MCBI to host Juco All-Stars

By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
April 1, 2002
PHILADELPHIA The 25th-annual Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges All-Star Basketball games are slated for Thursday night at Choctaw Central High School.
The games are hosted by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. The women will tip off at 6 p.m. with the men's game slated for 8 p.m.
The men's game will serve as a homecoming for former Choctaw Central standout James Denson, who played on two state championship teams at CCHS. Denson recently completed his juco career at East Central Community College.
Other area players picked are Winfred Craig, Nikki LaCour, and Lori Cumberland of East Central; Donna Franklin and Dennis Dupree of East Mississippi Community College; and Brittany Sumrall, Demesha Chambers, Nick Paige, and Chris Keyes of Jones Junior College.
Mark Swindle of Southwest Mississippi will coach the South women, Bill Wallace of Southwest will coach the South men, Don Edwards of Northwest Mississippi will coach the North women, and Don Skelton of Northwest will coach the North men.
Copiah-Lincoln's women and Itawamba's men both recently played in national tournaments. The Lady Wolves have two players selected, while the ICC Indians have three players chosen to play.
Players report Wednesday at 1 p.m. Each team will practice twice on Wednesday and once on Thursday.
There will also be a free coaches clinic held at the Silver Star Conference Center on Thursday. Rick Petri, head women's coach at the University of South Alabama, will speak at 3 p.m. followed by Millsaps College head men's coach John Stroud at 4 p.m.
One of the state's top stars, Northeast Mississippi's Qyntel Woods, will not play as he has dropped out of school and will be at the Phoenix Suns camp that day.
Woods averaged 32.4 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Tigers who finished 11-12.