‘Possibilities’ Abound with LeMoyne-Owen Basketball

by Dr. Jesse F. McClure
Special to the Tri-State Defender

Although William Anderson is the men’s basketball coach of a small college team, he has large ambitions. He thinks that his team at The Lemoyne-Owen College could be a factor in the NCAA Division 2 Championship picture at season’s end.

Anderson’s team began the season by playing exhibition games against the University of Memphis Tigers and the University of Arkansas Razorbacks, which are both Division 1 powerhouses. LeMoyne-Owen lost both games but gained confidence, visibility and experience. Anderson, who also serves as the college’s athletic director, was pleased with the substantial payments received from those games. “These dollars are really helpful to our program,” he said.

Last year, the men’s team won the S.I.A.C. conference tournament and Andersen is building upon that strong foundation. He points to sophomore forward DeAndre Gant, a scoring machine who heralds from Detroit, a favorite recruiting spot of LeMoyne-Owen coaching legend Jerry Johnson.

Anderson said the Magicians also will count on senior guards Maurice Mickens and LaDarius Johnson to be major contributors this year. Sophomore Calvin Stoudemire, the 6’6” brother of Phoenix Suns star Amare Stoudemire, is expected to bring some needed front-court power to this year’s team.

Anderson beamed when speaking of Chris Noel, a 5’7” guard from Harlem, N.Y. “Noel is our Christmas gift. He plays like a New Yorker and he can be a really valuable member of our team.”

Memphis high school legend, Taurean “T-Head” Moy, returns to the team as a walk-on player this season. Moy was one of the most prolific scorers in Memphis prep basketball history. Anderson says that Moy, whose college career was sidetracked by legal issues, “has done everything we have asked of him. He has been a model citizen and he still has a beautiful shooting stroke.”

The Lady Magicians

The LeMoyne-Owen women’s team is also poised to have an exciting year. Anderson, who coached the women’s team from 2000-09, thinks the new Lady Magicians’ coach, Myquita Mackey, “is ready to build a solid program.” Mackey, a former LeMoyne-Owen star player, thinks she has “some of the “pieces in place to be competitive this year.”

Mackey is especially proud of 5’9” guard Shonice Sprouse, a Memphis native who transferred from McNeese State in Louisiana.

Jasmine Massey, a 5’5”junior guard from Memphis’ Booker T. Washington High School, should be another leader of this year’s Lady Magicians.

Coach Mackey also thinks that another McNeese State transfer, Ryen Hurd, will be a valuable addition. She expects solid contributions from former Southwest Tennessee Community College star Ashley Mason. Mackey, who played for Coach Andrea Martre at Southwest Community College before transferring to LeMoyne-Owen, hopes Mason is the first of many Southwest   players who will find their way to the LOC campus.

Anderson says this could be an exciting year for both the women and men basketball teams at LeMoyne-Owen.

“This is my dream job and I am excited by the possibilities we have here,” he says.

Basketball Seasons in the Making at Southwest Tennessee Community College

by Dr. Jesse F. McClure
Special to the Tri-State Defender

The men’s and women’s basketball coaches at Southwest Tennessee Community College face very different challenges as the new season begins.

For legendary men’s coach Vertis Sails Jr., his 31st season opens with no returning players from last year’s 27-3 team.

And for Andrea Martre, the women’s coach, the challenge is to mix her seven returning players with eight “very talented” new players.

The Lady Saluqis

While last year was disappointing, Martre’s Lady Saluqis were a combined 51-3 the two previous seasons. And during her 12-year tenure at Southwest, Martre’s teams have won 215 games while losing 135.

“I had to play all my freshmen last year because I only had a few returning players,” said Martre.

The team suffered from a lack of solid guard play.

“We recruited a number of outstanding guards for this year’s team,” Martre said. “We really beat the bushes and found some outstanding players.”

Martre points to Chandellear Smith, Latorya Simmons, Shantel Crout, Andrea Jones, Krystal Riley, and Decdrica Brooks – all freshman guards that she believes will make a big difference.

Martre also was able to recruit Cambriel Jeffries, a 6’3” center from West Memphis.

“Jeffries has height and that is something you can’t coach. She has real promise,” said Martre.

While the freshmen are important, Martre says the team’s success depends on sophomores such as Kiana James and Mariame Sylla providing leadership for the freshmen.

