On Tuesday Cerritos College hired a new Men’s Head Basketball Coach in Los Alamitos Basketball Coach and Athletic Director Russ May.
May, who was just hired two months ago as athletic director, said he planned on being a life long coach at Los Al and had not been looking for any other coaching jobs.
However, head coach Jesse Teplitzky resigned after recently being hired as an assistant coach for Mexican professional basketball team Las Abejas de Guanajato.
As reported in the Long Beach Press Telegram, Teplitzky stated that the new job was a stepping stone in to bigger and better jobs and that it was an opportunity that needed to be taken advantage of.
May had been coaching at Los Al High School for ten seasons and won two CIF Southern Section titles in the process.
May’s hiring will also be looked at as a bit of a homecoming, considering he played for the Falcons during the 89-91 seasons and was an assistant coach in 94-99 before heading to Los Al.
May also comes highly recommended by Cerritos College women’s basketball team head coach Karen Welliver who has known May since his playing days.
Welliver who knows May on a personal level gives the Falcon faithful something to look forward to by saying Coach May is a teacher on and off he court and described him as patient, positive, and tenacious, as reported in the Press Telegram.
Being a former Cerritos College Graduate and player made the hiring of May a lot easier on Falcon Athletic Director Kodee Murray, who was excited about doing so despite a quick resignation from Coach Teplitzky.
Murray also made it clear about his knowledge of Mays’ reputation for “doing things the right way” and both May and Murray hope to improve the Falcons Basketball program which, won conference last season but lost in the second round of the playoffs.
Cerritos also has three All-Conference players returning in first teamer Marcellus Jackson and second teamers Brian Barner and Jeremy Pope.