Wed, Nov 25 2009
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Published November 02, 2009 12:53 am - Basketball opener set for NEO By Anvil Welch
awelch@joplinglobe.com MIAMI, Okla. — Eight sophomores are in the mix of key personnel as the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M men’s basketball team opens its season tonight at 7 with a home game against the Oklahoma Baptist junior varsity. The NJCAA Division I Golden Norsemen entertain 25th ranked Coffeyville at 8 p.m. on Tuesday in the NEO Fieldhouse before traveling to Broken Arrow for a 7 p.m. game next Monday with the Rhema Bible junior varsity. It’s back home on Nov. 11 to entertain No. 4 Three Rivers of Poplar Bluff, Mo. Said NEO coach Dustin Grover: “We have two junior varsity opponents in our first three games to give us an opportunity to find out our identity as a team. We’ll have a chance to figure out what guys we are playing in what spots.” NEO finished 17-14 last season and lost 97-77 to Northern Oklahoma-Enid in a quarterfinal of the Region II Tournament at Shawnee. Grover and assistant Steve Harrel are juggling players at the point guard position with the return of 6-foot-2 Raphael Brown and 6-0 Jamell Cormier. Brown, from Kansas City, Mo., averaged 10.7 points and 2.4 rebounds as a freshman. He led NEO with 79 assists and 33 steals. Cormier, Lafayette, La., averaged 7.8 points and 2.5 boards. He added 68 assists and 28 steals. Sophomores Scott Forrest (6-4, Atco, N.J.) and Javvero Baker (6-3, Edmond Santa Fe) should see playing time at either the point or shooting guard, according to Grover. Freshmen Will Fonseca (6-4, Staten Island, N.Y.), Rodrigo Freitas (6-2, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Javer Lewis (6-0, Broken Bow), Korey Fisher (6-0, east Orange, N.J.), Austin King (5-10, Harrah) and Micah Smith (6-0, Muskogee) are expected to provide depth at either guard position. A veteran keying the NEO offense, Grover said, is 6-4 Phillipe Martin of Staten Island, N.Y., as either a three or four. Martin, the scoring (13.3) and rebounding (4.8) leader in 2008-09, added 43 assists and 22 steals in earning all-league honors in the defunct Bi-State Athletic Conference. Tony Ross, a 6-7 sophomore out of Tulsa Union, and 6-3 freshman Carlius Lemon of Marrero, La., are challenging at the four spot. Ross, unable to practice because of a knee injury, averaged 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds. Kendrick Murray, a 6-4 freshman (Houston, Texas), is expected to see duty at either the three or four spot. 
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