2007-08 Hurricane Men's Basketball Outlook

“Finish.” The Louisburg College basketball motto for the 2007-08 season points to the focus of this year’s edition of the Hurricanes. Coach Denton explains, “After a great start to last year’s season we want to start and finish this year strong. Our focus in everything we do will be to finish workouts strong, finish practice strong, finish games strong and finally finish the year strong.”

Louisburg lost two of it’s top scorers and rebounders from one year ago in forwards Michael Mitchell (UNC Greensboro) and Michael “Buddy” Williams (North Carolina Wesleyan). They led the Hurricanes to a strong start and 17-13 overall record including an appearance in the NJCAA top 20 poll. Gone are eight sophomores from that successful squad.

While Louisburg lost a lot of it’s inside scoring punch, the Hurricanes return starting PG Marcus Little (Bunn, NC, Bunn) and shooting guard Anton Silver (Concord, NC, Concord) from a team that finished 17-13 last season. Silver led the canes with 17 points per game last season while Little dished out a team-high 3.4 assists per contest. Forward and part-time starter Marshell Jones ( Winston-Salem, NC, Mt. Tabor) will provide an athletic scoring option from the wing. Fellow sophomores Corey Rhodie (Wallace, NC, Wallace Rose Hill) and Rick Butler (Charlotte, NC, West Charlotte) will provide experience in the lineup. Freshman point guard Raheem Smith (Greenville, NC, Rose) enrolled at Louisburg last Spring and established himself immediately as a leader as well as a talented player.

Newcomers to the program include eight high school players all from North Carolina as well as two transfers from other colleges. East/West All-star participant Dion Malachi (Crest High School, NC, Shelby) headlines a class primarily of quick and talented guards and wings. Calvin Daniels (New Horizons, VA, Danville) broke Dominic Wilkins scoring record at Washington High School in Washington, NC before transferring to the talented New Horizons team in Virginia for his final prep season. Several other signees led their high school teams to successful seasons before making the decision to join the Hurricane squad. Antonio Branch ( Ahoskie, NC, Hertford County) led his team to a 24-4 record before falling in the 2 nd round of the 3A Sectional Finals. Hertford County is led by Head Coach Charles Simmons, a Louisburg College alum. Kimani Yarborough becomes the second player in as many years to commit to RJ Bethea pumped in 12 points and 10 rebounds per game for a Trinity Christian (Fayetteville, NC) squad that advanced to the state title game. BJ Patrick (Reigelwood, NC, East Columbus) helped East Columbus to a 26-2 slate with a trip to the third round of the state playoffs. D. H. Conley high school (Greenville, NC) teammates Germeil Daniels (forward/center) and Chris Smith (forward) bring depth to the frontcourt and should provide a powerful rebounding punch. Daniels and Smith led the Vikings, coached by Louisburg graduate Rob Maloney, to a 22-6 season and a Coastal Conference Championship.

Omar Jones arrives at Louisburg after redshirting his first year at UNC Greensboro coached by Louisburg’s own Mike Dement (Class of 1974). Before UNCG, Jones enjoyed a successful prep campaign at North Lenoir High School. BJ Williams returns to the Triangle after a one-year stint at Alleghany Community College where he helped them to an appearance in the District 16 finals. They were one game away from an appearance in the National Tournament. Williams played his high school basketball at nearby Garner High.

Again look for the Hurricanes to provide an exciting and fast-paced style of play. Louisburg averaged over 84 points per game scoring over 90 points more than 11 times and breaking the 100 point mark five times. Four players averaged more than ten points per game as sharing the ball will remain a focus for every Hurricane team.

Quick look by the numbers:

Returning Starters:

Anton Silver G 6’2 / 176 17.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.6 spg

Marcus Little G 5’11 / 165 6.1 ppg, 3.4 apg, 1.8 spg

Marshell Jones F 6’7 / 190 10.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg

Other Returners:

Corey Rhodie G 6’3 / 185 20 gp, 3.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg

Rick Butler C 6’8 / 220 13 gp, 2.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg

Schedule

With the addition of four teams to the Carolinas Junior College Conference the Hurricanes will play a 19 game conference slate before talking the Region X tournament at the end of the season. The remaining 11 game regular season schedule consists of challenges with some of the top teams on the east coast. The region was divided into two divisions: North ( Louisburg, Brunswick, Cape Fear, Lenoir, Rockingham, Guilford Tech, Roanoke-Chowan) and South (Surry, Wilkes, Aiken Tech, Denmark Tech, USC-Salkahatchie, Spartanburg Methodist, Clinton). Louisburg opens conference play at home with Rockingham Community College on December 1 at 4pm. Other home highlights include Saturday, February 9 when Louisburg Basketball welcomes all its’ former players back for a 4pm tip-off versus Roanoke Chowan. Look for the toughest road trip of the year to be February 2-3 when the Canes visit defending league champion Aiken Tech and always tough Spartanburg Methodist.

The non-conference sheet is highlighted by the Roger Talyor/AXA Advisors Classic including Hargrave Military Academy and Massanutten Military Academcy November 8-10. Coach Denton explains, “We want the Roger Taylor Classic to be a battle between some of the best teams in the country. The talent that Hargrave and Massanutten bring ensures a tremendous level of play and competition.”

The UNC JV’s make an appearance at Louisburg College for the first time in recent memory Thursday, February 7, at 6pm. Come cheer your Hurricanes on versus the Tar Heels in recently renovated Holton Gymnasium. Other non-conference highlights include the Coca-Classic November 2-3 ( Chesapeake, Patrick Henry, Central Carolina).

For more information, contact:
Head Coach Aaron Denton
919.497.3214
adenton@louisburg.edu