SOUTH EGYPTIAN CONFERENCE

Projected Order of Finish 1. Meridian 2. Egyptian 3. Goreville 4. Century 5. Shawnee 6. Cobden 7. Joppa 8. Dongola

BY JACK BULLOCK The South Egyptian Conference will begin the 2009-10 much more evenly matched than it has in the recent past. Two years removed from a Vienna departure that evened the league at eight teams - plus the leagues’ top player from last season moving on to a prep school – the SEC appears different heading into a new season. Gone is Isiah “Hoopy” Jones to a Christian school in Houston, Texas in a belief that this will help get him ready for college basketball. If it works, ABV says “good for him.” However his departure should help bring his former team back to the pack in the conference standings. At least if they win it, the margin might not be as great as it has been recently. Quality basketball players return for several of the programs ready to challenge Meridian for league superiority. Egyptian and head coach Matt Mandrell have some good players with varsity experience back. Goreville also has some vets ready to another season while Century returns a senior point guard who might be the best in the conference. Shawnee has four starters back but are missing their “glue” from the last four seasons. Cobden, Joppa and Dongola have work to do and very little in the way of varsity experience back. Those Bobcats in Meridian have won 20-games or more in each of the last four seasons under head coach Jeff Mandrell. They should take home yet another SEC title but the ease in which they did it last season isn’t projected by ABV. 1. MERIDIAN Head coach Jeff Mandrell saw his club go 26-4 last season while winning the programs’ second regional title in a four year span. Each of those seasons ended with the Bobcats topping 20-wins. This season with the departure Randle Hite – a senior that averaged 16.5 points a game for the high scoring Cats and the transfer of Jones – Coach Mandrell will turn to a four players that either started or played in nearly all of the 30 varsity contests in 2008-09. Topping the scoring list of the ones coming back is Edreco Amos – a 6-foot senior guard – who ranked third on the club with a 10.5 scoring mark. Another starter/letter winner from a year ago is Devante McClung – a 6-foot-2 senior – who added 6.8 p.p.g. Toss in the names of Jerry Johnson and Brent Kennedy into the Bobcats’ lineup. Johnson is a 6-foot-2 sophomore who – as a freshman – added some valuable minutes to an already good team and while he was out there he tossed in 5.7 points a game. The 6-foot junior Kennedy put up 5.9 points per contest last season. Add 6-foot-2 senior Greg Nesby to the discussion for the starting five. Nesby added 5.4 points per outing as a junior. All of these kids can run the floor and score as shown by the team’s 76.2 team average from 2008-09. With Jones and Hite missing – look for scoring increases across the board for the Bobcats. The reserve unit should consist of 6-foot-1 senior Darian Engram, 5-foot-11 senior Zach Mitchell and 5-foot-10 Jeffrey Dickson. Tim Hackmey – a 5-foot-8 senior – junior varsity player should also help out. Mitchell chipped in 3.8 p.p.g. last season. Engram and Dickson threw in a handful of points while mopping up some games. Coach Mandrell mentioned Cameron Ballard – a 5-foot-9 sophomore – as someone who could step in and contribute. He also added the name Josh Jones – a 6-foot-3 freshman forward who is a pretty good shooter. Jones is the younger brother of Isiah. ”Goreville, Century and Egyptian should all be good in our conference this season,” said Coach Mandrell – who is 95-24 in the past four seasons and has 316 career victories. OUTLOOK – Although 20-wins might be a bit tougher to achieve this season you can look for a successful year for the Bobcats. They will be the favorites in this conference and will be a factor in all of their tournaments that they will play in. They look to be less talented overall than last season but they will be largely deeper. Look for scoring increases from McClung and Amos while the others will play their respective roles. Don’t be surprised if this team makes another post-season run and the rest of the clubs in this league will need big efforts each night to tame these ‘Cats. 2. EGYPTIAN Looking at teams that are very experienced – these Pharaohs have been around the block and back again in the past four seasons. Coach Matt Mandrell has three players returning that have been "sweating up" the Egyptian gym for the past three seasons. Year number four could be one of the best in the school’s history. The Pharaohs were an 18-9 club last season and finished 5-2 in the conference. This club did send away some graduates – Brady Buckley (13.8 p.p.g.) Jacob Klein (4.4 p.p.g.) and Charlie Holman (8.6 p.p.g.) – who must be replaced. But the ones back will look to add a few additional wins – perhaps equaling the 2001-02 teams’ 24-6 record and regional championship. Back for the Pharaohs is Matt Petermichel – a 6-foot-3 senior forward - who averaged 10.6 points per contest as a junior. He was also tops on the crew with 8.1 rebounds a game and was ABV 1A Special Mention. Two 6-foot-1 senior guards have been in this school so long they might have more tenure than the coach. Lamont Toots and Rayshaun Woodson seem like that have been on that team forever. In this case it has been four years (counting 2009-10) that these two have wore varsity gear. Toots popped home 7.4 points a game while grabbing 3.8 rebounds while Woodson played the point on offense and dished out 4.9 assists while adding points at a 6.8 clip. All three of these seniors are looking at 20-wins and a sweet spot in the post-season. However this trio will need some help and Coach Mandrell believes he has some other kids ready - despite a lack of experience look for six players coming back to help out as either starters or reserves. Marcus Marable is a 6-foot sophomore who missed part of last season but should be ready to help out in 2009-10. Six-foot-three senior Daniel Massie played in the second half of the season for Coach Mandrell and saw some important minutes off the bench. Called the best shooter on the team by this coach – Shelton Pender is a 6-foot senior guard who helped out as a reserve as a junior. Perhaps he will help fill in some minutes again this season at one of the guard spots. Also add the players Darmez Nelson – a 6-foot sophomore – 5-foot-7 junior guard Jhermarien Terry and 6-foot-2 senior center Jonathan Delmore to the equation. “We hope to improve upon last year’s finish and hopefully with our experience we can match or surpass last season’s record,” said Coach Mandrell who is 45-61 in his four seasons at Egyptian. OUTLOOK – Look for the Pharaohs to be competitive early with a tough schedule in which they will play eight games in the first two weeks of the season with back-to-back tournaments at Christopher and Trico. The three returning veterans should be aiming high this season – with perhaps some regional title aspirations. The key thing about veteran teams is that there can be no excuses. If the youngsters can keep up with the vets – then some hardware could end up at the high school in Tamms this year. Maybe even a trophy with the number “1” on it? 3. GOREVILLE The Blackcats didn’t fair too well last season as they fell to 12-18 overall and just 2-5 in the SEC. That isn’t an acceptable result for this coach or program that prides itself on working hard on both ends of the floor and flying fast in between. The Blackcats like to “get after it” defensively and they will need to do a much better job of it this season to push Meridian for the conference crown. Head coach Todd Tripp has a few vets back from last season’s regional runner up. Brandon Potocki is a 6-foot-3 senior forward who averaged 10.4 points a game for Goreville last winter. Teammate and classmate Martin Powell is another double-digit scorer who tossed in 10.8 p.p.g. Having two scorers back is a big boon for the 'Cats who are looking to improve in the conference and overall. Potocki should surpass 1,000-points sometime this season. Five-foot-ten senior Tyler Shadowens averaged 6.3 points and was second on the team to Potocki in assists at nearly two a game. Those three seniors will be pretty good leaders for the rest of the young group at Goreville. Kaleb Kinder – a 6-foot-3 junior forward – played in 26 of the varsity games last winter and averaged 4.1 points. Two other juniors – 6-foot-2 forward Alex Stout and 5-foot-10 Lee Sopczak – will also be a part of the Tripp plan in 2009-10. Sopczak added 5.2 points a game while Stout got in just 17 games and tossed in a few markers. Coach Tripp also mentioned 5-foot-9 senior guard Dylan Lyell and 5-foot-11 Nathan Webb as players of interest to the programs potential in 2009-10. “I really like this group’s work ethic,” said Coach Tripp who is 95-48 in six seasons at Goreville. “They had a productive summer and have good attitudes. We feel like we will be in every game we play this year.” OUTLOOK – If you are looking for a team that will likely overachieve in the Deep South then pick the Blackcats. They have some talent and have the potential to get even better before the season is over with. Both Potocki and Powell are tough to stop on the offensive end and the Goreville reputation has been built on tough defense. If the guard play is very good this season – look for this team to be in the hunt for the South Egyptian regular season and tournament titles. 