Reigning MACCC Tourney champion EMCC Lions to host Shelton State in hoops season opener
East Mississippi Community College’s 2022-23 basketball season is slated to tip off Tuesday (Nov. 1) evening on the Scooba campus with doubleheader action against Shelton State Community College from Tuscaloosa. Twin-bill hoops action is set to begin with a 5:30 p.m. women’s game followed by a 7:30 p.m. men’s contest at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College's 2022-23 basketball season is slated to tip off Tuesday (Nov. 1) evening on the Scooba campus with doubleheader action against Shelton State Community College from Tuscaloosa. Twin-bill hoops action is set to begin with a 5:30 p.m. women's game followed by a 7:30 p.m. men's contest at EMCC's Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.
Tuesday's EMCC women's season opener will feature the head coaching debut of former Coahoma Community College assistant women's coach Isaiah Butler, who has succeeded retired coaching veteran and current EMCC Director of Athletics & Dean of Students/Scooba Campus Sharon Thompson on the sidelines.
The Lady Bucs of Shelton State begin the 2022-23 basketball season ranked second nationally in the NJCAA Division I women's basketball poll.
Guided by eighth-year head men's basketball coach Billy Begley, the EMCC Lions enter the new season as reigning MACCC Tournament champions after rising to as high as No. 7 in last year's NJCAA Division I rankings. Last year's conference tourney title was their second in the past four seasons.
Following Tuesday's season openers against Shelton State in Scooba, both EMCC basketball teams are scheduled to spend most of the remaining month of November playing away from home.
The EMCC men will play three games in as many days (Oakland, Lincoln Trail & Miami Dade) this weekend (Nov. 4-6) at the Griffin Sports Elite Classic in Erlanger, Kentucky, before taking on MACCC foes Northwest Mississippi (Nov. 14) and Meridian (Nov. 17) both on the road in non-conference matchups. The Lions will return home to play host to the Piney Woods School on Nov. 28.
EMCC's Lady Lions will stay at home to play host to MACCC opponent Coahoma on Nov. 10 in non-conference action, prior to finishing out the month on the road first at East Central (Nov. 17) and then at the Bulldog Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 21-22, against host Mississippi Gulf Coast and fellow conference foe Northeast Mississippi.
2022-23 EMCC MEN'S BASKETBALL SEASON PREVIEW
Eighth-year head men's basketball coach Billy Begley's EMCC Lions enter the new campaign as one of the MACCC's front-runners on the heels of capturing the program's second conference tournament championship in the past four years a season ago.
The EMCC men enter the 2022-23 campaign owning impressive four-year composite records of 67-30 (.691) overall and 38-13 (.745) in conference/division play dating back to the 2018-19 season,
Despite returning only three players from last season's 21-7 club, this year's preseason optimism centers around the return of third-year standout guard Blake Butler, who earned All-Region 23 honors for the 2022 MACCC Tournament champions. The Louisville, Kentucky product is a prime candidate for the MACCC's Player of the Year honor after averaging 14.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season.
Also returning from last year's conference tourney championship team and looking to provide some leadership and experience are fellow third-year guard Kevin Henry (Center Hill HS) and forward Jacob Reese (Starkville).
Expected to help fill the void left by the collective departures of 2021-22 NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American Jakorie Smith (Tarleton State signee) as well as veteran guards Danny Washington (Mississippi Valley State signee) and Traemond Pittman, are highly touted incoming Kentucky natives DJ Avery and Andrew Mason. Avery averaged nearly 10 points and six rebounds last season at South Plains College in Texas, while Mason was the 2021-22 5th Region Player of the Year in being selected to the Kentucky-Ohio All-Star Game.
Adding to the mix of newcomers this season will be eight freshmen from the Mississippi prep ranks, including a handful of in-state prospects who figure to contribute immediately within the Lions' primary rotation. Tremaine Dixon Jr. (Raymond) looks to run the point guard position, while Ashten Michael (Clinton) and Terrell Dixon (Brandon HS) will primarily operate on the perimeter. EMCC has also added forwards Christian Noel (Raymond HS) and Parker Henry (West Lauderdale HS) to provide needed interior stability.
Other new faces for the Lions this season will be Jorden Edwards (New Hope HS), La'Derrius Love (Gentry HS) and Cadre Hampton (Kemper County HS).
