Lions begin pursuit of fourth straight national berth

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October 31, 2012

Lions begin pursuit of fourth straight national berth

Staff Writer The Meridian Star The Meridian Star Wed Oct 31, 2012, 10:55 PM CDT

SCOOBA — By Austin Bishop

Special to The Star

It's not easy to reach the NJCAA Men's National Basketball Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., once, much less three times in a row.

    But that's just what the Lions of East Mississippi Community College have done under head coach Mark White.

    The Lions begin their journey toward a fourth straight Region 23 championship and another spot in the national tourney when they play host to Georgia Highlands to tip off the 2012-13 season today at 7:30 p.m.

    "This team is different because the three returning guys we have don't have a lot of experience," White said. "We lost eight sophomores off of our team."

    Among those the Lions are looking forward to have an immediate impact is Jarekious Bradley, a 6-foot-5 220-pound transfer from Midland (Texas) Community College.

    "He is a heck of a player," White said. "He can really score and he has got a big body."

    White said he expects his Lions to be balanced this year, but in order for players to get on the court for his team, they are going to have to play on the defensive end.

    “We have got a lot of depth on this team and we have a lot of good freshmen," White said. "We are always about defense first. We emphasize that playing time is based on the way you play defense. Nothing is going to replace hard work."

    Among the freshmen EMCC is counting on is point guard Nick Giles from Kemper County.

    "He is a true point guard," White said. "He is one of those guys who is pass first, which goes really, really well with what we have because we have so many guys who can score."

    Two other transfers the Lions will be counting on are 6-foot-8 sophomore Trey Brown, who saw limited playing time at Tennessee-Chattanooga last year and 6-foot-10 redshirt freshman Keynan Pittman, who was at James Madison University last season.

    "I tell everybody our philosophy is that if you can get four or five good players each year you are always going to have a balance," White said. "Your sophomores are going to be the guys you are counting on. Last year we lost more (sophomores) than we have in the past."

    White said this year's team is going to have good size and depth, with the Lions possibly going 10-or-12 deep in certain situations.

    Success has not spoiled White in the least.

    "You can't rest on your laurels," he said. "Now, with the state being open (to out-of-district recruiting), we will be going from the top of the state to the bottom of find players."

    White said making the national tournament three consecutive years has been a good experience, but wants the Lions to go a little further.

    "We are going to have to take a step forward if we actually want to compete on a national level," he said. "We have been there three times now and know what it takes."

    The Lions were 23-6 last season to push White's five-year record at EMCC to 103-43. His team won 27 games in 2009-10 and 25 in 2010-11.

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