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Men's J.C. basketball: Chaps' new coach in familiar territory
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| Midland College Men's Basketball coach Ross Hodge poses for a portrait at the Reporter-Telegram Thursday afternoon. photo by Gary Rhodes 10/29/09 |
By Oscar LeRoy
Sports Writer
Ross Hodge has embraced everything that comes with taking over a successful men’s basketball program at Midland College.
There are the expectations and the No. 2 preseason ranking from the Sporting News and the No. 3 preseason ranking by the NJCAA. And then there are the four trips in six years to the NJCAA National Tournament, the 2007 national championship and the national runner-up finish last year to think about when talking about the Chaparrals.
All of those things didn’t faze the 29-year old head coach when he took the job to become the 12th coach in the program’s history back in May. Hodge replaces Grant McCasland, who left MC to take the head coaching job at Midwestern State University.
“That’s something you have to embrace,” he said. “I stepped into a similar situation at Paris (Junior College).”
Filling some big shoes is really nothing new for Hodge. He took over for Bill Foy three years ago at Paris J.C. when Foy left to take an assistant coach’s job at the University of North Texas. Foy had led Paris to a national championship in 2005 and then a conference championship the following season. The young fresh-faced assistant coach took over after that successful run and led the Dragons to an 83-17 record and a national tournament appearance during his three seasons there.
“I kind of lean on that experience to help me with this experience,” Hodge said.
With only redshirt freshman Jason Walker left over from last year’s sophomore-laden MC squad that made it to NJCAA national championship game, Hodge had to build his team from scratch. But since junior college programs have huge turnover almost every season, it wasn’t as much of a challenge as one would think.
Also, to help Hodge with the transition to Midland College, there are seven sophomores on this year’s team who transferred from either another junior college program or a four-year university. Two of those players -- 6-foot-6 guard Jonathon Simmons and 6-9 forward Caleb Dean -- came with Hodge from Paris.
“I like his style of coaching,” said Simmons, a third-team preseason all-American about following Hodge. “He’s not too demanding, but of course as a coach he wants everything to be right, and he wants things to be done the right way. It should be an easy transition.”
Dean also wouldn’t want to play for any other Juco coach.
“Me and coach Hodge have a real good relationship,” Dean said. “I trust him 100 percent and that’s why I came over here. I wanted to play for him, so it was an easy decision to come over here.”
Even for a player like 6-7 forward Darrell Williams, who played at national power Chipola (Fla.) College last year, coming to Midland to play for Hodge was a no brainer.
“The way he does his thing, I trust him,” said Williams, an honorable mention preseason NJCAA All-American. “It seems like he’ll lead me in the right path. At Chipola we had some pretty good players, but we have a chance to do something real special here.”
Hodge agrees that this team has tremendous potential but added that it will take time for his team to come together because of all the new faces.
“We have a lot of new guys and we’re just trying to get them to buy into playing together, making the extra pass, being good teammates and doing all the little things that separate the good teams from great teams,” Hodge said.
Added Dean, “Every time you come into a new system and bring in a whole bunch of new guys, there’s going to be a transition period. But we’re making progress.”
It seems like Hodge has just about everything in place to be successful at Midland College and is primed to live up to those mighty expectations. After all, living up to expectations is something the young coach should be used to by now.
Chaps at a Glance
Head coach: Ross Hodge, 1st year (87-13 overall in three seasons)
2008-09 record: 33-4 overall, 14-2 in Western Junior College Athletic Conference (1st)
Postseason record: 6-1, lost 67-60 to Salt Lake (Utah) Community College in NJCAA Division I National Championship game
Key players returning: None
Top newcomers: G Jonathon Simmons, F Darrell Williams, F Caleb Dean, G Ty Nurse, G Rodney Milum, G Guy Landry, F Jordan Walker, F Roscoe Davis, G Brockeith Pane
Coach’s quote: On being highly ranked in the preseason, “I think that is more of a credit to Midland College, the basketball program and the foundation that has been laid. I also think it’s more about what we can be, more so than what we really are right now.”
Notables: Hodge said having seven sophomores who have experience at the junior college or university level should be an advantage. In addition to both Simmons and Dean following Hodge from Paris Junior College, Pane played his freshman year at the University of Houston, Williams transferred from Chipola (Fla.) College -- a program that spent most of last season ranked No. 1, G Curtis Jackson transferred from Arkansas-Little Rock, G Tyshwan Edmonson transferred from St. John’s University and F Kenny Moore transferred from Johnson County (Kan.) C.C., which won the NJCAA Division II national championship ...Like most of the previous coaches at Midland College, Hodge will emphasize defense and rebounding. “We feel if we can do those two things, we’ll always have a chance,” Hodge said. ...Clarendon College will not be playing in the WJCAC this season and will be playing a Division II schedule in basketball only.
