Who Says The “Off” Season Is Boring?
After the college basketball season is over, not much post worthy stuff happens. Usually!! I do try and keep a thorough list updated on a couple of things…for the most curious fans. However, there is a lot of stuff happening so far…and the action is just heating up.
Right now, many players and some coaches are on the move. To see who’s going where, look under the current season tab for 2022 “players moving on” and “coaching changes.”
Official practice starts October 1 with Jamborees and scrimmages being held throughout the month all over country. JHS will be attending as many of those events as time, distance, and funding will allow, to report on preseason front-runners.
The Juco Hoop Scoop preseason Top 25 will be released toward the end of October, just before the 2022-23 season kicks off November 1. This poll will include a pre-season preview of all teams listed.
Here is a look at some of the goings-on following one of the most exciting and competitive seasons in NJCAA history, at least through my eyes. And I’ve witnessed many!
-First year HC Greg Heiar of 2022 National Champion Northwest Florida State College (Niceville, FL) has moved on to a NCAA DI HC position at New Mexico State. Can the Raiders repeat as champs in 2022-23 under new, old HC Steve DeMeo?
After several years assisting at the NCAA DI level, DeMeo has returned to guide NWF. He was the HC the previous time Northwest Florida won the National Championship, in 2015. In full disclosure, the Raiders also were crowned champs in 1995 as Oklaloosa-Walton CC.
During the DeMeo years (2013-14 thru 2018-19), NW Florida won 170 of their 197 games. Besides claiming the 2015 National Championship, the Raiders made a final four appearance in 2017, and made three trips to the Quarterfinals (2016, 2018 and 2019).
Overall, NWF has made a dozen trips to play in the National Tournament, all but one of those occurring in new millennium. With a closer look, the Raiders have nine appearances since the 2009-10 season and five in a row starting in 2015.
Since 2010, the Raiders have catapulted themselves into being one of, if not THE most prolific programs in the nation. Under the “been there already done that” reputation of Coach DeMeo, there will be NO decline. Guaranteed!!
-Will Vincennes University find their way back to Hutchinson to start another consecutive appearance streak? After an uncharacteristic subpar season in 2022, VU saw their season end without a trip to Reno County Kansas and its historic Sports Arena. It was the first time the only Junior College team in Indiana failed to make the field at the National Tournament since 2013.
The Blazers had established an all time record 9 consecutive years of qualifying for play in the National Tournament. Todd Franklin led the Blazers to all nine of those trips to Hutch, and just completed his 12th season as Head Coach at VU. Something tells me Vincennes will be back in 2023 with vengeance. Wager heavily!!
One more thing, the Trailblazers have the most overall appearances at Hutch than any other program in tournament history (37). Thirty-six according to the NJCAA. The Blazers were selected to participate in the 2020 National Championship, but the event was canceled three days before it was scheduled to start due to the Covid panic-demic!!
The NJCAA doesn’t count 2020 as an “appearance” for those who qualified….I think it should….and I’m gonna! Although it happened a few times in the tournament’s early years, it’s been over 6 decades since a qualified team failed to show up at the Sports Arena. Had the 2020 Tournament ran as scheduled, there is no doubt the 24 teams earning berths would’ve all been there.
More food for thought…
After a final four berth in 2022, the team’s first ever appearance at the NJCAA DI big dance, will Triton College (IL) second year Head Coach John Clancy take his Trojans to another level? My opinion is….highly possible.
Clancy has started something big in River Grove, and is one of the “hot prospects” in the college basketball coaching ranks. The bigger question, however, at least for me, is how long will JC linger in Juco? I hope for many years to come. But I’m selfish towards Juco ball. That should be obvious by now.
Will Chipola College (FL) find its way back to the final four for the third straight year, in HC Donnie Tyndall’s third year at the controls? In 2021, Tyndall’s first year at Chipola, they lost in the semis to eventual champion Coffeyville CC (KS) 66-63. This past season, the Indians also bowed out in the semis, this time to runner-up Salt Lake CC 70-68.
So far, seven teams of the 24 who competed in the 2022 National Tournament, will begin 2023 with new Head Coaches. How will they fair?
Besides the already mentioned changing of the guard at Northwest Florida, Brad Witherspoon, jumps from his one year stint at Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa to lead Dodge City CC (KS).
Last year Witherspoon took over the reigns at Northern Oklahoma-Tonkawa and guided the Mavericks to a 21-8 record and 12-4 mark in the Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference winning the OCAC title.
