Preview of 2021 Junior College NCAA Basketball Tournament
20. Cochise Clynes Apaches (11-2)
Will face No. 13 seed Ranger
The undisputed star of Cochise Basketball is Stephen Byard, the Conference Player of the Year after averaging 19.0 ppg and 7.2 rpg on 61% shooting from the field in 11 games played. They have another good freshman piece in guard Jonathan Garcia, second on the team with 13.9 ppg on 41% three-point shooting.
Outside of those two and sophomore guard Brian Rios, Cochise doesn’t have much else in terms of consistent scoring. They’ll be relying on Byard and the starting guards to beat Ranger, who made the 2019 title game.
19. Dawson Buccaneers (23-2)
Will face No. 14 seed Indian River State
The Bucs may not have a “star” on paper but they have tremendous depth, with nine players averaging between 6.1 ppg and 11.6 ppg. Freshman guard Micheal Jok leads the way with 11.6 ppg and 6.3 rpg, along with 2.5 steals a game. This is also a young roster filled with freshmen so sophomore Charles Lampten is the veteran, putting up 10.3 ppg and 8.7 rpg and had several games of major production.
Dawson isn’t the greatest shooting team so they’ll have to beat Indian River State with plenty of inside scoring and transition opportunities. If they can get someone like Lampten to have another breakout performance, they’ll have a real shot.
18. Holmes Bulldogs (15-3)
Will face No. 15 seed Vincennes
Georgia Southern and Cal State Bakersfield have recently offered star guard Kaleb Higgins, who leads the Bulldogs with 19.9 ppg and 4.8 apg, while making 42% from three-point range. He had a 40-point game in a win over Northwest Mississippi this season. The other key player for Holmes is forward Brandon Weatherspoon, second on the team with 15.9 ppg and 5.0 rpg, while making 46% from three-point range as a capable floor spacer.
Holmes does have a pair of starting guards in Tyler Talley and Darrius Clark but they’ll need to show up in the first round against the reigning national champions Vincennes. Higgins and Weatherspoon though are capable of leading the way in any single-elimination matchup.
17. Kilgore Rangers (18-5)
Will face No. 16 seed Hutchinson
The star of the Rangers is sophomore guard KJ Jenkins, who leads the team with 15.8 ppg and 2.7 apg, while making 47% from three-point range on over eight attempts a game. In the frontcourt, freshman forward Da’Sean Nelson is putting up 12.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg.
The other double-digit contributor on the roster is Dantwan Grimes, the other capable three-point shooter on the roster. This trio will have to play big to make a run in this event but Kilgore is good defensively and shoots the ball well overall from the field.