OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - The Johnson County Community College men's' basketball programs enters a new era this season as Rand Chappell takes over for Mike Jeffers, who retired after leading the program for the past 29 seasons. Chappell came to JCCC after serving the past seven seasons as assistant coach to Jay Spoonhour at Eastern Illinois University. He also has ties to the KJCCC having served head coaching stints at Labette (1993-95) and Garden City (2012-13). Overall, Chappell has served 18 years as a college head coach, compiling a 358-203 record.
Not only do the Cavaliers have a new coach, they also welcome 14 new players. Only two players from last year's squad return, and only one of them, Braijion Barnes, saw significant playing time. Barnes played in 32 games, two as a starter, and averaged 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He shot just over 50 percent from the field and scored in double figures six times.
The other returnee is 6-8 center Latre Morrison. He saw action in 16 games last year, but all were limited playing time. He average 0.5 points and 0.8 rebounds.
While Barnes and Morrison are the only returning players, they aren't the only ones with college basketball experience. Rand has brought in four sophomore transfers and one who attended a post-graduate program and three who served a redshirt season. The sophomores are 6-7 guard Jaycson Bereal (Boise State/Odessa CC), 5-11 guard Zion Buckner (Kansas City Kansas CC), 6-5 guard Bing Haung (Boise State) and 6-8 forward Jaland Whitehead (Labette CC). Desi Williams, a 5-11 guard, attended Link Year Prep last year after graduation from Park Hills South. Stacy Washington, Jr., a 6-3 guard, spent last season at Ranger College. Savonni Love, a 6-6 guard, served a redshirt year at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa and 6-5 forward Jacob Coleman was a member of the Pittsburg State men's program in 2019-20.
Bereal is known for his relentless motor and rim-rattling dunks. When he signed with Boise State, he was the highest rated signee of the Broncos 2018 class. He served a redshirt season in 2018-19, then transferred to Odessa College. He played in 25 games for Odessa, and averaged 2.7 points and 2.4 rebounds. As a prep at Booker T. Washington in Tulsa, Okla., Bereal was named to the 2018 American Family Insurance All-USA Today Oklahoma Boys Basketball first-team. He was also an all-state selection after averaging 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while leading the Hornets to a 20-7 mark and the Oklahoma Class 5A state championship his senior year.
Buckner played at KCKCC during the 2017-18 campaign. He played in 17 games for the Blue Devils and averaged 7.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists. He scored in double figured five times. Prior he was a two-year starter at Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia, Mo. He was a Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Central District Class 5 performer as a senior, and was named to the All-West Central Conference first-team his junior and senior seasons. Buckner averaged 10.4 points as a junior, and 14.7 his senior year.
Haung was a late addition to the roster, joining the program in early January. He appeared in five games at Boise State in 2019-20, and averaged 1.2 points and 3.4 minutes per game. He served as a redshirt walk on in 2018-19 after spending a year at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., one of the top post-graduate programs in the country. Prior to Brewster, Haung started two seasons at Westlake High School in Westlake Village, Calif. As a senior, he averaged 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
Whitehead played in 20 games for the Cardinals last year, eight as a starter. He averaged 8.2 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting an impressive 55.6 percent from the field, which ranked as the fourth-best percentage in the Kansas Jayhawk D-II Conference. Whitehead played his first three prep season at Ottawa Hills High School in Grand Rapids, Mich., and closed out his senior year at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga.
Williams spent the 2019-20 season at Link Year Prep where he averaged 7.1 points and 2.8 assists for the Lions. Prior, he was a four-year starter at Park Hill South in Riverside, Mo. He was a three-time Missouri Basketball Coaches Association All-Class 5 District selection, and three-time Greater Kansas City Suburban Mid-Seven Red Conference pick. Williams scored 1,148 points in his career, and ranks as Park Hill South's all-time leader in assists and ranks second in career steals.