4. CENTURY Head coach Tyson Bormann has one of the best players in the SEC back for the Centurions and the offensive attack should center around this three-year varsity architect. Six-foot-two Chris Baker averaged 10.3 p.p.g. per contest as a junior last winter while averaging 6.8 rebounds. The rebounding number is very good for a guard who isn’t afraid to mix it up in the paint. He was a second-team all-SEC pick and ABV All-South Special Mention last season in leading his team to a 13-16 mark which counted a pretty tough non-conference schedule. The Centurions tied Egyptian and Cobden for second place in the league at 5-2 and should challenge for the SEC championship in 2009-10. At 9.8 p.p.g. 6-foot-1 senior guard Jacob Wyatt is another offensive threat for Century. JaRed Clemons – a 6-foot senior – tossed in 6.9 points a game and was a “deadeye” from the foul line in topping the Centurions by hitting 78 percent from the stripe. Sophomore Josh Wright – a 6-foot-1 guard/forward – added 6.4 points a game while canning over a third of his 3-point attempts last season as a freshman. Coach Bormann (30-23 in two seasons at Century) mentioned 5-foot-11 senior Trevor Pullett along with 6-foot-3 senior Antwaon Salley and 6-foot-2 sophomore Anthony Kimmins as suitors for PT. Josh Roddy – a 5-foot-10 senior – should also play the part of a varsity regular. ”The key word to describe this team is “Potential,” said Coach Bormann – a 1994 Massac County grad. “I have four returning starters back and Chris Baker has the ability to be one of the top players in Southern Illinois.” OUTLOOK – The Centurions could finish anywhere in the top four here. The bench will be important for this coach, as most of the other teams in this league - including the three above them in the projections - appear to have more depth. Still this will be an athletic group that will have to defend much better this season if they are going to travel up the ladder. 5. SHAWNEE The Redskins had a nice late run last season and played in one of the more memorable regional games in 1A - dropping a double-overtime 65-63 decision to Cairo in the semifinals at Meridian. The program has a new leader in Brett Pinion who was an assistant to Cory Barker last season and now holds the reigns. Shawnee lost a good kid and player in senior Clay Murphy – who scored over 1,000-points last season and is now gone. Two other seniors have departed – 6-foot senior guard Cody McAlister and 5-foot-8 senior guard Zach Baltzell. However this team could surpass its 13-16 record from last winter if they can find people who can score. Look for 6-foot-2 senior Tyler Davis to pick up some of the scoring load this season. Coach Pinnon will call upon several other seniors this season for this squad that looks ready to acknowledge a change in leadership. Six-foot-two senior forward Tyler Spurlock made the Pinnon list sent in, as did 6-foot-1 senior center/forward Kyle Stevens. The others include 6-foot-2 senior guard/forward Kyle Griggs, 5-foot-9 senior guard Tyler Brant, 6-foot senior guard Tyler Glidewell and 5-foot-8 senior guard Anthony Crane. That makes six seniors if you are scoring at home with four Tyler’s and two Kyle’s that could make things a bit confusing in practice. ABV is sure there is a name system in place for shouting out instructions. Add another Tyler although this one is known as “Ty.” Ty McMahan is a 5-foot-8 junior guard. Another from the junior class is Aaron Lambdin – a 5-foot-11 guard/forward. Six-foot sophomore Andrew Livesay and 6-foot freshman Adam Pennington should be in there somewhere. Davis, Griggs, Spurlock and Glidewell started last season for the Redskins. Shawnee will battle some good ones early in the season that hopefully will get them ready for an SEC title run according to Coach Pinnon. ”We will play Red Bud and Trico at the Trico Tournament, both of whom have high expectations for the coming year,” said Coach Pinnon – who will rack up a lot of miles in southern Illinois as he teaches at Pope County and coaches at Wolf Lake. “Goreville should be much improved and Egyptian should be in the top tier of conference opponents. Meridian is the team to beat in the SEC but I expect our team to battle with those three for the title.” OUTLOOK – This coach sounds confident in the kids he will suit up in 2009-10. This coach should be. There isn’t a real superstar player in this conference like there have been in recent seasons (Ford, Winans, Tabb, Johnson, Jones, Thompson, etc.) so this program and coaching staff should feel very optimistic about their overall chances. ABV projects a winning record if they can handle the non-conference games that should be won. Whether or not they can win important games on the road @ Egyptian and @ Century will determine if their quest for SEC honors is realistic. 