South Plains Men

South Plains Men Tall Texans have an inside plan

By DAVE WOHLFARTH

When the Texans work the ball inside this season, opponents will have a sizable problem.

The Texans have some tall guys operating in the front court.

South Plains likely will have 6-10 Khalifa Sakho and 6-10 Malek Abdelgowad next to the basket. Need a backup? There’s 7-0 Antonio Batis.

The Texans have still more sizable depth in 6-7 Eric Coleman Jr. and 6-7 DJ Avery.

So what will be the Texans’ strength? “It should be our inside play. We’ll be pretty good down low,” SPC assistant coach Trevor Van Tassel said. “And we have some older guys who can play under pressure. They understand the game and will make the right decisions.”

Older guys is a bit of an overstatement when discussing a junior college team. The Texans have five sophomores and nine freshmen on their roster.

The only player officially back from last year is Batis, still a freshman because of the NJCAA decision to allow players an extra year of eligibility given last year’s COVID problems. But the 7-footer from the Dominican Republic didn’t play much last year, appearing in only seven games and pulling down 14 rebounds.

“He’s in the mix with the two other big guys,” Van Tassel said.

There is a player on the Levelland campus who saw plenty of action a year ago. Benjamin Ngondo Bayela started 19 games and averaged 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds. But the 6-6 sophomore guard from France suffered a torn ACL right at the end of last season. His status for this season is in doubt.

“He’s working out,” Van Tassel said of Bayela, who was honorable mention all-conference in his 2019-20 freshman season.

Consequently, there’s a lot of new blood on the South Plains squad. Not unusual for a junior college team. But that does present some challenges.

South Plains Texan Roster Name, Ht., Pos., Class, Hometown

Tytan Newton, 6-0, G, Fr., Indianapolis, Indiana Jaden Harris, 6-4, G, Fr., Atlanta, Georgia Savion Gallion, 6-4, G, Soph., Washington, D.C. Malik Zachery, 6-2, G, Soph., Syracuse, New York Kieves Turner, 6-1, G, Fr., Coatesville, Pennsylvania Jaylin Reed, 6-2, G, Soph., Staunton, Virginia Zion Richardson, 6-4, G, Soph., Plano, Texas Antonio Batis, 7-0, P, Fr., La Romana, Dominican Republic Marcus Burnett, 6-5, G, Fr., New York, New York Eric Coleman, Jr., 6-7, F, Soph., Buford, Georgia Andre Gray, 6-2, G, Fr., Minneapolis, Minnesota DJ Avery, 6-7, G, Fr., Louisville, Kentucky Khalifa Sakho, 6-10, F, Fr., Rouen, France Malek Abdelgowad, 6-10, F, Fr., Egypt

Coach: Steve Green Asst. Coaches: Hayden Sowers, Trevor Van Tassel, Gino Saucedo 2020-2021 record: 17-2, 12-1

Savion Gallion

Eric Coleman Jr. Malik Zachery

Khalifa Sakho Kieves Turner

Malek Abdelgowad

“With a brand new team, you’re never sure how they’ll handle adversity,” Van Tassel said. “Also, we need to figure out who we need to play.”

He indicated the following Texans may see a lot of action: • Savion Gallion, a 6-4 sophomore guard from Washington, D.C.; • Malik Zachery, a 6-2 sophomore guard from Syracuse, New York; • Kieves Turner, a 6-1 freshman guard from Coatesville, Pennsylvania; • The aforementioned Coleman, a 6-7 sophomore forward from Buford, Georgia; • Sakho, a 6-10 freshman forward from Rouen, France; • Abdelgowad, a 6-10 freshman from Egypt; • Tytan Newton, a 6-0 freshman guard from Indianapolis; • Avery, a 6-7 freshman forward from Louisville, Kentucky.

Guards Gallion, Zachery and Newton may provide the bulk of the scoring from the backcourt, but they’ll need to adjust their long-range shooting this season. The junior colleges will play with the 3-point line moved back about a foot, the same as the international line. NCAA Division I schools went to the longer 3-point line last year.

Last year was a very successful one for Coach Steve Green’s Texans. They went 18-3 overall and shared the Western Junior College Athletic Conference with a 12-1 league record. That was Green’s eighth conference championship team in his 21 years at South Plains.

South Plains won 17 straight before suffering some injuries late in the season. The top-ranked Texans lost the last game of the regular season at Odessa 74-68, then a WJCAC tournament semifinal contest against Howard 61-60.

The Texans received a first-round bye in the NJCAA national

(Continued from previous page) tournament, then whipped South Georgia State 91-80 to reach the Elite Eight.

They fell to Ranger 87-83 in overtime in the quarterfinals in Hutchinson, Kansas. South Plains owned some leads late in the game, but Ranger rallied to tie the game at 74 at the end of regulation. The Texans tied the game at 83 with 1:18 left in the overtime, but Ranger made some crucial free throws in the final minute.

