By Jay Neal
sports@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Coming off one of the best years — record wise — in school history (26-6), it would be easy to say that duplicating that record may be almost impossible to do.
Well, in fact, according to LMC Head Coach Dale Dotson, his team is not concerned about records, not in the least.
“I don’t judge one team to another,” Dotson said during an interview at the Region XIV Media Tip-Off late last week. “I want each team to do as well as they can.
“The last time we (LMC) went to the national tournament (Hutchinson, Kan.), we finished 7th in the league. (Then) we go 26-6 last year and get beat in the semi-finals of the conference tournament, so records mean nothing. It is all about getting to try to have a chance at winning the conference tournament.”
The Bearcats will have to make their mark in 2009-10 without one of the league’s top talents — Konner Tucker (16.3 points per game, 71-of-160, 44.4-percent from three-point land), who is now a member of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Dotson says there is no way to replace a talent such as Tucker, sort of.
“You can’t replace a player like a Konner Tucker because you can’t find another one just like him,” Dotson said. “Now, we have some guys that will probably affect the team in the same way Konner did, but just in a different way. When you lose a player like that (Tucker) you get different kinds of players that you hope are just as good in other ways as the one you are losing,”
Dotson had a sparkle in his eye and excitement resonating from his voice when he described several of the half dozen or so newcomers to this year’s roster.
“We have three or four freshmen guards that we think are going to be really good players ... really good,” he said. “It may take them a while to understand what we are trying to do here, but they are very talented.”
Potential freshmen of impact for the Bearcats are Jorge Redmon (5-foot-7, guard out of Arlington), Antonine Brown (6-foot-2 guard from Brooklyn, NY) and from Philadelphia, Darren Lawrence (6-foot-2 guard).
Travis Jones, a 6-foot-7 post out of Georgetown, is the leading returnee for the Green and White. Jones played in 28 games last year and pumped in nearly 13 points per game while hitting treys at a nearly 40-percent clip as well.
Other key players back for LMC are Maurice Colquitt, Nayquan Mitchell, David Sanchez and Joel Gierbolini.
The ‘Cats played in the JUCO Jamboree in the Metroplex during the first weekend of the month, and according to Dotson, he is pleased with what he is seeing at this juncture.
“They played very good,” he said. “Not near where I think we should be, but considering the length of time we have been working out, I thought they did pretty good.”
A trip to Weatherford College on Nov. 3 opens the campaign for the Bearcats, with the home opener set for 7 p.m. Nov. 5 against the Texas Wesleyan junior varsity.
The Region XIV season begins on Nov. 21 when the Bearcats head south to face San Jacinto in Pasadena.
Lee College’s visit to the Vivian and Bob Smith Events Center on Nov. 24 serves as the loop opener for LMC.
The Bearcats will have a total of 14 home dates this season.
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