Be-Ware of Coco

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EMCC’s White named NJCAA District 15 Coach of Year

On the eve of making the school’s first appearance in the NJCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, East Mississippi Community College coach Mark White has been named the 2009-10 NJCAA Division I/District 15 Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year for his team’s accomplishments this season. White received the honor at Monday night’s pre-tournament player appreciation banquet in Hutchinson, Kan.
In his third season with a 54-30 career record at the EMCC men’s basketball helm, White has guided the 2009-10 Lions to a 26-5 overall record heading into this week’s NJCAA Tournament. Having taken over a men’s basketball program with just six total wins in the two seasons combined prior to his arrival in Scooba in 2007, White led his first East Mississippi club to a respectable 11-14 mark in 2007-08. A year ago, the Lions improved to 17-11 overall and finished the regular season tied for second place in the MACJC’s North Division prior to advancing to the semifinals of both the state and regional tournaments in 2009.

— from school reports

By The Numbers

    A game-by-game look at CoCo Ware’s production in leading East Mississippi Community College to the NJCAA national tournament.

Opponent    Pts    Rebs    Assists    Steals
JCJC    19    5    1    6
ECCC    24    4    1    3
Pensacola    6    7    2    0
Faulkner St.    16    9    3    2
Hinds    6    5    4    1
MCC    25    4    1    5
ECCC    19    5    5    2
Marion Military    13    9    4    5
Bevill State    22    6    4    5
JCJC    7    8    1    2
Northwest    27    5    1    3
Marion Military    38    4    2    2
Coahoma    19    6    3    3
MCC    13    5    2    3
Itawamba    12    5    1    2
Bevill State    32    2    3    3
Delta    23    6    3    2
Holmes    21    9    0    4
Northeast    25    7    1    2
Northwest    14    8    0    1
Coahoma    30    15    3    1
Itawamba    25    4    2    3
Delta    17    6    2    2
Holmes    32    6    4    3
Northeast    10    2    7    3
Gulf Coast    10    6    1    0
JCJC    25    2    3    4
Pearl River    17    7    3    1
Northeast    32    7    0    7
Hinds    29    8    3    1
Itawamba    19    6    1    2
Averages    20.2    6.1    2.3    2.7

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March 16, 2010

Preseason All-American making history with EMCC

By Jamie Wachter / Sports Editor The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Tue Mar 16, 2010, 08:30 AM CDT

MERIDIAN — East Mississippi Community College coach Mark White didn’t have much to sell Coco Ware on heading to Scooba during the recruiting process.

    So, he pitched the promise of a dream.

    “He just told me to come down, make history and turn this program around,” Ware recalled.

    Now, thanks in large part to the wellbalanced game of Ware, the Lions have done just that. After winning their first MACJC North Division and initial national ranking, the No.12 Lions open their first NJCAA national tournament appearance against Brunswick (N.C.) at 2 p.m. today in Hutchinson, Kan.

    Those accomplishments wouldn’t have been possible without the 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, White said.

    “I could sit here the rest of the day and talk what he’s meant to our program,” White said. “You can’t put into words what he’s meant. You can’t or won’t be able to replace CoCo Ware.

    “I’ve coached for 21 years and just the other week I told friends and colleagues of mine that, in my career I’ve never had a kid anywhere that has more of an impact on a team winning games than Coco. He literally does everything.”

    That ability to net wins for EMCC comes not only from Ware’s ability to net buckets, although he is 19th in the country with 20.2 points per game. That ability helped Ware lead the Lions in scoring in 22 games, while shooting 45.4 percent. He is also second on the team with 71 assists and led the way in eight games.

    But Ware’s importance to EMCC’s 26-5 mark goes far beyond scoring. And that is fine with Ware, too.

    “I enjoy playing defense,” he said. “Anyone can score if you ask me.”

    That defensive prowess included 81 steals, most on the team (and high in 19 games) and 18th in the NJCAA. Ware also blocked 11 shots, fifth-best on the EMCC roster. He also is more than adept on the boards, pulling down 6.1 a game, second-highest among the Lions. He led the team in boards six times, highlighted by a 30-point, 15-rebound outing at Coahoma on Feb. 1.

    “Last week he scored 32 points and didn’t make a single 3,” White said. “He leads us in scoring, but then you look and he has six or eight rebounds, too. He guards the opponent’s best player, he takes hard falls and he still wants to play.

    “A friend, who has coached in this league for 19-20 years, watched us in the state tournament and told me after, ‘CoCo is phenomenal. I already knew that, but I watched him now as a fan, and everything he does and what it means for the team, he’s just phenomenal.”

    That impact, though, extends beyond the court. Ware has left his mark on Scooba and will be irreplaceable, White added.

    “He goes around campus and talks to teachers that he doesn’t even have for class,” he said. “We will never replace him on the court or off the court.

    “He will be one of the guys that people will always talk about that played in this league and the impact he has on his team winning the game.”

    After all, Ware came to make history.

Text Only

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Preseason All-American making history with EMCC

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