Texans welcome new arrivals, prepare to defend national championship

by Jerrod Carr, staff writer

           

Last season, the South Plains College men’s basketball team won their first national championship in the school’s 50-year history, and they hope to repeat.

The first regular-season game tips off on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m at the Texan Dome, with the Texans hosting Lubbock Christian’s JV squad. 

This season, the Texans have many new faces on the squad, including eight freshmen and five sophomores.  Leading off the incoming freshman class is Josip Vranes, a 6-foot-5 forward from Zagreb, Croatia.  He graduated from Gimnazija School in 2008.

Brandon Pitts is a 5-9 guard from Bedford Heights, Ohio.  He graduated in 2008 from New Creations High School.  At New Creations, he was honored as most valuable player after averaging 14 points and 11 assists per game. 

Tramar Sutherland is a 6-3 freshman guard from Toronto, Ontario.  He graduated from Father Henry Carr Catholic School in 2008.  Sutherland was named his team’s most valuable player and athlete of the year after averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists per game and helping his team to a 37-4 record. 

Allan Thomas is a 6-4 freshman guard from Queens, New York.  He averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists per game while helping Thomas Edison High School to a 28-5 record in 2008.  He was selected as the most valuable player and helped his team win the Queens Borough Championship. 

Antwain Thomas is a 6-1 freshman guard from Terrell, Texas.  Thomas graduated from Terrell High School in 2008.  While playing for Terrell, Thomas averaged 22 points, three rebounds and three steals per game. He also was named the Offensive Player of the Year.

Romel Kemp is a 6-5 freshman forward from Dillon, South Carolina.  Kemp graduated from Marion High School in 2008. While at Marion, he averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and five assists per game.  He was named MVP twice, and his team won the Regional Championship. 

Bo Ingram is a 6-5 freshman forward from Kinston, North Carolina.  Ingram graduated from Kinston High School in 2008. He averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds per game as a senior, helping his team to the 2008 State Championship. While he was in high school, Ingram was nominated for the McDonald's All-American game, was a two-time MVP in the State Championship game, two-time Regional MVP, State Player of the Year, and the MVP of both the North-South and East-West All-Star Games. 

Miles Walker is a 6-8 freshman post from San Antonio, Texas. Walker attended Antonian College Preparatory, graduating in 2008. Walker was a McDonald's All-American nominee, and also was named an All-State player.

Among the top returners for the Texans is sophomore David Tairu. Tairu is a 6-3 guard from Temple Hills, Maryland. He attended Philadelphia Lutheran Prep, graduating in 2006. As a freshman at SPC, Tairu was named All-Conference in 2007-2008, after averaging 14.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Tairu had season-highs of 28 points (Frank Phillips) and nine rebounds (Coastal Bend) and scored in double figures 29 times.

Landon Tatum is a 5-11 sophomore guard from San Antonio, Texas.  Tatum attended O'Connor High School, graduating in 2007. During his first season at SPC, Tatum averaged 6.1 points and 5.3 assists per game.  He had season-highs of 18 points and 15 assists, both against Howard College.

Ladarius Hall is a 6-2 sophomore guard from Thomasville, Georgia.  Hall attended Thomasville High School, graduating in 2007.

During the 2007-2008 season, Hall averaged 3.0 points and 1.4 rebounds per game  for the Texans. He had season-highs of 11 points and four rebounds against Wayland Baptist JV and Lubbock Christian JV. 

Hugh Mingo is a 6-3 sophomore guard from West Monroe, Louisiana.  Mingo attended West Monroe High School, graduating in 2007. Mingo averaged 6.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game for the Texans during the 2007-2008 season.  He had season-highs of 25 points (Wayland JV) and seven rebounds (Frank Phillips).

Philip Outley is a 5-11 guard from West Monroe, Louisiana.  Outley graduated from West Monroe High School in 2007.  In his first season with the Texans, he averaged 1.7 points and 1.3 assists per game during the 2007-2008 season.  He had season highs of 13 points (Blinn) and eight assists (Wayland JV). 

Another newcomer is sophomore transfer Markhuri Sanders-Frison, a 6-8 post from Portland, Oregon.  Frison attended Jefferson High School, graduating in 2006.

Frison transferred to SPC from Eastern Arizona College, where he averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds for a team that went 30-7. While at Jefferson High School, Frison averaged 10 points and eight rebounds per game. Frison was a McDonald's All-American nominee, and his team won three City titles.

The final piece of the team is head coach Steve Green.  Green completed his eighth season as head coach of the Texans by guiding them to the national championship.  Green has compiled a record of 204-55. SPC has also won three WJCAC and Region V titles.  In 14 years of coaching, Green has a career record of 346-95.

“At a junior college, you always have new freshmen, and what you’d like to do is keep about half of your players every year, to get a consistent turnover,” said Coach Green.

With a roster that includes eight freshmen, Coach Green said the Texans need “to have some contributions from the freshmen, they need to step up.”

“Miles Walker from San Antonio is one of the hardest-playing post guys I’ve ever had,” added Green.

When asked about the Texans repeating as national champs, all Green had to say was, “Heck, I don’t know.” 

This year promises to be another exciting year for the Texans.

Photo by Melissa Rinehart/Plainsman Press