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5 p.m. – EWC vs. Air Force JV
7 p.m. – WNCC vs. Colby
Saturday’s Schedule
5 p.m. – EWC vs. Colby
7 p.m. – WNCC vs. Air Force JV
Radio: KOZY, 101.3 FM
Internet: kozy1013.com
“I think we are ready to go,” Joyce said. “We need to play against some other teams. We could use another week of practice, but we need to see where we are at against other teams. I think we are as ready as we could be at this point.”
The Cougar Classic kicks off at 5 p.m. with Eastern Wyoming College facing Air Force Junior Varsity followed by WNCC meeting Colby Community College at 7 p.m. Saturday’s schedule pits EWC against Colby at 5 p.m. and the Cougars against Air Force Junior Varsity at 7 p.m.
Joyce is also excited to start his coaching career at WNCC.
“It was exciting to come here. The future is bright,” the first-year coach said. “We are going to be good eventually. At what point that happens, you knows when you have a young team. I think our guys will continue to work hard, get after it and good things will happen.”
WNCC will face a stiff test in their season-opener against a
“They have some big kids and they have some good guards,” Joyce said. “Coach [John] Woods has been in this league and he understands what our league is all about. I used to be at Colby and I know they play against some good teams, so we expect a tough game.”
The Cougars, though, will not be a slouch either. This year’s team features plenty of high-energy play, and Jones expects that style to be on display tonight.
“I hope we have an offense that has our players unselfish with the guys sharing the ball,” he said. “I think it [the offense] will be exciting to watch because everybody gets to do what they are capable of doing. That part is fun. But, when you run an offense that is pre-determined, sometimes you will end up in a position that is bad. I think we have good pieces and eventually it will look pretty good and I think the fans will enjoy watching it.”
While the team has talent on the offensive side, Joyce also sees his team to be strong defensively as well.
“I think we will have good intensity and we will be excited to play,” he said. “But you never know. Sometimes you are over zealous and too excited, sometimes that leads to a little bit more gambling-type defense, which leads to easy baskets. We will have to respond.”
The Cougars, though, will field a young squad with just three players returning from a year ago. They include 6-foot-11 Deividas Busma of
Joyce said that the freshmen class has plenty of talent and has made picking playing combinations difficult.
“It’s been difficult trying to find who is the best guys that work together and play together, but the guys have been great. They care about each other and play together. They want each other to be successful and with it, whoever we put out there we will have a combination that plays well together and with that, I think they will have depth as well.”
The freshman class included 6-1 Bernie Agnew of Columbus, Ohio; 5-10 Greg Hinkle of Scottsbluff; 5-11 Jamie Eisinger and Drew Eisinger of Mill Creek, Wash.; 6-3 Terrell Eaddy of Bronx, N.Y.; 6-0 Daniel Smith of Baltimore, Md.; 6-3 Oscar Cartwright and 6-5 Ivan Johnson of Dallas, Texas; 6-1 Kelvin Franklin of Aurora, Colo.; 6-6 Lloyd Hickinson of Chandler, Ariz.; 6-2 Scott Bamforth of Albuquerque, N.M.; 6-5 Chris Hamblin of St. Paul, Minn.; 6-7 Devin West of Phoenix, Ariz.; 6-8 Terrell Price of Cedar Hill, Texas; and 6-9 Tearon Hill of Carrolltown, Texas.
After this weekend, the Cougars will hit the road for two straight weeks -- Nov. 8-10 at Colby, Kan., and then Nov. 16-17 at Air Force Prep -- before returning home for the Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 23-25.
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