The Western Nebraska Community College men’s basketball team has officially started practice for the upcoming season and on Thursday, Oct. 9 the team will host a Meet and Greet Night from 6 - 7:15 p.m. at Cougar Palace.
WNCC coach Brian Joyce said the evening will consist of the community being able to take pictures, get autographs and socialize with this year's men's basketball team from 6 - 6:30 p.m. and then the squad will run through a short practice from 6:30 -7:15 p.m. so everyone can get a glimpse of the upcoming season.
Joyce said this year has so much talent and athleticism that he is excited for the coming year.
“I think the fans will enjoy watching this group and hopefully see the progress of the program,” he said. “We have had a lot of people and businesses support our program and take ownership in what we are trying to accomplish. This ownership, combined with our hard work, will help us accomplish our lofty goal of bringing a championship back to bluffs.”
The junior college basketball teams could officially start practice on Oct. 1 and Joyce said the enthusiasm of the players was exciting to see.
“The energy and intensity was great,” Joyce said. “The first practice is always fun and interesting because you finally get to see all of the players you recruited in a more realistic setting.”
The Cougar men return just three players from last year’s team that went 16-15. Those returning include Lloyd Hickinson, Chris Hamblin, and Daniel Smith. Also returning for the Cougars, but red-shirted last year, is Scott Bamforth, 6-2 from Albuquerque, N.M.
The Cougars will also have the services of two more sophomores that are transfers. They are 6-4 Brandon Mitchell of Minneapolis, Minn., and 6-7 Demetrius Rouse of Detroit.
The rest of the team are freshmen on the team. They include five more players from Minnesota in Tarell Clark, 6-4 from Burnsville, Sedrick McBounds, 6-7 from Minneapolis, Virgil Baker, 6-2 from Minneapolis, Larry Brown, 6-6 from St. Paul, and John Bright, 6-2 from Minneapolis. The other come from a variety of states including Josh Helton, 5-9 from El Paso, Texas; Francisco Cruz, 6-4 from Denver; Saul Torres, 6-2 from Chihuahua, Mexico; Geoffrey Firmin, 6-2 from Brussels, Belgium, Brandon Givens, 6-6 from Ruffin, S.C., Ritchie Mundends, 6-7 from Brussels, Belgium, and Ali Djim, 6-8 from Hampton, Va.
Joyce said there will be plenty of competition for playing time and his job might be more difficult trying to get minutes for everyone.
“I like our talent level,” he said. “We have a group that is really skilled at all positions which should create matchup problems. Our depth is much better than last year so this should give us an advantage. We have a team that will be very competitive night in and night out.
“The most impressive thing about this group is how competitive they are with each other,” he said. “This is reflective of having the right guys returning to set a good example. In addition, this is enhanced by recruiting players from winning programs. Winning players bring winning habits to your program. Last year it was difficult because we did not have as much time to focus on the programs our players were recruited from. It makes it much easier as a coach if you are not having to try to coach effort and convince players about the sacrifice it takes to be a champion. When the effort is put forth then we can focus on the execution. We must have both of those to be the most successful.”
The Cougar men open the season at home Nov. 7-8 with the WNCC Classic
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