SCC basketball team ready to make some big noise in Region XI race this season
A new season, a new roster, a new schedule.
Same goal.
That is the case for the Southeastern Community College men's basketball team as it embarks on the 2022-23 season.
The Blackhawks opened the season 1-1 heading into Wednesday's game against Iowa Central at 7 p.m. at Loren Walker Arena in West Burlington.
With just three players -- guard Davion Bailey and post players Railer Vargas-Hernandez and Jhonny Tovar Mendez -- returning from last season's 24-5 team, head coach Lorenzo Watkins and assistant coaches Trent Wolf and Trevor Smith are ready to start putting the pieces in place for what they hope will be a team capable of winning Region XI and making it to the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas come March.
Bur first things first.
"I am just a anxious as our fans are as to what to expect this season," Watkins said. "We have a lot of length and athleticism, but we also have a lot of new faces. But nothing has changed as far as what we expect out of our guys. We are going to play hard-nosed, tough defense, take care of the basketball and make the other team guard us."
The returners
Bailey leads the way for the Blackhawks returning. The 6-foot-4 guard from Indianapolis averaged 11.4 points, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game a year ago.
"Davion is a very talented player and he knows our system. We expect a lot from him," Watkins said.
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Vargas-Hernandez, a 6-9 center, and Tovar Mendez, a 6-7 forward, are both from Venezuela. Vargas-Hernandez averaged 7.8 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, while Tovar Mendez scored two points in one game before suffering an injury.
"Railer has been really good," Watkins said. "We hope to have Jhonny back before Christmas. He is getting into basketball shape right now. We will be hard to beat with those two guys playing the four and five for us. Right now we are just hoping to get everybody back and healthy."
The new faces
There are plenty of new faces for Watkins to choose from this season, including guards Amarion Davis, Perez Bowser, Marko Andric, Isaiah Griffin, Deng Deang, Ja'Son Kemp, Kaden Johnson and Jack Wetzel, swing players Ajani Blyden and Jaylen Searles and 6-11 center Javordo Mitchell.
With the guards ranging in height from 6-2 to 6-8, Watkins will have the opportunity to create matchup nightmares for opposing teams while rotating fresh bodies throughout the game.
In the Blackhawks' season-opening 105-45 win over Community College of Detroit, Griffin scored 17 points and Searles and Bailey each added 15 points. Mitchell yanked down 11 rebounds.
In the 79-73 loss to Spoon River College, Wetzel scored 22 points, while Griffin had 15 points.
"It's one of those deals where you just try to figure this out as we go," Watkins said. "The main thing we are looking at is energy and effort. We expect that out of our guys every time they step on the court."
The schedule
Watkins has beefed up the schedule this season, getting away from some of the games against NJCAA Division II schools and replacing them with tougher DI schools in an effort to better prepare his team for Region XI play and the tournament after that.
After Wednesday's game against Iowa Central, the 18th-ranked Blackhawks will travel to Poplar Bluff, Missouri, for the third annual Iowa-Missouri Challenge. SCC will play Missouri State-West Plains at 3 p.m. Friday, then take on host school Three Rivers at 8 p.m. Saturday.
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The Blackhawks then play three games in six days the following week, including hosting top-ranked Northwest Florida State College at 7 p.m. Nov. 17.
SCC has six games scheduled against teams currently ranked in the top 22 in NJCAA Division I, including the annual home-and-home series against third-ranked Indian Hills.
SCC tested its mettle in the preseason with scrimmages against sixth-ranked Odessa Texas, as well as traditional powers Tyler, Texas, Vincennes, John A. Logan and Southwestern Illinois.
"We are going to run the gauntlet the next two weeks," Watkins said. "We play two Missouri schools and then No. 1 Northwest Florida State. That should give us an idea of where we are at."
What to expect
The Blackhawks likely will take a few lumps early as Watkins tries to fit all the pieces into the right places and the Blackhawks get healthy.
Watkins likes to divide the season into three parts: pre-Christmas, Region XI and the tournament.
The Blackhawks will be ready to contend with Indian Hills for the Region XI title and Watkins will have his team ready to make a run at the national tournament.
Watkins will stick to what has made his teams successful through the years -- tough defense, taking care of the basketball and playing with energy and effort.
"You practice and practice and practice and now it's time to put your guys on the floor and see where we're at right now," Watkins said. "What we're trying to accomplish on both ends of the floor is playing with energy and effort.so that we don't have to coach that. I think we have a good team here. We just need to get healthy and get some games in."
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA Today Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 32 years at The Hawk Eye. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: SCC looking for big things out of new players during 2022-23 season
