Spawning from one of the state's great basketball families, it's no surprise that Rochester head coach John Pleasant has turned things around with the Falcons boys hoops program.
Last winter, in his fourth year on the bench, Pleasant led Rochester to its first league title in over a decade, capturing the OAA Blue Division championship.
No doubt's Pleasant's dad, Garth, a legend in small college coaching circles around the nation, is beaming with pride.
With his first banner already raised and the culture around the school's hardwood scene effectively altered, Pleasant and his 2012 squad are in search of an additional crown of a different variety.
Of course the Falcons want to repeat as Blue Division champs this season, but they also want to stake claim to the program's first district title since the 1980s.
"Taking home a district title, breaking that drought, has been the talk around this team since we started practice," Pleasant said. "That's what we're all striving for and I think we have the horses to put ourselves in position to get it done."
Heading the charge for the Rochester cage crew this year will be a pair of all-league studs in forward Taylor Perry and point guard Paris Pereira, just two of 10 returners for TEAM PLEASANTVILLE.
Signed with Western Michigan, Perry is an active and high-scoring wing with a much improved outside shot since breaking onto the area prep hoops landscape as a sophomore in 2010. Pereira is a four-year letter-winner and the consummate floor leader, running the Falcons' offense. He will also see some time off ball this winter, as the coaching staff wants to take advantage of the standout floor general's career 40 percent shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
Athletically-gifted transfer Manny Mendoza is set for a breakout campaign at one of the forward spots and returnees Kurt Apostol and Arben Camaj will patrol the post. Mendoza, a genuine jumping jack of a swingman, comes to the school district from South Bend, Indiana where his dad was a strength and conditioning coach for the University of Notre Dame football team under Charlie Weis. Apostol is a football player who brings gridiron tenacity to the hardwood and is a genuine rebounding machine and floor burn specialist, while Camaj, a 6-6 fast-improving center, had a huge summer working on his game and will do damage on the block this year.
Mike Klotz, a long and lanky 6-foot-2 off-guard was the squad's sixth-man last season and will fill that role again this season as well as seeing some spot starting minutes, too.
The rest of the Rochester bench unit will consist of senior Sean McCann and sophomores Jason Lee and Mike Murray. Lee will back-up Pereira at the point for the second straight year and be one of the Falcons' best perimeter defenders. Murray is a spry wing with a high upside and McCann is the team's designated sharpshooter, replacing all-league pick Nick Bradley off last season's team, currently playing baseball at Western Michigan.
"We've got a solid rotation and some real tough kids ready to get at it," Pleasant said. "This is a veteran group with a lot of leadership so we're expecting a lot from them. Last year's team made a mark in the school's history books and this team wants to do the same thing."
Rochester starts the season with a matchup against small school Catholic League power Detroit Loyola at home on December 6. Pleasant and his troops will have an immediate chance to show the Falcons are for real this year by following up their throwdown with Loyola by games against Southfield, a final four participant the past two seasons, and crosstown rival Rochester Adams, a squad that made a run into the Sweet 16 last March.
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