October 22, 2007

ROBBINS/TIGERS READY FOR SEASON TO BEGIN

BOONEVILLE, Miss.-- Head Coach David Robbins returns for his third season in charge of the Northeast Tigers’ men’s basketball program. The 2007-08 Tigers return five sophomores from last year’s team that went 4-20 overall with two MACJC North Division wins.

Buck Johnson, Cordero Bowen, Andre Thomas, Rashaad Conner, and Desmond Luckett all saw action for the Tigers last season. In addition, Robbins has added four college transfers to his roster, all of whom will play as sophomores this season. “Our sophomores must lead on and off the floor,” said Coach Robbins. “We have an opportunity to build on last season if our players believe in our system and their abilities.”

Six freshman will take the floor for the Tigers this season. Rictavian Knight, Doc Johnson, Sergio Freeman, Laquin Williamson, Jerry Hampton, and MaCay Wilbanks all make up a bench that’s primarily inexperienced. However, Coach Robbins says that his expectations for the season will not be lowered because of the youth factor.

“Our freshmen must understand the effort it will take for them to compete at this level,” Robbins said. “Some of them will find that this league has several good players in it. We want our guys to play with confidence and believe in their abilities. We are not going to build in excuses for our youth.”
           
In spite of a tough schedule, and increasingly competitive North Division, Coach Robbins feels this group of players is up to the task. “The young men we have in place are ready for the challenge ahead,” said Robbins. “Our players are a great group of young men to be around and we hope that you enjoy watching them play and meeting them as our season progresses.”
           
As is the case with any head coach who is trying to build a foundation for a winning team, a consistent program, and competitive recruiting, Coach Robbins still has work to be done. However, the third year head coach believes strides are being made at Northeast. “Like most teams this time of year we are a work in progress,” David Robbins said.

“Mentally and physically we are not as tough as we need to be. We must continue to stay the course and continue to work. This league changes quite fast and you must be on your toes to stay with it. I hope we get off to a nice start and continue to get better each night out. It is important that our team competes each practice and each game we play. We want to play with effort and passion each game, and I believe this group will do just that. We all understand that our team comes first and that we will feed off each other in order for us to reach our potential. I do think our schedule will test us early."

"I look forward to going to practice with these young men each day and seeing them get better. I believe if we practice well and take care of the small details our team will perform with consistency. Going into the season I feel that the North is going to be even stronger this year. We did not protect our home floor last year, something we must do in 07-08. It is very difficult to win on the road in this league, but if we want to play in any post season, our team must grow up and learn to compete no matter the location.”

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