Men's basketball says good-bye to 4 seniors
Campus Times
March 6, 1998
Seniors Paul Celaya (guard), Ivan Battle (forward), Gabe Duran (guard),
and Chris Moreland (forward) come together for the last time as players
in the Supertents, both in and out of uniform. The four seniors ended their
collegiate basketball careers with a record of 18-7 during the 1997-98 season,
finishing third in SCIAC.
In 1996-97, the La Verne men's basketball team had a tough time keeping
up with most Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC)
teams, but in 1997-98 the Leopards, led by a strong core of seniors, finished
third in conference with an 18-7 overall record.
Leading the list of seniors is team captain Gabe Duran, who transferred
from Mendicito College in 1996 to give the Leopards backcourt depth.
The 6'0" guard grew up in Rohnet Park, Calif., located 40 miles
north of San Francisco.
Duran is majoring in athletic training, and after graduating in May,
he plans on continuing his education by receiving his master's degree in
kinesiology or education.
"It has been a real positive situation at La Verne all around.
Last year I had a tough season, but this year has made up for that,"
said Duran.
When asked about his activities on campus such as fraternity involvement,
Duran replied, "this basketball team is my fraternity."
Head coach Terry Boesel placed Duran in the captain role this year because
of his leadership skills and his work ethic in the classroom.
"Gabe is a solid person and a great leader. He was always first
in our team's conditioning and first on this team in the classroom,"
he said.
Second on the list of senior standouts is co-captain guard Paul Celaya
who transferred to La Verne last year after attending East Los Angeles College
for two years.
Celaya is a diversified education major and joined ULV last year as
the team's leading three point scorer.
Celaya joined the Leopards last year after taking an entire season off
from basketball in 1996. After getting in rhythm last season Celaya continued
his streak this year and helped La Verne in crucial wins.
"Paul has overcome a lot of obstacles to play well on this years
team and has sacrificed a lot of his game to help the team," said Boesel.
Celaya attributes a lot of his success to Boesel and plans to follow
in his footsteps and become an elementary teacher and a basketball coach
in the near future.
"Coach Boesel has been one of the best coaches I have ever had
and I owe him a lot," said Celaya.
Next in line for the La Verne seniors is 6'3" forward and San Dimas
native Ivan Battle who also joined the Leopards last year after transferring
from Mount San Antonio College.
Battle, a criminology major, had a good season in the post for La Verne,
but unfortunately was deemed academically ineligible for the last four games.
"Despite what happened at the end of the season I feel I played
a lot better this season," said Battle, who plans a career in law enforcement.
Boesel believes, although Battle was deemed ineligible, he still made
positive contributions to the team.
"Any time you go through a long season and lose a strong player
like Ivan it will hurt your team to some degree and it did," said Boesel.
Last on the list of seniors is 6'3" forward Chris Moreland, also
a transfer from Mt. Sac last year and a steady contributor to the '96-'97
Leopard team.
"I feel that we had a lot of depth this year and that helped me
stay on my game," said Moreland, who is a public administration major.
"Chris is a versatile player who can play almost any position on
the team and has been one of our strongest contributors," said Boesel.
