Men's basketball season gets under way with jamborees
By JJ Ossola
IV Leader Sports writer, Oct. 19, 2006
The Illinois Valley Community College men’s basketball
team has eased into the season with a pair of jamboree’s under its belt with one
more to go before the regular season starts on Nov. 4th. Head coach Mike Riley
said that this year “we plan to hang our hat on defense.”
He added, “We are playing a very solid man to man right now
with plenty of pressure being applied to force turn-overs. The key right now is
having everyone learning the spacing and playing aggressively.”
The Eagles sophomore players, Billy Ghighi, Tony Boykins,
George Gouard, and Lance Dickerson bring their experience back to the court and
look to be in the main rotations this year.
Transferring in from Des Moines Area Community College is
David Prince, the 6’4 forward who Riley says, “Shows a lot of fire and
leadership. We are expecting great things from him.”
Sophomore guard Durell Kern, who wowed fans with his quick
dunks, will be eligible to play in the second semester. Another key this year
has been the exceptional recruiting done by second year assistant coach Russ
Witte. Witte was able to recruit all-state Montana guard Trevor McKey from
having coached him years prior. Through that contact, Witte was able to recruit
all-state 6’6 guard/forward JJ Neely from Florida.
Another far flung freshman recruit is Yigit Yener, a 6’7
forward/center from Istanbul, Turkey. Riley was impressed with the potential
that Yener possessed when he saw him play for Pratt community college in Kansas.
Freshman forward Rod Sykes rejoins former Danville star
George Gouard. Riley is very impressed with this recruits “leadership and
potential.”
Closer to home, we have hard nosed defender Edwin Darden from
DeKalb, all-state guard Greg Fanning from Spring Valley, and all-state guard
Martin Warren from Granville.
Riley claims that the key to the Eagles success on the court
is “learning your role on the team.” He added, “These guys are coming from teams
where they were the stars and they got all the playing time. At this level, you
have got a bench full of high school stars but you can still only play five at a
time. There is some learning involved for our freshman recruits but once things
get rolling they will see more time in certain situations.”