Posted: Nov 02, 2018

Men's Basketball Preview: Mountaineers looking to grow

By Corey Stolzenbach, McAlester News-Capital

Men's basketball is back at Eastern Oklahoma State College.

The Mountaineers finished 15-13 last year, winning their final home game of the season before losing in the second round of the NJCAA Region II tournament to Connors State College.

Eastern is getting some notable sophomores back in Elisha Hobbs, who averaged 18 points and 6.9 rebounds last year, Talihina grad Jacob Sockey, and twin brothers Tevin and Devin Mosley — but some have left along the way.

Red Oak graduate Brad Davis signed with Northeastern State University, while McAlester grad Todd Dawkins inked with Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

Tevin Brewer won't be back for his sophomore year, having transferred to Coffeyville Community College in Coffeyville, Kan.

Head coach Scott Edgar said even though he didn't win a championship, last year's Mountaineers were his favorite team he had ever coached in 40 years.

"Every day that they came through the door, they were ready to work," Edgar said. "They were fun to be around. They were the greatest group of kids that have ever been assembled around me top through bottom."

There are three new players that stand out to Edgar.

Michael Turay has transferred in from Redlands Community College for his sophomore season. Edgar described him as big, athletic and skilled. Turay sat out last year as a transfer, but averaged 4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds with Redlands in the 2016-2017 season.

Stefone Richardson, a redshirt freshman, has also caught his eye. He transferred over from Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kan. Then there's Kariim Byrd, a Talihina grad, who also has stood out to Edgar.

"All the freshmen have had their moments," Edgar said. "Those three new guys, I think, have been the most consistent."

Edgar said the reason behind their consistency is they transitioned to Eastern basketball. What he's looking for is his players to play hard, act right, have a good attitude and put effort into what the team is doing, they will become good players. He said those three, for the most part, are consistently advanced in that regard.

Eastern has more size this year, something Edgar said was lacking from a year ago. However, the backcourt will be different as Brewer and Davis, when healthy, played point guard and shooting guard, respectively, for the Mountaineers last season. Edgar said it isn't the first time he's had to rebuild the backcourt.

"I never went into a game thinking, 'Hey, they've got a better backcourt than us,'" he said. "This year's backcourt has to grow into that."

Who this year's backcourt will consist of he did not know at the time he spoke to the News-Capital Oct. 22, saying he finds out more about the team through practice. It's what the team does in practice that he wants to see as the Mountaineers were scheduled to open the season at home Friday against Central Baptist College.

Playing and winning in high school is a lot different than playing and winning in college, he said. He described the difference between the two as the difference between east and west. Edgar wants to get the Mountaineers in a mindset of what it takes to play and win at the collegiate level.

"Everybody in their first year always thinks it's harder than the second year, but they've just become mentally and physically accustomed to it," Edgar said.