Meridian alum McCoy recalls how time in JUCO prepared him for Southern Miss
Published 10:16 pm Tuesday, December 31, 2019
- Southern Miss’s David McCoy dribbles the ball in a game against Southern Illinois Dec. 7, 2019 in Hattiesburg.
Meridian High School alumnus David McCoy needed some adversity in preparation for the Division I level, so he chose to sign with Jones College out of high school, reuniting with former Wildcats basketball coach Randy Bolden.
Trending
The plan worked, as McCoy transferred to Southern Miss in June after two years of junior college to continue his basketball career in Conference USA, fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing college basketball. The move also reunited him with former Meridian teammate Jay Malone, and McCoy said his journey to the Division I level has been satisfying both on and off the court.
“It means everything,” McCoy said. “Ever since I was a kid I had a dream of playing (college basketball). Not too many kids have that chance where I’m from, so it’s a big accomplishment in my life.”
Following high school, McCoy inked with Jones College and said his two years in Ellisville was a time of growth both as a player and a person. After starting 18 games as a freshman for the Bobcats and averaging 9.3 points and four rebounds per game, McCoy started 23 of 28 games his sophomore year at Jones and scored 6.4 points per game while shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the 3-point line.
“Jones prepared me for Southern Miss in a lot of ways,” McCoy said. “I was put through tough situations at Jones that helped me become a better man on and off the court, and prepared me for life and helped me mature.”
The Bobcats made it all the way to the MACJC state title game in McCoy’s sophomore season and advanced to the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament quarterfinals, finishing with a 21-7 record overall. McCoy played under Randy Bolden his sophomore and junior seasons at Meridian before Bolden left to coach at the junior college level, and he said reuniting with Bolden was a great opportunity for him.
“I knew what type of coach that Coach Bolden is, and knew he would help me overcome adversity and push me in the direction I needed to go,” McCoy explained. “He’s definitely someone I can trust and depend on with the coaching process. He’s like family.”
Trending
Familiarity also led McCoy to Hattiesburg, as he previously knew Golden Eagles head coach Jay Ladner and assistant coach Kyle Roane from their time as coaches at Southeastern Louisiana.
“They’re very familiar with winning, and I like to win, and they’re good people,” McCoy said. “They made it an easy process coming to Southern Miss with me not being too far from home and not too far from Jones.”
It also helps having a fellow Meridianite in Malone on the team.
“Jay being a teammate here is one of the greatest things ever,” McCoy said. “We won the championship in 2017, and for me and him to reunite was pretty cool. We go at each other hard in practice and help each other. With him being my teammate, we’re honest with each other, and we’re not going to lie to each other.”
McCoy has seen action in 11 games for the Golden Eagles so far this season, and he said there are several big adjustments he’s having to make against Division I competition.
“Everything is a lot faster, and teams are more disciplined, and the (attention to) detail is probably the biggest thing,” McCoy said. “You have to be an everyday guy and take no days off because when you do, someone else is going to be doing what you aren’t doing.”
Both Malone and McCoy talk about being a good example to younger basketball players back in Meridian in hopes they can one day follow in their footsteps and play college basketball.
“We were the first team since (the Portland Trail Blazers’) Rodney Hood to win state, so we know that a lot of kids are looking up to us, and we just want to be that perfect role model,” McCoy said.
For the rest of the season and into the offseason, McCoy said he would like to improve his decision-making on the court this year and also become a better leader.
“I want to make people around me better and make them more comfortable and bring us all closer,” McCoy said. “One of the best things I can do in the next year is to be a better leader and help us get more wins.”
The Golden Eagles play at 4 p.m. Saturday at Louisiana Tech.