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RUSTY BLAIR- MEN’S BASKETBALL
 rblair@cuesta.edu 
In his tenure as head coach Rusty has turned Cuesta College into a force in the state. He was named to lead the men's basketball program in June, 1992. In 1997, he led Cuesta College to its finest season ever, a 33-5 record and it’s only State Finals appearance. He has led Cuesta to six 20-win seasons and ten playoff berths in his fifteen seasons. In 1996, 1997, 1998 and, 1999, Rusty guided the Cougars to consecutive Western State Conference titles. He was the WSC Coach of the Year after both 1997 and 1998.
Rusty came to Cuesta after an extensive playing and coaching career. A 1968 graduate of
San Luis Obispo High School, he was a three-year starter at the University of Oregon. He played professionally for 11 seasons in Europe beginning in 1972 and returned briefly to the United States to serve as an assistant coach at Cal Poly SLO and later at Cuesta.
He went back to Europe to play full-time in Belgium and Holland from 1977 until 1985. He averaged 27.2 points and 10.4 rebounds as a professional and in 1984-85 hit a Dutch record 95% of his free throws. During the 1978-79 season, Rusty led Europe in scoring with 38.5 points per game. Rusty coached several teams in Europe and while coaching in Holland's top professional league in 1989 led his team to within one game of the final eight of the European Championships on his way to runner-up Coach of the Year honors.
Rusty earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon and his Master's and teaching credential from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
He and his wife, Kaatje, have two children, Casey and Kelly. They live in San Luis Obispo. His daughter Kelly and his son Casey were both all-conference basketball players at Cuesta.

Schedule

2009-10 Men's Basketball Schedule

 

Roster

2008-09 Cuesta Men's Basketball Roster [pdf] [All Pictures]
#	Name	Ht	Wt	Pos	Yr	Hometown/High School
0	Alex Engel	5-10	170	G	Fr	Los Osos/ Morro Bay
1	Christian Koutras	6-2	195	G	Fr	Solna, Sweden/ Igelstavileus Gym.
3	Jordan Peterson	6-1	180	G	Fr	Comptche/Mendocino
5	Jordan Ritchie	6-1	150	G	So	San Luis Obispo/ SLO HS
10	Zohar Meidan	6-2	180	G	Fr	Rishon-Lezion, Israel/ Gymnacia Realit
12	Roger Guardia	6-4	180	G	Fr	Matadepera, Spain/ IES Matadepera
14	Wallace Da Concei�ciåo	6-3	180	G	Fr	Barcelona, Spain/ IES Soura de Marina
21	Phillip Jimenez	6-0	190	G	Fr	Shafter/ Shafter
24	Joe Ayarza	6-8	230	F	So	Panama City, Panama/ Gaston Farauda
32	Henry Utku	6-4	195	F	So	Norwich, GB/ Brit. Int. School, Turk.
33	Robbie McDaniel	6-4	195	F	So	Temecula/Temecula Valley
35	Xavier Mylleville	6-6	195	F	Fr	Oostkamp, Belgium/ SHIM
40	Petter Wenehult	6-9	230	C	Fr	Stockholm, Sweden/ Sodra Latin
44	Tom Schumacher	6-4	205	G	Fr	Dudelange, Luxembourg/ LTPES
55	Frank Muller	6-7	225	F	Fr	Dudelange, Luxembourg/ LMRL

Head Coach: Rusty Blair Assistant: Jeff Kuhn Assistant: Casey Blair Record/Years: 278-245/17th Office Phone: (805) 546-3100 ext. 2703 2007-08 Record 12-20 2008 WSC Rec/Fin: 6-6/3rd