2009-10 Midland College men’s basketball roster
No. Name Ht. Wt. Pos. Class Hometown
21 Caleb Dean 6-9 230 F Soph. Novi, Mich.
30 Roscoe Davis 6-10 220 F Fr. Capital Heights, Md.
12 Tyshwan Edmonson 6-3 175 G Soph. Hopkinsville, Ky
2 Curtis Jackson 6-2 185 G Soph. Philadelphia
10 Guy Landry 6-5 205 G Fr. Paris, France
3 Rodney Milum 6-0 175 G Fr. Houston
15 Kenny Moore 6-6 220 F Soph. Philadelphia
4 Ty Nurse 6-0 175 G Fr. Vancouver, B.C.
11 Brockeith Pane 6-2 190 G Soph. Houston
23 Jonathon Simmons 6-6 190 G Soph. Houston
24 Jason Walker 6-4 175 G Fr.-Rs. Big Spring
33 Jordan Walker 6-6 175 F Fr. Chicago
25 Darrell Williams 6-7 230 F Soph. Chicago
Head coach: Ross Hodge
Assistant coach: Jamaal Greene
Assistant coach: Chris Mudge
2009-10 Midland College men’s basketball schedule
Date Opponent Time
Nov. 5 a-Yavapai College 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 6 a-North Lake College 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 7 a-Team Mexico 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 12 Lee College (in Snyder) 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 at Weatherford College 6 p.m.
Nov. 20 b-Grayson County Colege 7 p.m.
Nov. 21 b-Southwest Texas JC 3 p.m.
Nov.27 c-Navarro College TBA
Nov. 28 c-Lon Morris College TBA
Dec. 1 at Wayland Baptist JV 6 p.m.
Dec. 4 at Lubbock Christian JV 3 p.m.
Dec. 9 at Southwest Texas JC 6 p.m.
Dec. 19 Three Rivers (Las Vegas, Nev.) 11 a.m. (CST)
Dec. 20 Big 4 Championship (Las Vegas) TBA
Jan. 2 at Lone Star-Cy Fair 4 p.m.
Jan. 3 at Tomball College TBA
Jan. 11 *at Frank Phillips College 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 14 *South Plains College 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 18 *at New Mexico JC 7:45 p.m. (CST)
Jan. 21 *Howard College 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 25 *New Mexico Military 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 28 *at Western Texas College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 1 *Odessa College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 4 *Frank Phillips College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 8 *at South Plains College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 11 *New Mexico JC 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 15 *at Howard College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 18 *at New Mexico Military 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 22 *Western Texas College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 25 *at Odessa College 7:45 p.m.
March 4-6 Regional Tournament (Lubbock)
March 16-20 National Tournament (Hutchinson, Kan.)
a-Odessa College Classic
b-Midland College Classic
c-Angelina Thanksgiving Classic
*Denotes WJCAC opponent
2009-10 NJCAA Men’s Preseason Division I Basketball Poll
College 2008-09 record
1. Central Florida C.C. 21-11
2. Iowa Western C.C. 20-11
3. Midland College 33-4
4. Three Rivers (Mo.) C.C. 28-5
5. North Idaho College 27-4
6. Southwestern Illinois College 31-4
7. Tallahassee (Fla.) C.C. 15-13
8. Navarro College 26-11
9. Wallace State (Ala.) C.C. 28-5
10. South Plains College 27-4
11. Kankakee (Ill.) C.C. 25-7
12. Connors State (Okla.) College 28-9
13. Chipola (Fla.) College 34-2
14. Southeastern (Iowa) C.C. 27-8
15. North Platte (Neb.) C.C. 27-6
16. Salt Lake (Utah) C.C. 31-6
17. Arizona Western College 26-6
18. Harcum (Penn.) College 22-10
19. Holmes (Miss.) C.C. 19-9
20. Monroe (N.Y.) College 30-3
21. N. Dakota State Coll. of Science 31-4
22. Chattanooga State (Tenn) C.C. 27-5
23. Allegany (Md.) College 29-7
24. Lon Morris College 26-6
25. Coffeyville (Kan.) C.C. 24-8
26. Cochise (Ariz.) College 24-8
27. John A. Logan (Ill.) College 22-10
28. Highland (Ill.) C.C. 31-6
29. South Georgia Technical College 28-8
30. Cape Fear C.C. 20-14
There are the expectations and the No. 2 preseason ranking from the Sporting News and the No. 3 preseason ranking by the NJCAA. And then there are the four trips in six years to the NJCAA National Tournament, the 2007 national championship and the national runner-up finish last year to think about when talking about the Chaparrals.