Prior to his redshirt season at Ranger, Washington, Jr., was a three-year starter at Grand Rapids High School in Grand Rapids, Minn. He averaged 10.2 as a sophomore, 21.6 as a junior and 21.4 his senior season.
Love, who possesses the skillset to play all three perimeter positions, started two seasons at Lawrence High but his senior season was cut short due to an injury late in the first game of the year. As a junior, he earned Kansas 6A All-State honorable mention and All-City. He averaged 10 points and eight rebounds, along with recording 134 assists, 57 steals and 43 blocks.
Coleman, who is a big wing and has the range to knock down open 3-point attempts, started three years at Basehor-Linwood in Basehor, Kan. He was a three-time Kansas All-State selection, earning third-team as a sophomore, second-team as a junior and first-team his senior year. He was also a three-time All-United Conference performer and was selected conference player of the year as a senior. He averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game his senior year while helping Basehor-Linwood reach the state championship game for the second time in school history. He finished his career with 1,031 points, sixth most in team history.
The other roster spots are true freshmen, made up five guards and one forward. The guards are 6-5 Seth Chargois (Union HS/Tulsa, Okla.), 5-10 Damond Daniels (Shoemaker HS/Killeen, Texas), 6-3 DK Middleton (Free State HS/Lawrence, Kan.), 5-10 Sylvester Union (Olathe North HS/Olathe, Kan.) and 6-0 Marquise Walker (West Aurora HS/Chicago, Ill.)
Chargois is described as a versatile wing player who can knock down 3-point shots or drive to the basket and finish. A three-year starter at Union, he earned Oklahoma Class 6A All-State honorable mention and was a finalist for the Tulsa Area Mr. Basketball Award as a senior. He was also two-time Frontier Valley Conference selection.
Daniels was four-year starter at Shoemaker and was a three-time University Interscholastic League selection. He also earned second-team 12-6A All-District his senior year. Daniels also competed one year in football and three years in track and field.
Middleton earned Kansas Class 6A All-State third-team as a senior. He was a two-time All-Sunflower League selection, earning third-team as a junior and first-team his senior year. Middleton averaged 10 points, 6 rebound, 1.5 steals and 1 block per game for the Thunderbirds while helping the Free State to qualify for the Kansas 6A State Tournament as a senior, and he averaged 15 points, five boards, 2 assists and 2.1 steals his junior year.
Union averaged 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds, and dished out 100 assists his senior year at Olathe North. As a junior he averaged 11 points per game. Union also earned four varsity letter in football playing wide receiver.
Walker possesses lightning quick ball handling abilities, has been working hard to get himself back into playing shape. Once rated by Coast2CoastPreps.com as the 13-best player nationally in the 2019 class, and fourth among point guard, Walker averaged 15 points per game at West Aurora his senior year. He spent his freshman and sophomore years at St. Joseph playing for Chicago basketball icon and Illinois' all-time winningest high school coach Gene Pingatore. His junior year attended Curie, a Chicago Public League power.
The only new forward on the roster is 6-6 Xavier Kahube (Fort Osage HS/Independence, Mo.). A three-year starter at Fort Osage, he earned All-Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference White Division honors after averaging 11.9 points and 7.3 rebounds his senior year. Was an honorable mention all-conference pick as a junior.
This year's season slate features only 22 games for the Cavaliers, of which 10 are home-and-home games against their five conference opponents. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the normal start date from late October-early November to late January.
Coach Chappell said that while that it was disappointing to have the start moved to a later date, it actually may have been helpful because it allowed the team to get to know each other better.
Kansas City Kansas Community College is predicted to repeat as the conference champion. Highland Community College is third behind the Cavaliers, followed by Labette Community College, Fort Scott Community College and Hesston College.
"We don't know where we are right now, but we have a good work ethic on and off the floor, and have shown a desire to work to get better." Chappell said. "The Conference race has a bunch of good coaches and programs, but it is about building our team and we are confident we will be competitive when the conference season comes around."
The JCCC men open at home on January 20 against Baker University JV at 7:30 p.m.