Hopes High as Flyers Begin New Basketball Season at Lenoir CC on Wednesday
The Sandhills Community College basketball team takes a first step toward making a fourth trip in a row to the national tournament when it opens the season at Lenoir Community College in Kinston at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
Six returnees and nine newcomers, make up a squad that is ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA Division III preseason poll. The Flyers finished 21-6 last season, competing in Division II. They took sixth place at the national tournament last April in Danville, IL.
Head Coach Mike Apple's squad defeated the Division II Lancers 119-70 in their only meeting last season, also in Kinston.
The Flyers' home opener is at 7 p.m. on Friday at The Hangar with Anne Arundel CC, providing the opposition.
Absent from the Flyer lineup on Wednesday will be Bryan Quiller, an All-Region 10 second team selection and last season's leading scorer (15.2 ppg) and second-leading rebounder. The 6-foot-5 forward is expected to miss the first two months after breaking a bone in his right hand during a scrimmage in Cummings, GA early last month.
Heavy Preseason Schedule Helps Integrate New Players
Along with Quiller, guards 6-3 Keegan Brayboy (8.6 ppg) and 6-0 Nasir Johnson (9.6 ppg), and forwards 6-5 Camron Zachary (5.2 ppg) and 6-9 Zac Sledge (1.5 ppg) all received national tournament experience last April.
Jordan Coleman, a 5-10 guard, who was a red-shirt last season, is the other returnee.
Among that group and the incoming freshmen, Apple will be looking for some gems to emerge like Sayuan Dent, Elijah Idlett, Savion Staton, Derreco Miller and Corry Addison to name just a few that contributed so much to the 2020 and 2021 title runs.
To prepare for this season, the Flyers played in total of nine scrimmages, including two at the Hangar and a combined total of seven at jamboree events held in Georgia and at Brunswick CC.
"Because we have such a small number of returning players we really felt like we were starting over again," the coach said last week. "Bryan Quiller's injury hurt us a little bit, but they're all doing a good job.
"This was the toughest preseason schedule I've ever put together. Blue Lights College was an exception, but everyone else was a Division I or Division II team and most of them were really solid programs."
The new members of the team include guards 6-0 Chris Hunter (Cox Mill), 5-10 Alon Hanani (Geon Hayarden, Israel), 6-1 Darryl McCaster (St. Andrews) , 6-3 Sam Stoltz (Pinecrest) and 6-4 Kendall Wooldridge (Cox Mill).
Also, forwards, 6-3 Joey McMullin Orange), 6-4 Isaiah Nelson (Cox Mill) and 6-4 K.J. Perry (Concord Academy).
Quiller and Brayboy started almost every game last season. The other returnees played key roles, mostly coming off the bench.
"It's definitely a lot different than last year," said Zachary, who scored a season-high 17 points in a game at Brunswick CC in March. "There's more pressure, but it's nothing that we can't handle.
"I like that the young guys play hard and want to win. There is one thing you can't teach and that's playing hard. Over time we're going to learn to play together."
Stoltz, a solid defender and outside shooter, played for a Pinecrest team that was 41-7 over the last two seasons. He is happy to be a part of another successful basketball program.
"Obviously the coaches expect a lot out of you so you have to bring all you have into the team," he said. "My job as a guard is to knock shots down, play defense, get rebounds and just fit in well with the team. We've got a way to go, but I think we're playing better."
Plenty of Time to Prepare for Conference Play
The Flyers will play 17 games before their first Region 10 conference games at Dabney S. Lancaster in Clifton Forge, VA on January 7-8. The conference schedule also includes three games each against Central Carolina CC and Oxford Emory (GA).
The Division III national championship will be held in Rockford, IL on March 19-22, 2022.
"We've got a tough schedule with a lot of Division I and II teams so we're going to hopefully know who we are by the time the conference season starts," Apple said. "I think we have a team capable of getting back to the national tournament."
Apple takes a record of 253-71 and two national titles into his 11th season as the head coach of the Flyers. Scott Bender has stepped down after four years as an assistant coach to attend to business interests.
Tramaine Pride and Daquain Towns, who were both members of the Flyers' 2012 national title team, return for their second seasons assisting their former coach. Philip Olbon is back for his fourth season.
"We will sorely miss Scott," Apple said, "but completely understand."
Pride thinks the pressure of playing a heavy preseason schedule against upper division teams will particularly help the team's freshmen in the long run.
"A lot of them have been able to figure out early where they are in the college game and where there place is on the team," he said. "We're talented, but young. There is a lot of potential for growth."
Seven players will be red-shirted this season, including Jesse Taylor, Talli Price, LeNijel Robinson, Nate Willis, Justice Assante, Jamal Williams and Jaquan Thurman.
C. Bergmann