EMCC hoops standouts Jakorie Smith and Danny Washington set for next level

SCOOBA — Jakorie Smith and Danny Washington from East Mississippi Community College's MACCC men's basketball tournament championship team are moving on to the next level. Smith has signed with Tarleton State University in Texas, while Washington will attend Mississippi Valley State University. 

Smith and Washington were three-year members of head coach Billy Begley's EMCC teams that put together a composite overall record of 48-22 (.686) and conference mark of 28-11 (.718). Having both taken advantage of the NJCAA's COVID-19 ruling that granted student-athletes an extra year of collegiate eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tandem returned to the Scooba campus this past year to help lead the 21-7 Lions to their second conference tournament championship in four years and a berth in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament quarterfinals.  

Smith, a three-time All-Region 23 and All-MACCC First Team performer for the Lions, capped his productive East Mississippi career by earning honorable mention recognition on the 2021-22 NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball All-America Team. The Utica, Miss., native will now head to the state of Texas looking to add to his list of basketball accomplishments by playing for head coach Billy Gillispie at Stephenville-based Tarleton State. The Texans are members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). 

"I will be playing for a well-known and well-respected coach who knows how to win and at a school with a great fan base that wants to win," Smith said of the veteran basketball coach who has had previous collegiate head coaching stints at Ranger Junior College, Texas Tech, Kentucky, Texas A&M and UTEP.

Smith averaged a team-leading and career-high 17.7 points per game this past season and also led the EMCC Lions with an average of 7.9 rebounds per contest to rank sixth and 10^th, respectively, in the MACCC. In addition, he shot 46 percent overall from the field along with posting career-best shooting percentages from three-point range (37%) and the charity stripe (85%).

A product of Raymond High School, Smith scored 1,075 career points (15.8 ppg) during his three-year EMCC career along with totaling 548 rebounds (8.1 rpg), 97 assists, 96 steals and 39 blocked shots. His career shooting percentages were 47.4 percent overall from the field, 34.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc and 79.7 percent from the free throw line. Smith also recorded 21 career double-doubles during his 68-game EMCC playing career.

Smith averaged 15.2 points and a career-high 8.4 rebounds per contest as an EMCC freshman. He then averaged 13.3 points and 7.7 rebounds an outing during the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season to repeat as a first-team member of the MACCC's All-North Division squad.

Washington, a point guard from Greenville, is excited to be able to return close to home to play in front of his family and friends. He will also have the opportunity to impress a first-year head coach (George Ivory) with the Delta Devils and be a part of the competitive Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

"It's very rewarding to be moving up to play at Mississippi Valley State," Washington said. "Valley is very close to home, so I'm excited that my family and friends will be able to watch me finish out my college basketball career."

Like Smith, Washington also benefitted from his third season on the Scooba campus by posting career-best numbers in scoring (8.1 ppg), assists (2.9 apg) and rebounds (2.7 rpg) as a super sophomore. He also greatly improved his three-point shooting percentage to a career-best 35 percent this past year.

Having started 42 contests during his 70-game EMCC career, Washington totaled 494 career points (7.1 ppg), 171 assists (2.4 apg) and 153 rebounds (2.2 rpg). He also shot 73 percent for his career from the charity stripe.

As an EMCC freshman out of Greenville High School, Washington averaged 7.5 points, 2.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds while starting 13 games for the Lions in 2019-20. His numbers then dipped a bit during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season before bouncing back to post last year's career-best averages.