6. COBDEN The Appleknockers knocked off some good ones last season as the leaped past some teams unexpectedly to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the league at 5-2 while barely missing the .500 mark at 12-13 overall. Head coach Jeff Shillinger (22-53 overall at the school) must retool the club without four seniors from last season’s team – one was the leading scorer. Ryan Brumleve was the only double-digit point-man for Cobden in 2008-09 with a 13.7 points a game average. Classmates Lonnie Clark (7.1 p.p.g.), Cody Gulledge (5.9 p.p.g.) and Scott Nance (4.1 p.p.g.) were a huge part of winning some unanticipated contests last winter. This coach will turn to two returning starters to get the ball rolling this season with their annual trip to the Christopher Thanksgiving Tournament. Six-foot-three senior Steve Draper was the third leading point producer on the team last year as a junior. He averaged 8.1 points a night while snaring 4.8 rebounds per contest. This forward will be influential to the young players one of the team leaders. The other returning starter is a 6-foot senior Alex Sweitzer finished second in scoring (9.1 p.p.g.) and he and Draper will be seen as the ones to stop by SEC opposition. Coach Shillinger will look for contributions from three other returning players that got minutes last season. Six-foot-one junior guard Robby Lehr (5.6 p.p.g) will join 6-foot-4 forward Bo Gearhart 3.6 points, 4.2 rebounds per outing) and 5-foot-10 senior guard Alan Brumleve in the first five. Jeff Wright is a 6-foot-2 senior forward who hasn’t ever played organized basketball but is willng to give it a try this season may help out. OUTLOOK – Last season this coach got the most out what he had and picked up some quality wins. This season doesn’t look nearly as promising as last season but - then again – not much was expected last season, either. The three starters back will need to “step it up” considerably if this group is going to at least flirt with .500 on the season. 7. JOPPA Head coach Don Canada must rebuild the Rangers’ program without a single returning starter from last season’s 5-24 season which ended with a 1-6 league mark. But in some ways having a new group could prove to be profitable in a basketball way. Six seniors left - Andrew Leonard (top scorer) and Ethan Wilke (top rebounder) - via the “ole cap and gown” parade. This coach will need four returning lettermen to step into more prominent roles in 2009-10. Looking pretty small with the first four – Joppa looks to be a guard oriented club with three seniors all in the 5-foot-10 range. Andy Lewis, Cody Shelby and Brian Miller will get opening night assignments, as the Rangers will head to a very competitive Crab Orchard Thanksgiving Tourney in the first week. One sophomore – a 6-foot Travis Beck – is the other letter-winner back from the Rangers’ that lost to Crab Orchard at the Goreville 1A Regional. Six players – according to the coach – will all have a shot at the fifth starting assignment. Six-foot-three senior Matt Lewis will join five juniors in the pursuit. Six-foot Jacob Wolf, 5-foot-10 Tucker Harris and 5-foot-10 Carson Godfrey will be part of the competition as well as 6-foot-4 Tennessee transfer Dakota Parker. All should get an even start at gaining playing time for Joppa. “Our team will be built on speed this year more than in the past,” said Coach Canada who is 15-39 in two seasons at Joppa. “Travis Beck will be the point guard running the show, he saw significant paying time in the second half of last year on the varsity. Seniors Andy Lewis and Brian Miller will be counted on for a lot of the scoring, along with help from Cody Shelby and Matt Lewis, this years team will be deeper then in the past with anyone of 10 players able to challenge for a starting position.” OUTLOOK – It has been a while since the Rangers had much to brag about but this could be a team that might push for a move up from the cellar. They will need to shore up some defensive problems that have plagued the program recently and turnovers are always a problem with teams that lose 20-games. If they are going to keep from losing another 20-plus this season – they must be able to hold onto the ball. 8. DONGOLA Losing ABV Special Mention 1A player Allen Sadler and three other seniors’ Chayse Swink, Aaron Allen and Cody Palmer is just one of the problems new Dongola mentor Russ Marsh faces when the team starts practice in November. The Demons were 7-19 last season (1-6 in the SEC) after losing to Cairo in the first round of the Meridian 1A Regional. Coach Marsh is a native Chicagoan who inherits a group short on size and experience. Marsh listed six kids right off the bat that should fill the five starting spots. One senior is back – 5-foot-8 guard Chris Cohin – who will be joined in the backcourt by 5-foot-10 sophomore Tyler Thompson. Starting at one forward will be 6-foot-1 junior Darin Gibson – who got to play quite a bit last winter as a sophomore. Two other juniors – 6-foot Tanner Latham and 5-foot-11 Dalton Yunker are the guard/forward variety as is 6-foot-1 sophomore Austin Hinkle. Coach Marsh also tossed in the names of underclassmen Tyler Eddleman and Jordan Eads. Eads is a 5-foot-10 sophomore while Eddleman is a 6-foot-3 freshman. Both could end up catapulting past those ahead of them in class rank into prime time. OUTLOOK – Coach Marsh will find the going tough early on at Dongola but he sounds like the kind that won’t let the kids quit on themselves. No miracles are expected here. The Demons will likely find the record at the end of the season with many more loses than wins – despite playing hard.