Men’s basketball looks for strong 2007 season

Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team lost some key starters after last season, but also gained some valuable assets in newcomers.A&M-C has three starters returning, after losing Lamar Searight and Bobby Joshua. The starters returning include Kevin Widemond, Champ Sylvester, and Leonard Bishop. Also returning for A&M-C are Lance Jackson and Cedric Griffin. New players for A&M-C include Scooby Johnson, Brent Stanton Rashad Brown, Derrick Darkis, Kaleb Henderson, Dallas Hunter, Jacobi Jackson and Chris Okonofua. Kevin Widemond will likely be one of the key assets this season for A&M-C, as he led the team in six different categories last season. He averaged 14.1 points per game, with 395 points total, as well as leading the team in field goals made and attempted, with 137 field goals made, and 314 field goals attempted. In addition, he led the team in 3-point field goals, by making 84. Widemond started 24 games, as well as playing a total of 838 minutes, and averaging nearly 30 minutes per contest. Champ Sylvester led the team last season in free throw percentage, by shooting 86.1 percent, while also grabbing 127 rebounds, to lead the team in that category as well. Leonard Bishop played great defense last season, and will likely be the same case during the upcoming season. Bishop led the team with 67 assists, 12 blocks and 28 steals. As well as being a defensive presence, Bishop also shot 41 percent from beyond the arc. Lance Jackson is one of the returnees for A&M-C, and led the team last season in free throws made, with 45 points from the charity stripe. He also averaged 19.6 minutes per game, while shooting 72.6 percent from the charity stripe. Cedric Griffin grabbed 26 rebounds and had 11 assists for A&M-C, while averaging 7.2 minutes per contest. “For the most part, we have the core of last year’s team back, and having Scooby should be a good fit to the team, and to the starting lineup,” men’s basketball head coach Sam Walker said. The five returning players for A&M-C account for 47 percent of the scoring from last season, in addition to 82.3 percent of the 3-point field goals made, and 42.4 percent of the blocked shots.A&M-C finished third overall in the Lone Star Conference North Division, on their way to a 14-14 overall record and 7-5 in LSC play. As far as the newcomers, A&M-C has a talented group with the potential to be good throughout the season. “Each of the new players we have this year all bring something different to the team,” Walker said.Scooby Johnson played at A&M-Corpus Christi last season, and has been one of the top players for A&M-C in the first four games this season, by averaging 21.5 points per game, and 7.3 rebounds per game. “Scooby played at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and should be an immediate impact for us here.”Brent Stanton played at Duncanville, where he was the starting point guard for the eventual 39-0 state championship team, as well as a McDonald’s All-American nominee. Rashad Brown came to A&M-C after playing at Southwest Christian College. While at SWCC, Brown was named most valuable player in the conference, was a two-time first team all-conference selection, while leading the conference in rebounds (11.0 rebounds per game) and was fourth in the conference in scoring, by averaging 14.0 points per game. Kaleb Henderson, who attended nearby Greenville High School, was a two-year starter at GHS. In addition, he was a two-time all-district and team MVP selection. His senior season, he finished fourth in the Dallas metroplex in scoring, by averaging 23 points per game. Dallas Hunter played at Plano East High School, where he holds the record as the all-time scoring leader. Jacobi Jackson is a transfer from Howard Junior College, and played at nearby Terrell High School. While at Terrell, Jackson averaged 17 points per game, eight rebounds per game, and was named all-district, all-area, all-region, and a team MVP during his senior season.Chris Okonofua played at North Lake College in Irving, where he helped led the team to a Division III national title. “The commitment and work ethic of this group of guys is exceptional. They are always early for practice; they constantly are together. This group of guys gets along great, and they all have good values,” Walker said.