Game Notes

MEN'S BASKETBALL
2009 Southern California Regional Basketball

#19 West LA 65, #14 Cuesta 63

Cuesta Player of the Game: PF Frank Muller 17 pts, 11 rebs

Notes- The #14-seed Cuesta Cougars lost their first round playoff game to #19-seed West LA, 65-63, at the Cuesta Gym. The Cougars converted only 33% of their shots on the night, while the Wildcats shot at a 44% clip. Despite the poor marksmanship, the Cougars went into the intermission with a 34-31 lead and controlled the game most of the second half, however they could not maintain the lead down the stretch. The Wildcats took advantage of the Cougars struggles shooting from the and the officials and crept ahead in the final minute. The Cougars struggled with foul trouble throughout the second half and lost two-time all-conference Forward Joe Ayarza with two minutes left in the game, after having to sit him out most of the second half. WSC Player of the year Tom Schumacher scored 14 points for the Cougars, but was physically battered all game, which led to a technical foul in the second half. It was the second technical foul of the night as Cuesta Coach Rusty Blair was also cited by the same official in the first half. Power Forward Frank Muller recorded his fifth double-double of the year to keep the Cougars in the game. He ended the contest with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead both teams in those categories. Center Shakir Johnson scored 15 points to lead West LA, who will advance to the second round against #3 San Bernardino this Saturday. The Wildcats win marked the second time that their coach, Ernie Carr, has won a playoff game at the Cuesta Gym. He also beat Cuesta in the first round of the playoffs in 1994, when he coached at Rio Hondo. His West LA team is now 17-15 on the year.

Next- The Cougars end the 2009 season with a 24-11 record.

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Ventura 70, Cuesta 66

Notes- The Cuesta men's basketball team fell back into a tie for first place in the Western State Conference with a 70-66 loss to #1`9 Ventura. The Cougars, who had been struggling to score in the first half jumped out to a 9-0 lead over the Pirates and held a 13-point lead halfway through the opening half. Coach Rusty Blair used his bench sparingly in the first half and did not send his first substitute into the game until the final five minutes before intermission. The Pirates closed the gap and finished the first 20 minutes down by six, 36-30. The Pirates caught the Cougars early in the second half, but the Cougars pulled back out to a seven-point lead with under five minutes to play. The Cougars may have tired, but their usually solid free throw shooting failed them as Ventura went n a 13-2 run to win the game as the Cougars converted only six of their 13 shots from the charity stripe in the second half. The Cougars are now 20-9 on the year and tied for first in the WSC at 5-2.

Next- Cuesta will play at Moorpark on Wednesday (2.4.09)

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Cuesta 54, Pierce 48

Notes- The Cuesta men's basketball team continues to suffer from the first half blues. The Cougars trailed Pierce 26-23 after shooting only 21% before the intermission. The Cougars pulled their shooting percentage in the 40s in the second half and clamped down the defense to win 54-48 and remain in first place in the Western State Conference. Shooting Guard Tom Schumacher led the Cougars with 17 points, but it was the Cougars bench that made the difference as the Cougars built a 14 point lead to begin the second half with four of their starters on the bench. Reserve center Peter Wenehult recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds in twenty minutes of action. The Cougars are now 20-8 on the season, the first time the Cougars have won 20 games in a year since they won the WSC crown in 1999. The Cougars are 5-1 against the WSC loop.

Next- Cuesta are in first place in the Western State Conference ahead of #17 Ventura College. The Cougars beat the Pirates 67-64 in the first round of WSC play and will host them this Saturday (1.31.09) at 5 PM in the first game of a men and women's doubleheader.

 

 

2009-10 Season Preview
Coming soon.....

 

 

Stats

2008-09 Stats

Quick Facts/Record

Men’s Basketball
Head Coach Rusty Blair
Record/Years 276-247/ 17th
Office Phone (805) 546-3100 ext.2703
2007-08 Record 10-22
2008 WSC Rec/Fin 4-8/4th
2008 Playoffs: 1st Round  
Sports Information Director: Pete Schuler (805) 546-3211
Athletic Trainer: ( 805) 546-3225
Athletic Director: Bob Mariucci (805) 546-3100 ext.2709

 

 

Archives

Archives

Career Records | Season Records | Log | All State

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STATS: 91/92 | 92/93 | 93/94 | 94/95 | 95/96 | 96/97 | 97/98 | 98/99 | 99/00 | 00/01 | 01/02 | 02/03
03/04 | 04/05 | 05/06 | 06/07 | 07/08 | 08/09