Rivaldo Soares led SPC with 25 points in that game, much as he paced the Texans all season. He topped South Plains in scoring, averaging 15.2 points, and also grabbed 6,8 rebounds per game. He shot 45.5 percent from the field and averaged 2.5 assists.

Soares was named an NJCAA Division I All-American. He also earned the conference MVP award.

Soares was one of eight Texans on last year’s team who moved on to NCAA Division I teams for this season. The 6-6 guard signed to play at the University of Oregon.

The others (with last year’s statistics): • Myron Gardner (13.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg), UA-Little Rock; • Philmon Gebrewhit (11.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.9 apg), DePaul; • Jevonnie Scott (11.5 ppg, 5,6 rpg), Penn State; • Dalph Panopio (8.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg), CSU-Bakersfield; • Yuot Gai (7.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Abilene Christian; • Mareng Gatkuoth (5.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg), Montana State; • Valentine Catt, Lamar.

Gardner and Gebrewhit were WJCAC all-conference selections; Gai was honorable mention.

Three other Texans transferred to junior colleges: Chase Landers to Murray, Oklahoma, State College: Jimmy Sorunke to Arizona Western; and Samuel Taulapiu to Three Rivers. Missouri, Community College.

SOUTH PLAINS TEXAN SCHEDULE

Date Opponent Time

Nov. 7 Northern Oklahoma College @ Edmond, OK 1 p.m. Nov. 8 Murray State College @ Edmond, OK 3 p.m. Nov. 12 Panola College @ Collin County Community 12 p.m. College Nov. 13 Lamar State College - Port Arthur @ Collin 10 a.m. County Community College Nov. 19 Monroe College 6:30 p.m. Nov. 20 Dallas College – North Lake 1 p.m. Nov. 26 Collin County Community College @ Plano 7 p.m. Nov. 27 Hill College @ Collin County Community 3 p.m. College, Plano Dec. 4 New Mexico Military Institute 6:30 p.m. Dec. 28 Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout @ Mesa TBA Community College, Mesa AZ Dec. 31 Chandler-Gilbert Community College, 3 p.m. Chandler, AZ @ Chandler-Gilbert Community College 5 p.m. Jan. 6 Howard College 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8 Frank Phillips College @ Borger 3:45 p.m. Jan. 10 New Mexico Junior College 8:30 p.m. Jan. 13 @ Clarendon College 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 Western Texas College 8:30 p.m. Jan. 20 @ Odessa College 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 @ Midland College 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 @ New Mexico Military Institute 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3 Howard College @ Big Spring 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 Frank Phillips College 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 New Mexico Junior College @ Hobbs, NM 8:30 p.m. Feb. 14 Clarendon College 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17 Western Texas College @ Snyder 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 Odessa College 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 Midland College 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28-Mar. 5 Region 5 Tournament @ Lubbock TBA 84 College

Tytan Newton DJ Avery Antonio Batis

That’s quite an exodus.

Van Tassel reports that, with the exception of Bayela, the Texans have been injury-free this fall.

Van Tassel is in his first year as an assistant coach at South Plains. He spent the previous three seasons on the staff at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where he earned his master’s degree. Before that, Van Tassel was an assistant at Colorado Mesa University. He had played at Mesa.

Green is beginning his 22nd year at South Plains. His teams often have used a run-and-gun philosophy, and the Texans averaged 83.6 points per game last season. But they also held opponents to 65.2 per game, which was the top defense in the conference.

South Plains’ invitation to the national tournament last spring was the fourth straight year (and 11th overall) for Green’s Texans. He was named the WJCAC coach of the year.

Green’s teams have won three national championships—in 2008, 2012 and 2018. He was inducted into the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

At South Plains, his teams have won 530 and lost 140 for a .791 winning percentage. For his career, he owns a 684-183 collegiate coaching record, a .789 percentage.

The Miami, Oklahoma, native earned degrees from Oklahoma Christian College and Sul Ross State University. After a couple of assistant jobs, he began his head coaching career at Howard College (1989-91), then Midland College (1991-94). After five years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at San Diego State and another year as an assistant at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, he moved to South Plains in 2000.

The Texans’ schedule looks more normal this year after last year’s belated start and reduced number of games because of COVID concerns.

South Plains will open its slate Nov. 7-8 with games against Northern Oklahoma-Enid and Murray State College in Edmond, Oklahoma. After a two-game set at Collin Community College in McKinney, the home opener in the Texan Dome will be Nov. 19 vs. Monroe College.

Conference play begins Dec. 4 with a home date against New Mexico Military Institute. Over Christmas break, the Texans will travel to Mesa, Arizona, for the Fiesta Bowl Junior College Shootout. Then they’ll move to Chandler, Arizona, for a pair of games against Chandler-Gilbert Community College.

WJCAC action resumes in full force in January. South Plains has 27 regular season games scheduled.