Ventura College's freshman trio of Tone Patton, Timothy Turner and Jelani Bell earned first team All-Western State Conference honors in voting by the WSC North Division coaches earlier this week. Additionally, Dayveon Bates was named Honorable Mention All-WSC. VC head coach Joey Ramirez was named Co-Coach of the year for leading the Pirates to a share of their fourth consecutive WSC North Division championship.
Patton led the Pirates in scoring during conference play with a 17.4 points per game average while leading in rebounds as well at 7.9 boards per outing. The Chicago Thornwood high School product shot 56.1 percent from the floor, including hitting shots at a 35.7 c;lip from beyond the 3-point arc.
Turner, meanwhile, was second on the team in scoring at 14.8 points per game while averaging 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest. The graduate of Harlan High School in Chicago shot 48.5 percent from the floor in WSC contests.
Bell, a product of Kent-Meridian High School in Kent, WA, scored 12.7 points per game with 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists. he was the team's leading 3-point shooter, hitting 18 three's in 10 conference games at nearly a 44 percent rate.
Bates, who prepped at Innovations High School in Chicago, scored 10.4 points per game while pulling in 6.1 rebounds. He shot 57.6 percent from the floor in conference play.
Coach Ramirez earned his fourth straight Coach of the Year nod and his fifth in his eight years at the helm of the Pirates. Ramirez's squad was 17-12 in 2018-19 and finished 8-2 in conference play, earning the No. 13 seed in the CCCAA Southern California Regional Playoffs.
