New Look Wolves Excited About Upcoming Season

The 2022-2023 Wolves finished the season with an 18-6 overall record, 12-2 in conference play, and won their first conference championship since the 1999-2000 season thanks in large part to an 11-game winning streak from January 19-February 25. However, the Wolves season and winning streak came to an end with a loss in the Region 23 Tournament Quarterfinals. Despite an early exit in the Region 23 Tournament, the Wolves still had one of the most successful seasons in school history capturing the MACCC crown.

However, the 2023-2024 season features a completely revamped roster along with a new assistant coach in the mix while the one thing that remains the same is reigning MACCC Coach of the Year David Sanders is still at the helm leading the team. Sanders said he is ready for the new season and that the standard for the Wolves remains the same despite all the new changes.

"My expectations coming into the year have not changed for this season…we want to win a championship," said Sanders. "We want to be National Champions…that is the goal and that is what it is always going to be and from that goal we create others. Winning the conference again is the first step, then we want to win regionals. The main thing for that to happen is getting our players to buy in and get ready for the challenge ahead."

"We have a fresh new group of players, and it is definitely a learning curve with so many new and young players, but we are going to keep the same approach we've had the last two years," added Sanders.

The roster for the Wolves features 13 players including 11 freshmen, but Sanders said that fans have a lot to be excited about in this group.

"I think that everything starts with Devin Carter (Edwards), who is a transfer guard from Alcorn State. He can handle the ball, shoot it well, and is a very dynamic player who has a chance to be an All-Conference player for us," stated Sanders. "We also have Avaughn Johnson (Jackson) who is a Jackson State transfer. He plays inside out and we like what we have seen from him in practice and scrimmages so far."

"Emmanuel James (Nigeria) is the first international player for us at Co-Lin and he has a chance to be one of the best athletes in the conference. He can get up and down the court quickly, plays inside out, and I think our fans are going to love watching him play because he is going to remind them a lot of Jemario Hersey from an athleticism standpoint," added Sanders. "Ismail Rashid (Brandon) is a do-it-all guy for us who comes in with a lot of maturity after spending a year at a prep school. He is a guy that we are going to be able to use all over the court to make plays for us."

"Dakota Hillard (Hazlehurst) is a big guy and can shoot it with a nice post game and we are just trying to find ways to get him touches," stated Sanders. "We have a pretty good three-headed monster at the point position and all together we have a pretty good group. We just have to find ways to bring it all together and win games this season."

The roster also includes Jamarion Smith (Magnolia), Kaison Saunders (Olive Branch), Trevon Taylor and Courterius Scott (both from Jackson), Corey Brown (Roxie), Jayden Jackson (Camden), Antonio Oatis (Hattiesburg), and Fred Gray, Jr. (Belzoni).

Sanders said he welcomes the challenge of having a brand-new roster while also having to replace all the production from last season.

"Each year for me is always different and my philosophy is that as a coach you have to adjust your system to your players. My biggest thing is getting the guys here, seeing what they do well, and then figuring out how to puzzle all their skills together to win," stated Sanders. "This season we are going to change some things up on both sides of the court based on the abilities of our guys that we didn't do last season…understanding the game while knowing that being able to adjust and adapt on the fly and being flexible to do what is necessary to get a win is crucial to success."

Sanders said he is focusing on getting this team through the learning curve of adjusting to college ball while also keeping them focused on their goals and not worrying about the pressure from the success of last season.

"Last season we were not a great three-point or free throw shooting team at times, but we won because we played great in the paint, on defense, and did not turn the ball over a lot which was our formula for success," added Sanders. "The challenge this pre-season has been getting our guys to understand what you have to do in order to be successful because we have some guys who can shoot the ball well. We must get those guys to buy in to not falling in love with shooting and do what we have to do to win."

"Our practices so far have been all about getting our guys adjusted to the learning curve in the differences of the game at the college level and the challenges that are presented at this level," added Sanders. "The non-conference part of our schedule is tough by design for these guys to learn what they do and don't do well on the court. That is something that we can learn from while being challenged ahead of conference play, which is where we want to be playing our best basketball of the season."

"Our conference is going to be just as tough this season as it was last season. It is always competitive, and teams always do a great job of scouting out opponents and I am ready for the challenge that another year will bring," stated Sanders. "Playing in our league reminds me a lot of the SEC in that a road win feels like two home wins. It is important for us to understand that we have to win at home and then steal some games on the road to put ourselves in a good position to win the conference championship again."

The Wolves start the season against Baton Rouge (LA) in Mullen Gym on Friday, November 3 at 6:00 p.m. 

Season tickets are available for $125 for 14 home dates at https://bit.ly/3MwaDbV. This includes admission to the game and the chairback seat. Game day admission is $7 for adults and $5 for students and will be on sale at the door.