MERIDIAN — In guiding East Mississippi Community College to its first NJCAA men’s national tournament appearance, coach Mark White turned to the one attribute he preaches most to his Lions: Hard work.
When White, a former Mississippi State assistant, took over the Lions program three years ago, there wasn’t much to build on as his first Lions squad featured 13 freshmen and a pair of transfers. The road from that new-look Lions squad to the program that opens national tournament play Tuesday against Brunswick (N.C.) Community College at 2 p.m. with the winner advancing to an 8 p.m. Wednesday game in the winner’s bracket while the loser plays at 10 a.m. Thursday in an elimination game, came about through some old-fashioned hard work on the recruiting trail.
That is an aspect White not only enjoys, but one his assistant Jeremy Shulman excels at.
“We knew it was a difficult job, but also knew if we got out and worked very hard we could recruit the players to be successful,” White said. “I’ve been very blessed to have such a tremendous assistant that has AAU experience and connections. In my opinion, he’s the best assistant in the country. He loves recruiting, he lives off it. I also take a lot of pride myself in getting out and talking to kids and parents and recruiting. We preach that we’re never going to let anyone outworks us. We tell that to our kids, and it starts with us on the recruiting trail.
“When we got here, we didn’t look at the past. We just knew that if we worked hard enough we could get players in here and we’ve been blessed there. There’s challenges in that Scooba is a small town and in an isolated area, but a good friend once told me, ‘If you’ve got a scholarship for them, a place to feed them, a place to house them and place for them to play, you can get players.’”
Once that hard work recruiting nets those players, White’s next batch of hard work begins — this time in the practice gym. In getting the Lions to improve as a team, White has stressed individual improvement. Those strides come from strenuous workouts.
“It’s all about building a program, not a team,” he said. “Our program is built on two things. No. 1 — work ethic. We’re not going to be outworked. No. 2 — Discipline, on and off the court. That means going to class, going to study hall and getting in and working in the weight room and the gym.
“My philosophy is that if each kid improves as an individual, the team has to improve because it’s made up of those players. So we really stress that through individual instruction and individual workouts.”
They seem to pay off, too. EMCC has gone from a fifth-place finish in the MACJC North Division his first year to 17-11 overall last year and a tie for second place in the North at 8-4 to the school’s first division title and national ranking this year.
That improvement has also led to the Lions marking off two of the possible three goals — win the MACJC North, win the state tournament (fell one win shy) and win the Region 23 crown to earn a national bid — they set before the season. The fourth and final goal: Winning a national championship. That road begins Tuesday, but the Lions will try and get there the same way they got to this point — hard work and competing.
“That’s what we’re competing for,” White said. “It’s going to be hard. There are 15 great teams besides us there. But that is our goal.”
And you can believe the Lions are working hard to reach it.
Sports
Related Photos
-
EMCC coach Mark White
-
EMCC freshman Marino Thompson
-
NJCAA Tournament Bracket
Discussion
Hard work paying off
No. 12 Lions making first trip to NJCAA national tourney
- Sports
-
-
Young Eagles expect some growing pains in 2012
The 2012 edition of the Meridian Community fast-pitch team will sport a multitude of new faces when it hits the field Friday for its season opener. The Eagles lost seven sophomores from last year as well as two returning freshmen.
-
Meridian splits with Southern Shreveport
The Meridian Community College Eagles won its second straight Miss-Lou Conference game by defeating Southern Shreveport by a final score of 68-66.
-
Back in the spotlight
SCOOBA – Sporting a current 12-game winning streak, the East Mississippi Community College men’s basketball team has re-entered the NJCAA Division I Top 20 tied for 19th nationally in this week’s poll. Head coach Mark White’s 15-2 EMCC Lions tipped off the current season ranked seventh nationally on the strength of back-to-back NJCAA National Tournament appearances in Hutchinson, Kan.
-
Clarkdale serves notice in rout of Enterprise
The Clarkdale girls’ basketball team served notice that it belonged among the top teams in MHSAA Class 2A with a 59-56 division win at defending 2A state champion Scott Central on January 31.
-
Northeast Lauderdale stuns, upsets Northeast Jones in opening round.
Shaquanta McDonald and Tarmecia Mack each scored 10 points as The Trojans beat the Tigers 42-28 in the opening round of the District 5-4A District Tournament held at West Lauderdale Tuesday. Brittany Williams added nine points for Northeast Lauderdale (5-21).
-
Season Ender
The defense was there, but the offense never came around and Meridian High saw its playoff hopes disappear as Oak Grove pulled away in the final minutes to knock off the host Wildcats 58-48 on Tuesday night in the Region 5-6A Tournament.
-
Kemper County wins thriller over Heidelberg
In a division with traditional powerhouses Choctaw Central, Southeast Lauderdale and Newton – the fourth-and-fifth-seeded Kemper County and Heidelberg girls both were hoping to just punch their ticket to the Class 3A state playoffs and hope to hit a hot streak.
Part one of that equation was successful for Kemper County Tuesday night, but it was far from easy. -
New-look Lions set to open 2012 softball season
Coming off the most successful season of fast-pitch softball competition in the program’s history, the East Mississippi Community College Lions are set to open their 2012 softball campaign by playing host to Marion Military Institute Tuesday afternoon on the Scooba campus. First pitch for the season-opening doubleheader is set for 1 p.m.
-
Yellowjackets survive Hornets, keep season alive
Rarely does a team commit 46 turnovers and not get run out of the gym, but the Union girls overcame their ballhandling woes to knock off Lake 41-38 in overtime of the MHSAA Division 6-2A Tournament Monday night.
-
Roundup — MCC baseball splits pair at tourney
The Meridian Community College Eagles salvaged a split of its final games in the 2012 T.J. Fleming Invitational at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College on Sunday. - More Sports Headlines
-
Young Eagles expect some growing pains in 2012
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
