St. Clair appointed as third basketball coach

Cypress, CA - Chris St. Clair who served as an assistant coach on Paul Bottiaux' basketball staff for the past six seasons was appointed to the head coach position in May, the school announced.   Bottiaux announced his retirement following the 2011-12 season.  St.Clair becomes the third head coach in the history of the college.  "I like to thank Coach Bottiaux for the opportunity and what I am able to learn from him in the past six years."

St. Clair came to Cypress in 2007 after leading the Magnolia High School Basketball Program for five seasons.  In his six years as an assistant, his primary responsibility was engineering the recruiting process.  During this time he helped these players moving on: Sean Starkey (Long Beach State), Dwayne King (Cal State LA), Zach Zaragoza (Biola), Brett Spencer (Cal Baptist), John Staats (Cal State Dominguez Hills) and Tim Austin (Hawaii-Hilo.)  St. Clair plans carrying a strong tradition in preparing players for the next level of education and basketball.  "I am honored to be the third coach hired in the program's history.  Our staff plans on playing a high energy style that will allow talented players to thrive.  Our number one goal is to move players on to the four year level."  The players are showing a high level of excitement as well, "I am excited to be part of something new. I could not think of a better coach for the job" said Montel Taylor, a sophomore who made the All-Conference team last season.

St. Clair inherits a team that features six returning sophomores, which is predicted to do well in one of the top conferences in the state.

In his playing days, he lettered at Sonora High School and was the 1993 Orange County High School Basketball Player of the Year.  He went on to become a 3-year starter at Cal State Fullerton and currently 4th all-time in 3-point shots made (185.)  He recently received his masters degree from Azusa Pacific University.

Contact the writer: htran@cypresscollege.edu