MCC Basketball Ready For 2016-2017 Season

From School Reports

The 2016-2017 Meridian Community College basketball season opens this week with high hopes and a new face on the sideline for one of the teams on campus. The MCC Lady Eagles will open their regular season tonight with a game against Stillman College at the Graham Gymnasium, while both teams will play on Thursday night at East Mississippi Community College. The Lady Eagles will take to the floor this evening against Stillman at 5:30 p.m., while both teams will travel to EMCC for its doubleheader at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.

The Lady Eagles are hoping to bounce back after a tough 3-20 record from last season and fifth-year head coach Jocelyn McGilberry the right mix of players will be the ingredient for a successful 2016-2017 campaign. The Lady Eagles will return six sophomores to the floor this season and the team will be led by former Meridian High School star Kashari Gordon. The former Lady Wildcat led MCC in scoring last season by averaging 14 points per game and will look to provide those same type of numbers from the guard position. The other key returning starter from a season ago that should help with the inside game for the Lady Eagles will be Rashonae Rice. The Natchez, MS native averaged nine points a game last season for MCC and led the team with seven rebounds per contest. The other returning sophomores for the Lady Eagles will include: Trieshia Jackson (Kenner, LA), Halethe Jones (Laurel), Andriel Moss (Kenner, LA), and Jocelyn Peters (Petal).

The Lady Eagles will welcome six incoming freshman to the squad this season and those include: Qiayon Bailey (West Point), Jatiah Lathan (Gulfport), Mary Maxwell (Brandon), Shannon Tate (Starkville), Rokila Wallace (Columbus), and Tiana Campbell (Albany, GA).

The MCC men are also looking to bounce back after a disappointing 4-18 season and the Eagles will be under the direction of first-year head coach James Green. The new head coach for the Eagles is of course a very familiar one to college basketball enthusiasts across the Magnolia State after successful stops at Southern Mississippi and Mississippi Valley State. Green was the head coach at Southern Mississippi from 1996-2004 and helped guide the Golden Eagles to a Conference USA regular season title in 2001. Green later led the Mississippi Valley State program from 2005-2008 and helped led the program to a SWAC Tournament championship in 2008. Green earned “Coach of the Year” honors at both Southern Mississippi and Mississippi Valley State as a Division I coach. Green comes to MCC after serving as the head coach at Jacksonville State from 2008-2016.

The Eagles will need to fill a huge hole at the center position after the departure of Ken’Darrius Hamilton who averaged 17 points per game a season ago and nine rebound a contest. The one returning starter from a season ago that should provide a little pop in the lineup for the Eagles will be Devin Paicely-Smith. The former Wayne County star was second on the team last season with 11.8 points per game and shot nearly 50 percent from behind the three-point line.

The first home date on the schedule that both teams will be in action on campus at the Graham Gymnasium will be November 14 as MCC will play host to Alabama Southern at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.