By By Marty Stamper/The Meridian Star
April 5, 2001
Many of the state's top junior college sophomores will show off their skills when the annual MACJC All-Star Basketball Games are played Friday night at Choctaw Central High School.
Activities for the day begin at 9 a.m. with a coaches' golf outing at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club.
A free coaches' clinic begins at 3 p.m. at the Silver Star Resort and Casino. Featured speakers are Paul Alan Duke, head women's basketball coach at Mississippi College; David Richardson, strength and conditioning coach at the University of Louisiana-Monroe; and James Green, head men's basketball coach at the University of Southern Mississippi.
The women's game begins at 6 p.m. with the men's contest scheduled for 8. A slam dunk contest will be held during halftime of the women's game.
The games have really taken off since being moved to Choctaw Central four years ago, East Central Community College women's coach/athletic director Sammy Pace said.
Representing Region 23 champion East Central on the South women's team are Nicole Cox (14.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Margo Porter (16.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg), and Anna Udicova (12.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg).
Other South women are Tiffany Dales (13.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and Denise Catchings (8.9 ppg, 3.1 apg) of Copiah-Lincoln, Shanel Handy (11.6 ppg, 6.1 apg) of Gulf Coast, Tomekia Reed (19.9 ppg, 18.4 rpg) of Hinds, Tammika Sims (20.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg) and Jeannelle McMillian (10 ppg, 4 apg) of MACJC state champion Jones, Jessica Pucheu (11.3 ppg, 4 rpg) and Lori DeSilvey (10.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg) of Pearl River, and Brenda Alexander of Southwest.
Ed Walley of Pearl River is the South women's coach.
On the North women's team are Kim Davis (19 ppg, 6.7 rpg) of East Mississippi, Fraddia Jackson (13 ppg, 4 rpg) of Coahoma, Keela Ball (16.4 ppg, 5 rpg) and Denita Ruff (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg) of Itawamba, Latasha Sumerall (18.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Roshonda Kilbert (11.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) of Holmes, Tesha Blue (10 ppg, 4 rpg) of Delta, Jana Labreare (12 ppg, 4 apg) and Tamica Pierce (25 ppg, 12 rpg) of Northeast, and Rhonda Cooper (16.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and Crystal Boyland (13.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg) of Region 23 runner-up Northwest.
Ricky Ford of Northeast is the North women's coach.
On the South men's team are Joe Copeland (4 ppg, 5 apg) of East Central, Brandon Dickerson (15 ppg, 5 rpg), Barry Whitley (14 ppg, 5.8 apg), and Rod Haynes of Copiah-Lincoln, Nerijus Lisauskas (13 ppg, 7 rpg) and Andriy Sukhotin (13 ppg, 6 rpg) of Gulf Coast, Kory McKee (10 ppg, 8 rpg) of Hinds, Derrick White (19.6 ppg, 4.2 apg) and Omar Barlett (14.1 ppg, 8.2 rpg) of Region 23 runner-up Jones, James Singleton (15 ppg) and Taboris Lindsey (16.1 ppg, 3 rpg) of Pearl River, and Robert Green of Southwest.
Richard Mathis of Pearl River is the South men's coach.
North men all-stars are LaMario Mapp (15 ppg, 6 apg) of East Mississippi, Charles Thomas (16 ppg, 4 apg) and Ephrem Simms (12 ppg, 6 rpg) of Coahoma, Ramon Gary (13 ppg, 4.5 apg), Dennis Buse (10 ppg, 4.5 apg), and Thadd Jones (9.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg) of Itawamba, Rod Newton (18.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg) of Holmes, Derrick Scales (10.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg) of Delta, Kendrick Alloway (15.3 ppg, 11.9 apg) of Northeast, and Dennis Isom (12 ppg, 8 rpg), Marquis Shead (14.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg), and David Draine (12.5 ppg, 5 rpg) of Region 23 champion Northwest.
Mike Lewis of Northeast is the North men's coach.
While the above players will participate in the two games, the event benefits sophomores who weren't chosen as well.
Sponsors of the games are Brown Bottling Company/Pepsi Cola, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Silver Star Resort and Casino, and ECCC.
Marty Stamper is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstamper@themeridianstar.com.