Nevol era set to begin tomorrow night

The Jonathan Nevol era of Hinds Community College men’s basketball begins tomorrow evening when the Bulldogs take on East Central Community College 6 p.m. in Utica.

Coming off back-to-back NJCAA Region 23 final four appearances, the Bulldogs looks to continue this success in the 2021-2022 season.

“This is one of the best recruiting class we have had here at Hinds,” head coach Jonathan Nevol said. “It’s a good mixture of transfers and freshmen. We have 10 sophomores this year, so we have guys that know what it takes each night to compete in this league. We want to go out and compete each and every night and play with relentless effort.”

The Bulldogs return three players from the 2020-2021 squad:
Kyle Hayman (Monroe, La.): 8.8 ppg 5.4 rpg
Martarious Burrell (Yazoo City): 5.6 ppg
Damarion Arrington (Jackson): 0.7 ppg

“Kyle will be one of the exciting players in our league,” Nevol said. “He plays with so much Intensity and with a edge that he will impact the game than with his scoring. Marty has made strides during this offseason we a expecting a more productive year from him.”

To fill in the gaps on the team, the Bulldog coaching staff added seven transfers, with two of them coming from division one schools:
Jalen Myers (Madison, Ala.): Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Played in 6 games and averaged 2.8 ppg and 2.2 rpg.
Treylan Smith (Petal): Mississippi Valley State. Played in 21 games and averaged 8.1 ppg and 2.6 rpg.

“Jalen is a very versatile forward that can score at all 3 levels and fill up the stat sheet,” Nevol said. “Treylan is another long wing that can shoot the ball well from deep and a relentless finisher around the rim.”

Out of the seven transfers, five Bulldogs come from NJCAA schools:
Deandre Buggage (Gray, La.): Neosho County CC. Played in 24 games averaging 11.4 ppg 3.1ast/g
Mario Fenner (Como): Northwest Miss CC freshman year averaged 3.2 ppg 2.0 rpg
Damien Wheaton (Bay Springs): Miss Gulf Coast 2019-20, averaged 5.3 ppg 2.9 rpg 1.3 blk/g
Jermiyah Brown (Vicksburg): Meridian CC
Stephon Isom (Oxford): Coahoma CC

“Dre is a quick shifty point guard that can lead our offense with his passing and shooting ability, ” Nevol said. “Mario will be a work horse in the paint and plays with a high motor. Damien will give us a true post presence down low.”

Rounding out the 2021-2022 squad are five key freshmen:
Jamaal Esco (Jackson, Murrah High School)
Omarion Luss (Clinton, Clinton High School)
Brodrick Thompson Jr. (McComb, McComb High School)
Malachi Martin (Clinton, Clinton High School)
Mike Bell (Clinton, Clinton High School)

“Esco will be one of the best freshmen this year because he plays very hard and has a great feel for the game and can finish around the rim,” Nevol said. “O (Luss) was the senior leader for his high school championship team. He plays with relentless effort.”

The Bulldogs begin their season tomorrow evening in Utica against East Central Community College. The game is set to tip-off at 6 p.m. at J.D. Boyd Gymansium.

If you can’t make it to the game, watch the livestream at https://hindsccsports.net/channel-1/