Eagles lose first round in tournament; sophomores win regional awards
By JJ Ossola
IV Leader Sports Editor, Mar 15, 2007
The Illinois Valley Community College Eagles ended
their season on high note despite losing the 1st round of the conference
tournament to Olive Harvey on March 1, 64-75.
Overall the team, which started the season 1 for 6, ended up
breaking the .500 mark with a record of 15-14. The Eagles went into the
tournament seeded tied for third, the highest ranking IVCC has had.
The National Junior College Athletic Association ranked the
Eagles 20th for field goals (47.7%), 32nd in 3 pointers (35%), and 47 th for
offense and defense averages (75.68 and 73.24 respectively.)
Head coach Mike Riley said, “I thought that this team could
beat anyone that they played against. We lost a few that we should have won and
maybe won a few that we shouldn’t have. We got a lot of good effort out of
players late in the season, and I was a bit disappointed that we went out when
we did.”
Sophomore David Prince received post-season accolades,
placing on the 1st team All Region and the 1st team All Conference.
Prince finished the season with a very nice stat line and
NJCAA rankings: 16.8 points a game on 60.2 % shooting (19th), 9.32 rebounds
(25th), 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals.
Prince said, “I wish I had played here two years! This has
been a great experience for me. The coaches have been great and I wouldn’t have
gotten any awards if it hadn’t been for having great team mates.”
Prince added, “I love playing with these guys. They are a
good group of people.” Billy Ghighi also garnered recognition placing on the 2nd
team All Region and 2nd team All Conference.
Ghighi put up very good numbers as well, scoring 13.76 per
game on 48.6 percent shooting with a 42.4 percent three point shot, 5.3
rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals.
Tony Boykins was the third leading scorer and finished with
13.4 points per game on 50.4 percent shooting and ranked 14th in 3 point
percentage with 44.1 percent. He was second on the team for rebounds with 6.4
per game and he also averaged 2.4 assists.
“Our sophomores are all probably going somewhere else to play
Division 2 ball. There are about a half a dozen schools looking at Prince and
Ghighi alone and another few looking at Boykins and Dickerson.” said Riley.
Next Year
The future is bright for the Eagles with eight freshmen
with a years experience under their belts. Freshmen accounted for an average of
31.3 points per game.
Guard Jake Richter also garnered a national ranking at 47th
for his 4.9 assists per game.
Riley said, “Not more than 24 hours after our game with Olive
Harvey we had a team meeting to discuss how we are going to get ready for next
year.
We have 12 or 13 returning freshmen and red shirts. We could
start today. We are that ready right now.
A lot of guys are fired up and some are still working out
like the season hasn’t ended.”
If things go as planned for Riley and assistant coach Russ
Witte, the Eagles will be two deep for all the positions.
“This is quite a blessing. I don’t think this has ever
happened before: this many players committed to next season,” Riley said.
The Eagles are still scouting local talent and plan on
pursuing a few players with the April 8 signing coming soon. Riley added, “A few
of the guys we would like to see in the purple and white, could challenge these
guys for playing time.”
Eagle Alumni
Former Eagle (02-03 season) and one time Eddy Curry team
mate, Aubrey Conerly inked a deal with the Jacksonville Jam, an American
Basketball Association team. Conerly finished his season with the Jacksonville
Dolphins with the fourth highest single-season assists total, 162, and 10th
overall with in school history. Conerly was a 1st team all conference and
regional in 2003.
Former Eagle (03-04) Mansour MBye plans to sign with a
Belgium Basketball team soon. MBye, the first English IV player, played for the
Texas-Permian Basin Falcons and represented London in several New York City
summer streetball tournaments. Mbye was a 2nd team regional player in 2004.
Both Conerly and MBye plan on a future in coaching when their
professional careers are finished.