Wolves Have High Expectations for New Season

WESSON - The Co-Lin Men's Basketball team comes into the 2022-2023 season with a revamped roster that has the coaching staff excited about the potential for the year.

"Last year was definitely a learning experience for us as a staff especially me with it being my first year at the college level and all the challenges we faced," stated Co-Lin head coach David Sanders. "As a staff we learned a lot and it was a humbling year for me. We had a lot of close games last year and had chances to win a bunch of those games and we just fell short in those."

"I really like the group of guys that we have coming in this year," added Sanders. "We are going to have a lot of versatility and I think we are going to have a great year even though we have a lot of young guys that are going to have to step and make plays for us this season. Our veteran group will make the difference for us and help us to compete better this year."

The Wolves feature a roster of 15 players with seven sophomores and eight freshmen; however, of the seven sophomores just two are returning from last season's squad while the remaining five have transferred to Co-Lin.

The lone returners from last season are guard Jemario Hersey (Brookhaven) and forward AJ Warnsley (Byram). Hersey played in all 23 games for the Wolves last season, starting in 14, and averaged 7.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while Warnsley played in 20 games for the Wolves, starting in 18, and averaged 11.8 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.

"Both of those guys are superior athletes and that's always something that translates well to the game of basketball," said Sanders. "They are guys that can get up and down the floor quick, finish and make plays, and they showed a lot of veteran leadership for us last year which I think will be important for us this season. They have been a big part of our success in our preseason scrimmages as we finished those 5-1."

The five transfer sophomores for the Wolves include Kaeden Laws (Southaven), Cowandric Samuel (Jackson), Jahvon Smith (Hallandale, FL), Chanse Robinson (Ruston, LA), and Andrew Anderson (Hattiesburg).

"Cowandric played for me at Callaway. He and Kaedan Laws transferred to us from Jones where they were a big part of their success. This gives us more versatility and experience because they have been in this conference for a year and know what it takes to win," said Sanders. "Chanse Robinson, Jahvon Smith, and Andrew Anderson are all Division I transfers and their college experience will be tremendous for us. Our goal with them is to push them to the forefront and get them to lead our younger guys."

Incoming freshman include Anterrian Hawkins (Hollandale), Chandler Hodges (Mathiston), Jabez Blaylock (Newton), Dylan Canoville (Plantation, FL) Justin Adams-Johnson (Hazlehurst), Deandre Brisco (Indianola), and Mike Smith (New Albany).

"It is always tough for new guys coming into a new situation and we are working on our guys making the necessary adjustments," added Sanders. "Some of our younger guys are struggling with the speed of the game but they are making the necessary adjustments to adapt to that with guidance from the coaching staff. Those guys bring size and shooting ability to our squad, and we are expecting them to be able to help us win throughout the season."

"We have a group of players that have come in and bought in to the things we are teaching them," added Sanders. "We just have to shore up some things and get our guys to step up and play well all season for us. One thing that we have been focusing on is making open shots because if we do that then we are going to be a really good team this season."

"I feel very good about our chances against the conference teams this year especially with four players playing in their third year, those being Jemario, AJ, Cowandric, and Kaeden, that will all most likely be starters for us," said Sanders. "This year is a much better feel for us as coaches and the players as we have more experienced players than what we had last year."

The Wolves open the season on the road against reigning national champion and preseason No.1 Northwest Florida State College on Friday, November 4. The home opener for the Wolves will be Monday, November 7, against Delgado Community College.