By Ethan Arter
CCC Journalism Program
This year’s Camden County College men’s basketball team had a solid season, finishing with a 17-11 record and 14-4 in conference play.
As the number 4 seed, the team earned a spot in the playoffs under the guidance of head coach Lou Abbattista, who has been with Camden County for 18 years. Coach Lou, who started as an assistant after moving from St. Augustine, has seen the program grow.
Reflecting on the season, he stated, “It was an interesting year because people said we could beat anyone but we could also lose to anyone. As we prepared for the playoffs, coaches said we could either win the whole thing or lose in the first round.”
He also pointed out the unique challenge of playing in Region 19: “At Camden County, if you’re playing 30 games, 10-12 of them are against teams ranked in the top 20 in the country, so there are no easy games.” This speaks to the competitiveness of the region, which this season featured three teams ranked in the nation’s top 15: Northampton, Montgomery and Union.
The landscape of college basketball has changed dramatically with the advent of name, image and likeness deals and the transfer portal, leading to a surge in former NCAA players now opting for the junior college route to develop their game. The coach noted, “We hear from about 15-20 players each year who’ve played at NCAA schools, looking to take advantage of the track record we have for getting players recruited.” This year, five players will continue their basketball careers at four-year institutions.
Looking back on the season, the coach divided it into three phases: a strong start, a midseason struggle with a few losses, and a strong finish with a winning streak heading into the playoffs. After a solid victory over Community College of Philadelphia in the first round, the team lost in the semifinals to Northampton by a score of 83-66. Reflecting on the season’s challenges, the coach identified the team’s biggest weakness as foul shooting, which cost them an average of 10 points per game in their 11 losses.