MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Youthful year for the DACC Jaguars

Oct. 30—DANVILLE — Constant change is the norm in junior college athletics.

That will definitely be the case this season when the Danville Area Community College men’s basketball team takes the floor at the Mary Miller Center.

The Jaguars, who went 18-12 a year ago, return just two players, Lorenzo McMillion and Dredon Nunn. That duo combined for just 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

“A whole lot of new names and a whole lot of young names,” said DACC coach DaJuan Gouard. “McMillion and Nunn are the leaders right now. Those are our returners that understand our culture and how we do things. At the same time, those guys were limited last year.”

So, was this expected to be a year full with 12 freshmen or did Gouard make an adjustment in his program?

“It was kind of both,” he admitted. “I wanted to bring back the guys that would be good for us this season, but also get rid of some guys that weren’t as committed as I wanted them to be.”

Gouard also added a sophomore transfer in Jackson Twombly from Olney Central, but he also pursued a number of four-year college transfers.

“We missed on some four-year transfers, but we got some really good freshman,” he said. “Obviously, like any other young team, there are going to be some bumps and bruises along the way.

“But, I think once that light bulb goes on, I think these guys can be good for us.”

That should make these first two months of the college basketball season very interesting for the Jaguars.

“When you have a bunch of freshman, they are trying to figure out life without mom and dad … they are trying to figure how how to take care of homework, how to take care of basketball and how to deal with the day-to-day situations of being a student-athlete,” Gouard said. “Changes typically happen with young teams all over the board.

“For the first month of so, we are going to be going through a lot of changes, both on and off the court.”

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mens-college-basketball-youthful-dacc-035900031.html

Author : Commercial-News, Danville, Ill.

Publish date : 2024-10-31 03:59:00

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