The
team won the conference title his freshman
year, while they placed second his sophomore
campaign. In his time as an assistant coach,
the team won five straight conference
championships and the state title in 1999,
his final season as an assistant coach with
the Falcons.
May then earned a scholarship to Cal Poly
Pomona, where he played two more seasons. He
earned his Bachelor’s degree in History from
Cal Poly Pomona, his teaching credential
from Cal State Long Beach and his Master’s
degree from Azusa Pacific University.
May and his wife Andrea have three children;
Madison, Everett and Sydney. |