October 27, 2009

Cowley men picked second, women fourth in Jayhawk East

With both Cowley College basketball teams featuring several new players, the Tiger men were picked second in the Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division and the women fourth during the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Basketball Press Conference held Monday at Wichita’s Best Western Airport Inn.

The Tiger men, who have won back-to-back Jayhawk East titles, were picked only behind Coffeyville Community College, a team they shared the title with a season ago.

Neosho County was picked third, while new Tiger head coach Tommy DeSalme’s former team, Independence Community College, was picked fourth in the conference.

An example of how tough the Jayhawk East should be this year is that defending NJCAA Division II national champion, Johnson County Community College, was tabbed fifth in the conference.
DeSalme does not put much stock in preseason predictions.

“I think the preseason picks are done on name recognition, so you take them with a grain of salt,” DeSalme said. “I think the (Jayhawk) East will be the best it has been in the three years I have been in the conference. You have got to be ready to play every night.”

Cowley has just two players, Caprest Rhone and Lance Russell, returning from last season’s 29-5 squad. However, DeSalme and his assistant coaches have added some talented players to the roster, including Tyrus McGee, who averaged 36 points per game as a senior at Stringtown (OK) High School.

In the Jayhawk West, Seward County is the men’s preseason favorite ahead of former Tiger head coach Steve Eck and Hutchinson Community College. The Hutchinson Lady Blue Dragons, the Region VI representative at the national tournament during the 2008-09 season, is the favorite in the West.

The Lady Tigers, which went 24-8 overall and finished third in the Jayhawk East a year ago, were picked behind pre-season favorite Labette Community College, Independence and Coffeyville.

Despite returning only one player (Kaneesha Lee) that played significant minutes as a freshman, the Lady Tiger basketball is excited about the new players on its roster, including Ariana Silva from Franca, Brazil and Anna Sonka from Riga, Latvia.

Cowley head coach Todd Clark thinks it's hard to judge teams in the conference, especially his team, which has 11 freshmen on the roster.

“It is what it is, preseason predictions don’t really mean anything,” Clark said. “We have a lot of new faces, so nobody really knows what we have. There is a reason we play the games. I like our group and think we will be competitive.”

The Tiger basketball teams will open its season Monday, Nov. 2 at home. The Lady Tigers will host the Southwestern JV at 5 p.m. and the Cowley men will battle the Tabor College JV at 7 p.m.

Predicted order of finish in the Jayhawk East:
MEN
(1) Coffeyville; (2) Cowley; (3) Neosho County; (4) Independence; (5) Johnson County; (6) Allen County; (7) Kansas City; (8) Fort Scott; (9) Highland; (10) Labette.

WOMEN
(1) Labette; (2) Independence; (3) Coffeyville; (4) Cowley; (5) Johnson County); (6) Neosho County; (7) Kansas City; (8) Allen County; (9) Highland; (10) Fort Scott.

Predicted order of finish in the Jayhawk West:
MEN
(1) Seward County; (2) Hutchinson; (3) Garden City; (4) Barton County; (5) Butler; (6) Cloud County; (7) Pratt; (8) Dodge City; (9) Colby.

WOMEN
(1) Hutchinson; (2) Seward County; (3) Cloud County; (4) Butler; (5) Garden City; (6) Barton County; (7) Pratt; (8) Colby; (9) Dodge City.