All of those things didn’t faze the 29-year old head coach when he took the job to become the 12th coach in the program’s history back in May. Hodge replaces Grant McCasland, who left MC to take the head coaching job at Midwestern State University.
“That’s something you have to embrace,” he said. “I stepped into a similar situation at Paris (Junior College).”
Filling some big shoes is really nothing new for Hodge. He took over for Bill Foy three years ago at Paris J.C. when Foy left to take an assistant coach’s job at the University of North Texas. Foy had led Paris to a national championship in 2005 and then a conference championship the following season. The young fresh-faced assistant coach took over after that successful run and led the Dragons to an 83-17 record and a national tournament appearance during his three seasons there.
“I kind of lean on that experience to help me with this experience,” Hodge said.
With only redshirt freshman Jason Walker left over from last year’s sophomore-laden MC squad that made it to NJCAA national championship game, Hodge had to build his team from scratch. But since junior college programs have huge turnover almost every season, it wasn’t as much of a challenge as one would think.
Also, to help Hodge with the transition to Midland College, there are seven sophomores on this year’s team who transferred from either another junior college program or a four-year university. Two of those players -- 6-foot-6 guard Jonathon Simmons and 6-9 forward Caleb Dean -- came with Hodge from Paris.
“I like his style of coaching,” said Simmons, a third-team preseason all-American about following Hodge. “He’s not too demanding, but of course as a coach he wants everything to be right, and he wants things to be done the right way. It should be an easy transition.”
Dean also wouldn’t want to play for any other Juco coach.
“Me and coach Hodge have a real good relationship,” Dean said. “I trust him 100 percent and that’s why I came over here. I wanted to play for him, so it was an easy decision to come over here.”
Even for a player like 6-7 forward Darrell Williams, who played at national power Chipola (Fla.) College last year, coming to Midland to play for Hodge was a no brainer.
“The way he does his thing, I trust him,” said Williams, an honorable mention preseason NJCAA All-American. “It seems like he’ll lead me in the right path. At Chipola we had some pretty good players, but we have a chance to do something real special here.”
Hodge agrees that this team has tremendous potential but added that it will take time for his team to come together because of all the new faces.
“We have a lot of new guys and we’re just trying to get them to buy into playing together, making the extra pass, being good teammates and doing all the little things that separate the good teams from great teams,” Hodge said.
Added Dean, “Every time you come into a new system and bring in a whole bunch of new guys, there’s going to be a transition period. But we’re making progress.”
It seems like Hodge has just about everything in place to be successful at Midland College and is primed to live up to those mighty expectations. After all, living up to expectations is something the young coach should be used to by now.
Chaps at a Glance
Head coach: Ross Hodge, 1st year (87-13 overall in three seasons)
2008-09 record: 33-4 overall, 14-2 in Western Junior College Athletic Conference (1st)
Postseason record: 6-1, lost 67-60 to Salt Lake (Utah) Community College in NJCAA Division I National Championship game
Key players returning: None
Top newcomers: G Jonathon Simmons, F Darrell Williams, F Caleb Dean, G Ty Nurse, G Rodney Milum, G Guy Landry, F Jordan Walker, F Roscoe Davis, G Brockeith Pane
Coach’s quote: On being highly ranked in the preseason, “I think that is more of a credit to Midland College, the basketball program and the foundation that has been laid. I also think it’s more about what we can be, more so than what we really are right now.”
Notables: Hodge said having seven sophomores who have experience at the junior college or university level should be an advantage. In addition to both Simmons and Dean following Hodge from Paris Junior College, Pane played his freshman year at the University of Houston, Williams transferred from Chipola (Fla.) College -- a program that spent most of last season ranked No. 1, G Curtis Jackson transferred from Arkansas-Little Rock, G Tyshwan Edmonson transferred from St. John’s University and F Kenny Moore transferred from Johnson County (Kan.) C.C., which won the NJCAA Division II national championship ...Like most of the previous coaches at Midland College, Hodge will emphasize defense and rebounding. “We feel if we can do those two things, we’ll always have a chance,” Hodge said. ...Clarendon College will not be playing in the WJCAC this season and will be playing a Division II schedule in basketball only.
