Grafel optimistic about 2016-17 season

With the new season on the horizon, CCC head men's basketball coach Rusty Grafel believes his young team will be competitive in a schedule that only has four non-conference games. 

"The Jayhawk Conference has always been one of the toughest conferences in the Midwest," he said. "Combining the East and West divisions to make one conference this year amplifies how good our conference will be."

The Jayhawk's twenty six games for each school are more than any other conference in the nation. 

"Our three sophomores will need to take leadership roles to help the freshman understand how tough we have to be in order to win!  We have a very talented group of young men from all over the country. We will have to mature quickly but we have a chance to be a very special group."  

Back Court Sophomores

The Trojans have two back court sophomores for 2016-2017.  Shaq Athie (6'4", Cincinnati, Ohio) transfers to CCC from South Georgia Tech where he played in 31 games as a freshman and averaged 3.9 points to go along with 2.3 rebounds.  "Shaq is a strong athletic guard that will give us maturity and leadership right away." 

Cole Smith (6'5", Johnson City) is the only returner from last year's team.  He made 40% of his three pointers, which ranked in the NJCAA's top 100. "Cole showed last year that he can be a lethal threat from behind the arc. He is another sophomore that we will lean on for leadership this season."   

Back Court Freshman

Grafel said the freshmen back court is one the most talented groups his staff has recruited. The class consists of Drew Young (6'3", Hays), Kai Shaw (5'10", Jamestown, N.C.), Eric Mattews (6'3", Baton Rouge, La.), Caleal Walker (6'5", Omaha, Neb.), Darryl Smith (6'2", Washington D.C.), Kyonze Chavis (6'5", Chesapeake, Va.), Tristan Schwarz (6'0", Gem), Jeremiah Hudspeth (5'8", Wichita), and Gabriel Gyamfi (6'6", Brampton, Ontario). 

"We wanted to add size and athleticism to our back court positions and with this group we got all of that!  We have a lot of guys that can play various positions, which adds to our overall versatility.   The biggest transition every team faces is how quickly the freshmen can mature, because they are all very talented and if both maturity and talent come together like we plan we will again do special things as a team."      

Front Court Sophomores

Ajou Deng (6'9", London, England) is the lone front court sophomore.  Deng transferred from Tyler Community College, playing in just 18 games due to an injury but salvaged 2.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest.  "He gives us size that we will be missing from last year but he is also very good stepping out and stretching the defense.  Along with the other two sophomores Ajou will be expected to take a leadership role."  

Front Court Freshmen

 Size and versatility is also what the Trojans wanted with the front court freshman.  Competing in paint will be Christian Carmichael (6'6", Manhattan), David Hall (6'6", Bucyrus, Ohio), Nimrod Tavor (6'11", Modiin, Israel), and Daekwon Gross (6'7", Kansas City, Kans.).  "These young men give us size in all areas and really extend our front court!"

The Schedule 

This year starts a new era for Region VI basketball because there are no longer East and West divisions.  "We have united into one Jayhawk Conference which slates a 26- game conference schedule.  This will be tough because of what the Jayhawk always brings!"  

Coach Grafel said a highlight of the schedule is having 16 home games. 

"Especially with a young team, it will be a good start to be on their home court."

Aside from the frequently-ranked teams in the Jayhawk, the Trojans' non-conference schedule includes Sterling JV, Northwest Kansas All-Stars, Southwestern JV, and Northwest Kansas Technical College JV.  In preseason they compete in the Dallas Blowout against Midland (Texas), Blinn (Texas), Lamar (Port Arthur, Texas), and Lamar (Colo.).  The Trojans also travel to another jamboree at Johnson County Community College to play Southeast (Neb.), Highland (Kans.), and Brown Mackie (Kans.).  The last scrimmage is against McCook Community College (Neb.).  

CCC opens at home against Sterling JV Nov. 5. Game time is 8 p.m.