Wolves Excited About Potential for Upcoming Season

WESSON - The 2023-24 season saw the Wolves finish with a 16-11 overall record and 8-6 in MACCC play. While the Wolves qualified for the Region 23 Tournament, the season came to an end with a first-round loss, 70-65, to Baton Rouge. With a new season on the horizon, head coach David Sanders says his group is still growing through the preseason and adjusting to new challenges as they go.

"Right now, we are a little up and down as a team. I think we have a really good team with a great group of freshmen along with some sophomores that we are expecting to step up and play in big minutes for us," stated Sanders. "I think the biggest thing for us will be getting Courterius Scott back from an injury. We don't know what we have without him on the court because he is such a huge part of what we do as a team. Some of our other guards have been getting valuable minutes and experience that will make us a better team down the road."

The Wolves roster features 15 players with six returning sophomores including Antonio Oatis (Hattiesburg), Jayden Jackson (Camden), Courterius Scott (Jackson), Corey Brown (Roxie), Dakotah Hillard (Hazlehurst), and Fred Gray, Jr., (Belzoni).

"This is a good group of guys and I think they are great students," added Sanders. "Basketball wise, this group didn't get to play a whole lot of minutes last season at times outside of Courterius, Jayden, and Dakotah which will give us some experience for this season. Even the guys that didn't get a lot of minutes last season know what I expect out of them for this season and the biggest responsibility that they have right now is helping infuse our culture and expectations onto the freshmen and I think they have been doing a good job with that."

The nine incoming freshmen for the Wolves are Brick Nkugwa (Kampala, Uganda), Prince Ojukwu (Etobicoke, Ontario), Demarion Terry (Edwards), Javian Watkins (Jackson), Deven Bates (Jackson), Chris Stephens, Jr., (Byram), Dawson Know (Brookhaven), Zach Thompson (Hattiesburg), and Keisean Shields (Atoka, OK).

"I think this whole group is really talented," stated Sanders. "Prince has already picked up a couple of Division I offers, and he is going to be a player that will push for starters minutes. Brick is going to be a big x-factor for us when we can get him rolling. He is struggling a little bit in the preseason, but he is a great athlete and really tough, so we have to find ways to get him on the floor."

"CJ (Chris Stephens, Jr.) has been coming on late here in the preseason while Kesean has been a little up and down for us throughout the season, but both of them had really good performances in our final scrimmage," said Sanders. "With freshmen it's all about managing those ups and downs and getting them to be steady throughout the game no matter what. These guys want to make every play and when they don't, we must be able to pick them up and keep them focused despite a mistake. I see a lot of these guys having a really great season on the court and they are good students, too."

"The biggest thing is that you never know what you have in a team until they go out on the court and play a game that matters," added Sanders. "Once we go out and take the court in November and get some film against an opponent then we will find out some things that we really need to work on this season."

Coach Sanders said one big factor that will lead the Wolves back to another conference championship season is leadership.

"Leadership is going to be the biggest thing for this team. Looking back at our championship season that is what sticks out to me is that we had a group of guys that really trusted each other and had ultimate leadership with those veteran players," stated Sanders. "I think Courterius Scott has the potential to be that kind of leader for this group, but he is a very quiet guy. If we can get him along with a couple of other veteran guys to step up and lead our team and hold the team accountable, then that will help us to get back on top and be successful."

Sanders also said that he believes this team can be successful in the postseason if they can do one simple thing.

"We have to match the other teams intensity," said Sanders. "I think that's one thing that I see that has separated the teams that win in the postseason from the others is coming out and wanting it more while having a group of guys focusing on that one game at a time mindset. That formula will always remain the same in postseason play, you have to be willing to go out there as a team and lay it all on the line for one game at a time and play with great intensity."

Sanders said that success for this season comes down to one thing for his team.

"I have always been in the mindset that every season is championship or bust, but one thing that I have learned early at the junior college level is that you have to look at each season through a different lens because of how much turnover there is year-to-year," stated Sanders. "I still want to go out and win as many games as possible and win championships, but my biggest thing is to make sure that our guys come here and earn scholarships to play beyond this level. I want to see our guys display a great product on the court and be competitive each and every game that we play."

The Wolves open the home portion of their schedule on Monday, November 11 hosting Baton Rouge Post Grad at 6 p.m., in Mullen Gym.