The NJCAA came out with their preseason rankings for Division II and the SC4 Men's Basketball team comes in at number 19. At the helm for the Skippers is second-year head coach Rich Field, assistant coaches Nate Minnoy and Marion Stewart return to round out the coaching staff.
The Skippers have new faces everywhere you look on the court, as we only have one returning player from the 2021-2022 team. The lone returner from last year's team is sophomore guard Caron Clayton. The lack of returning players might appear to be an issue on the surface. That's not the case when you bring in a class like the one Coach Field and his staff have compiled. Leading the way for new arrivals are transfers: Jakylen Thomas, Will Weems, Collin Albert, Kelvin Balfour.
Thomas is coming off an impressive freshman campaign which saw him bring in numerous awards. Most notably, the 5-8 gurard was named the Michigan Community College Athletic Association West Player of the Year in addition to being the Freshman of the Year for the Conference. His performance last year earned him 1st Team All-American honors, the only freshman with that honor. Weems provides the Skippers with quality size down-low as the Detroit native measures at 6 feet 9 inches.
Another quality guard that transferred in is Collin Albert. Albert transferred from Division 2 school Notre Dame College. He attended highschool in Cleveland, Ohio. Last, but not least is Kelvin Balfour, the transfer from Mott Community College provides the Skippers with help at both ends of the court.
The Skippers first game of the year will be November 4th, when they travel to Kirtland, Ohio to take on the Lakeland Community College Lakers. They will return home on November 16th, when they host the Terra State Titans.
Original source can be found here.
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