2000

WEEK OF ~l D+-'-/2~6) dl..t...:...._____

Warriors hope fun times relate to winning season

By Marty Stamper The Meridian Star

more athletic. I hope that will make for a fun season." The Warrior s open their ;:,ea::.on at home Saturday a~ainst Bishop State of Mobile, Ala. The women's game IS set for 1 p.m. with the men to tip off around 3. Four of the 13 Warriors on the 2000-2001 roster return from last year. While the returnees may not be rich in quantity, Bowen says they are more than adequate in quality. ~we do have a good crew coming back," Bowen said. -All of our sophomores start– ed at one time or another last ,·ear." - Leading the returnees are 5-foot-11 point guard Joe Copeland of Emerson , Ark., See Men, Page 3C wmg a\eragcd 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds and had 25 steals 33 a fre.... hman. "Kent is a dual-sport athlete ba.;..ketball and baseball) and he 1-. our guy that does all the dirty work," Bowen said. "He's a real good defender. He held Gulf Coast's) Jaeson Maravich to 11 points when he was f!Uarding him." While considered a fresh– man in basketball, former Choctaw Central standout Jame::; Denson. a 6-foot-3 wing, i~ ex-pected to play a big role in EC's success. Other frel'hmen are 6-foot-7 P.o~t Brett Augusta of West Monroe. La.,: 6-foot-5 wing

.DECATUR - Pardon East Central Communitv College men's basketbail coach Jay. Bowen if he ha~ the Beach Boys' hit "Fun, Fun, Fun" played frequently over the public address sy::.– tem at the Warriors' games this season. Fun was something last year's team didn't experience a lot of during an 11-16 cam– paign. "After last year, our goal was to carry over some of our starters that had some expe– rience and we wanted to get more athletic and deeper as a team," Bowen said. "I think with our freshmen class, we can go 10 or 11 people deep right now and all of them are the show and get the ball to the right people to make sure they score. ' "Matth~w led the state in blocked shots last year and k a good offensive player and 1~ doing a good job of being a .-u}jd force in the middle." Also back is 6-foot-1 wing Chris Webb of Neshoba Cen– tral. "Chris is an excellent 3- point shooter," Bowen :-aid. Webb averaged 8.0 poinl'– and 3.2 rebounds and connect– ed on 46-of-123 3-point trie-. e year ago. The fourth sophomore is for– mer Leake Academy do-it-all Kent Chamblee. Th~ 5-foot-n

Men Continued from page 1C

Eric Scott of Rayville High School in Winnsboro, La.; 5- foot-11 point guard Markeith Brown of Jackson Provine; 6- foot-4 wing Winfred Craig of Louisville; 5-foot-9 point guard Leroy Murray of Scott Central; 6-foot-5 post Clint Hatch of Carthage; 6-foot-3 wing Mau– rice English of Union; and 6- foot-2 wing Chris Isidore of St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Brown played for former EC Warrior Luther Riley at Provine. Redshirting this year due to a shoulder injury is 6-foot-3 wing Tim Cleveland of Union. Marty Stamper is a sports corre– spondent for The Mendian Star. E-ma1l him at sports@mendianstar.com.

and 6-foot-10, 240-pound post player Matthew Roebuck of Newton County Academy. Copeland averaged 6.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists as a freshman. He also had 29 steals. Roebuck averaged 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds to go with a state-best 50 blocked shots. "Joe does a real good job of being our leader on and off the floor," Bowen said. "He's a good point guard and is being heavi– ly recruited by c;ome Division I schools. We look for him to lead

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