2009-10 Midland College men’s basketball roster
No. Name Ht. Wt. Pos. Class Hometown
21 Caleb Dean 6-9 230 F Soph. Novi, Mich.
30 Roscoe Davis 6-10 220 F Fr. Capital Heights, Md.
12 Tyshwan Edmonson 6-3 175 G Soph. Hopkinsville, Ky
2 Curtis Jackson 6-2 185 G Soph. Philadelphia
10 Guy Landry 6-5 205 G Fr. Paris, France
3 Rodney Milum 6-0 175 G Fr. Houston
15 Kenny Moore 6-6 220 F Soph. Philadelphia
4 Ty Nurse 6-0 175 G Fr. Vancouver, B.C.
11 Brockeith Pane 6-2 190 G Soph. Houston
23 Jonathon Simmons 6-6 190 G Soph. Houston
24 Jason Walker 6-4 175 G Fr.-Rs. Big Spring
33 Jordan Walker 6-6 175 F Fr. Chicago
25 Darrell Williams 6-7 230 F Soph. Chicago
Head coach: Ross Hodge
Assistant coach: Jamaal Greene
Assistant coach: Chris Mudge
2009-10 Midland College men’s basketball schedule
Date Opponent Time
Nov. 5 a-Yavapai College 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 6 a-North Lake College 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 7 a-Team Mexico 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 12 Lee College (in Snyder) 7 p.m.
Nov. 14 at Weatherford College 6 p.m.
Nov. 20 b-Grayson County Colege 7 p.m.
Nov. 21 b-Southwest Texas JC 3 p.m.
Nov.27 c-Navarro College TBA
Nov. 28 c-Lon Morris College TBA
Dec. 1 at Wayland Baptist JV 6 p.m.
Dec. 4 at Lubbock Christian JV 3 p.m.
Dec. 9 at Southwest Texas JC 6 p.m.
Dec. 19 Three Rivers (Las Vegas, Nev.) 11 a.m. (CST)
Dec. 20 Big 4 Championship (Las Vegas) TBA
Jan. 2 at Lone Star-Cy Fair 4 p.m.
Jan. 3 at Tomball College TBA
Jan. 11 *at Frank Phillips College 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 14 *South Plains College 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 18 *at New Mexico JC 7:45 p.m. (CST)
Jan. 21 *Howard College 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 25 *New Mexico Military 7:45 p.m.
Jan. 28 *at Western Texas College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 1 *Odessa College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 4 *Frank Phillips College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 8 *at South Plains College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 11 *New Mexico JC 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 15 *at Howard College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 18 *at New Mexico Military 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 22 *Western Texas College 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 25 *at Odessa College 7:45 p.m.
March 4-6 Regional Tournament (Lubbock)
March 16-20 National Tournament (Hutchinson, Kan.)
a-Odessa College Classic
b-Midland College Classic
c-Angelina Thanksgiving Classic
*Denotes WJCAC opponent
2009-10 NJCAA Men’s Preseason Division I Basketball Poll
College 2008-09 record
1. Central Florida C.C. 21-11
2. Iowa Western C.C. 20-11
3. Midland College 33-4
4. Three Rivers (Mo.) C.C. 28-5
5. North Idaho College 27-4
6. Southwestern Illinois College 31-4
7. Tallahassee (Fla.) C.C. 15-13
8. Navarro College 26-11
9. Wallace State (Ala.) C.C. 28-5
10. South Plains College 27-4
11. Kankakee (Ill.) C.C. 25-7
12. Connors State (Okla.) College 28-9
13. Chipola (Fla.) College 34-2
14. Southeastern (Iowa) C.C. 27-8
15. North Platte (Neb.) C.C. 27-6
16. Salt Lake (Utah) C.C. 31-6
17. Arizona Western College 26-6
18. Harcum (Penn.) College 22-10
19. Holmes (Miss.) C.C. 19-9
20. Monroe (N.Y.) College 30-3
21. N. Dakota State Coll. of Science 31-4
22. Chattanooga State (Tenn) C.C. 27-5
23. Allegany (Md.) College 29-7
24. Lon Morris College 26-6
25. Coffeyville (Kan.) C.C. 24-8
26. Cochise (Ariz.) College 24-8
27. John A. Logan (Ill.) College 22-10
28. Highland (Ill.) C.C. 31-6
29. South Georgia Technical College 28-8
30. Cape Fear C.C. 20-14
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| Women's J.C. basketball: Sophomores hope to lead Lady Chaps back to national tourney | College football: Batch provides stability Tech needs on offense |
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