Witherspoon comes to a program where the Conquistadors saw exceptional success in 2021-22. The Conqs went 30-5 winning the KJCCC title, Region VI/Plains District title and made a National Tournament appearance. It was the first time DCCC had trekked it to Hutch for the Tournament since 1974.
Coach Spoon is no newcomer to the KJCCC. Before going to NOC-Tonkawa, he spent four seasons as an assistant at Barton CC.
John A. Logan’s Kyle Smithpeters has left the Volunteers top position to join Dennis Gates staff at the University of Missouri.
Smithpeters joins the Tigers following a successful 10-year stint as the head coach at Logan (Carterville, IL). While in charge of the Region 24 powerhouse, he compiled an overall record of 241-70, including 20 or more wins in eight of the last nine seasons.
Having earned Great Rivers Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors eight times over his ten year career, Smithpeters 2022 team went 29-4, claiming a GRAC title and third straight Central District Championship. Each of those District crowns qualified the Vols as participants in the National Tournament at Hutch, the fourth time during Smithpeters tenure at Logan.
Head Coach Joe Eatmon from Shelton State CC (AL) has decided leave his coaching duties in order to take an administrative job at the school outside of basketball.
The Bucs have also established themselves as a program to be reckoned with. With 11 appearances in the National Tournament since 2005, there is no doubt Shelton State will make a quality hire to keep the tradition on track. I’m sure Coach Eatmon will have a say in that too.
Eatmon has been with the program since 2012 as an assistant, before becoming the HC in 2016. During that span, the Bucs qualified for Nationals seven times, and 5 of the seven came when Joe was at the helm.
Eatmon led the Bucs to a 30-5 (20-1) record this past season, and won a first round game in the NJCAA National Tournament. He ends his current stint at Shelton State with a 139-28 record.
After ten seasons, Snow College (Ephraim, UT) Head Coach Robert Nielson announced he was stepping down shortly following the Badgers 2022 run in the National Tournament. It was Snow’s first trip to Hutch since 1970.
Nielson will remain as the Athletic Director, but leaves after compiling a 188-116 record at Snow. His teams also won Scenic West Athletic Conference titles in 2017 and 2019.
Andrew May has been hired to replace Nielson. May comes to Snow College after three years at Dixie State University as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for former Snow College head coach Jon Judkins. Andrew also worked as an assistant to David Rose at BYU where he worked two different times, totaling 11 years. No stranger to the SWAC, May also served as an assistant coach at Salt Lake CC.
Another upward rising, energizing head coach making the leap into a NCAA D1 assistant position is Indian River State College’s Charlie Wilson. Located in Ft. Pierce, FL, Indian River competes in the Florida College Systems Athletic Association.
Coach Wilson became head coach prior to the start of the 2015 season, taking over a program that went winless in the Southern Conference before his arrival. Under Wilson’s leadership, the Pioneers have gone 147 and 61 with five consecutive 20-win seasons.
In seven years as the Pioneers Head Coach, Wilson has led the team to four Southern Conference Championships and has been named Southern Conference Coach of the Year four times.
In addition, the “River” is coming off back to back appearances at Hutch, including the program’s first ever in 2021. That season the team made it to the Elite 8. This past year they advanced to Sweet 16. Wilson has accepted a position as an assistant at NCAA D1 Queens University of Charlotte.
In a shocking announcement, at least to me, South Plains College (Levelland, TX) legendary HOF Head Coach Steve Green has accepted a position on Mark Adam’s bench at Texas Tech University. Not shocking that Green would want to join up with Adams at TTU. Rather that he has decided to leave after 22 years of leading the Texans, compiling a record of 552-152. With stops at Howard College and Midland College, Green has an overall Head coaching record of 706-195.
Green’s SPC teams won the WJCAC 10 times, the NJCAA Region V championship 10 times and made 12 appearances at the national tournament.
With Green in charge, South Plains won three National Titles (2008, 2012 and 2018), the only NJCAA DI Coach to hold that distinction.
In 2015, his team finished runner-up at Hutch, the same year he was inducted into the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Green and Adams (his new boss), have been friends and coaching associates since the early 1980s. They coached against each other in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference.
In Coach Green, the Juco ranks are losing a great ambassador and great coach. And once again, I’m torn with this development. I’ve got to get over my selfishness, though, especially when good things happen to great coaches.
All in all, each of these programs are losing high caliber coaches. This saddens me, but the new blood surfacing every year at this level leaves no doubt in my mind, that Juco Ball is still strong, strengthening, and in very good hands.