Sails’ Saluqis

In his 30 years at Southwest, Sails’ teams are 664-248 – good enough for 16 State Junior College Championships and appearances in 10 Regional and National Championships.

This year’s 2009-10 team has real talent, he said, noting that not one of his players has ever played “in a system like ours.” That means a fast-break offense and a full-court press on defense.

As usual, Sails’ offense will be an “equal opportunity system.” Last year’s team, which averaged more than 100 points a game, had seven players average double-digit scoring.

The Saluqis will look to former Memphis Hamilton High School star Deveon Hunter for leadership.

“Deveon will have to lead this team, if we are to be winners,” said Sails.

In addition, former Whitehaven standout Deandre Bynum (6’5”) is a talented scorer. And Sails said 6-foot, 8-inch Cortez Wilder, “Just might be the best big man I have ever coached, if he can stay injury free. Wilder is a solid rebounder.”

Also worth watching this season, he said, are former Kirby High School players Chris House and Mario Bass.

“I always try to play 11 to 12 players in every game. We might be better early in the season if we only played 5 or 6 players, but by playing 11 or 12 players we just might become an outstanding team by tournament time.”

Sails also believes that by playing so many, every player gets a chance to feel that he is a vital part of the team.

“I believe you take the talent you have, work with it and win with it,” he said.

P-e-r-f-e-c-t: The Lady Saluqis of Southwest TN Community College

Published 02/29/2008

by Jesse McClure

Special to the Tri-State Defender

On the same day that the University of Memphis men’s basketball team lost its first game of the season, the Lady Saluqis of Southwest Tennessee Community College finished their regular season without a blemish.

With 23 wins and no losses, Southwest is now ranked No. 4 in the nation among all women’s community college teams. Postseason regional tournament play is March 4-9 in Morristown. If the Lady Saluqis capture the regional title, they will earn the right to play in the National Junior College tournament the following week in Salina, Kansas.

Southwest is guided by coach Andrea Martre, who is in her twelfth year as the coach of the Lady Saluqis. She is no stranger to winning.

Last season, Southwest finished 26-2, the best record in the college’s history. That team featured junior college All-American Ashley Shields, who scored 65 points in one game during the season. Shields led the nation in scoring and became the first community college player drafted by a WNBA team. She plays for the WNBA Houston Comets.

With Shields gone, Martre said she didn’t know what to expect of her team coming into the season. In community college sports, players stay at most two years and some play only one year. Southwest returned three starters from the 2006-07 team: Keona Brooks, Daumonique Lenhardt, and Starkitsha Luellen.

Also returning were Tiffany Simpson, Ashley Williams and Jessica Parker, with Brittany Butler, who was a redshirt last year, eligible to play.

That mix became even more potent with the addition of two newcomers: Cristal Camper, a native of Rosa Fort, Miss., transferred from Southeastern Illinois College; and former Memphis Northside High School star, Candace Rucker, who transferred from the University of Colorado. Rucker has become the team’s leading scorer and the centerpiece of the offense.

Martre said Shields was so good last year that both her teammates and opponents sometimes just stood around and watched her play. This year, while Rucker has led the team, other players have also played well, she said.

Martre played point guard for the Lady Saluqis from 1986-87. She still holds the college’s record for most steals. She went on to star at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where she was recently named one of the university’s all-time great players.

At Southwest, which was then called Shelby State, Martre was coached by Herb Wright, one of the most successful women’s coaches in the history of community colleges. Today when she reflects on her own coaching style, she sees Wright staring back at her.

Wright, she said, taught her about basketball, coaching and life. He also taught her to treat players as individuals and to balance “tough love” with praise.

Martre said her good fortune includes the support of Vertis Sails Jr., the legendary men’s basketball coach and athletic director at Southwest.

Sails, who has won more than 600 games in his 29 years as coach of the men’s teams at Southwest, has passed along timely coach tips.
Noting that the gymnasium bears Sails’ name, Martre laughed and said it is probably a good idea to listen him.

The only real friction between the men’s team and the women’s team at Southwest is the different choices of movies on the bus when the teams travel together on road trips, she said. The men want action and adventure movies; and the women prefer Tyler Perry films.

As regional play approaches, Martre is reminding her team that while going undefeated in the regular season is a noteworthy accomplishment, it is not a guarantee of success in the postseason.