Jets and Lady Jets preparing for 2018 – 2019 season
The South Georgia Technical College Jets and Lady Jets are preparing to open the 2018 – 2019 basketball season with a total of eight players returning from successful 2017- 2018 seasons. SGTC Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey and assistant coach Kezia Conyers are both back to lead the women’s team and Jets head coach Travis Garrett and assistant coach Chris Ballauer have returned to guide the men’s squad for the new season.
Last season was successful for both the Jets and the Lady Jets. The SGTC Lady Jets captured their third consecutive Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association title (GCAA), their second consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XVII tournament championship, NJCAA District J title, and second straight sweet sixteen finish in the NJCAA Division I National women’s basketball tournament. They finished the year with a 29 – 6 record.
The Jets finished fourth last season in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association and wound up as the NJCAA Region 17 tournament runner-ups behind Central Georgia Technical College which competed in the NJCAA National Tournament. This was the Jets second consecutive NJCAA runner-up finish and head coach Travis Garrett recorded his first 20-win season in his third year at the helm of the program. The Jets finished 20 – 12 overall and 11 – 5 in the conference.
The Lady Jets are returning five players form the nationally ranked 2017 -2018 season including three members that were invited to participate in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Star Showcase this past summer. Those three included: Ricka Jackson, a 5’10” forward from Ewa Beach, Hawaii; Alyssa Nieves, a 5’ 7” sophomore guard from Tampa, Florida; and Bigue Sarr, a 6’ 2” center from Dakar, Senegal. Ricka Jackson averaged 9.1 points per game for the Lady Jets last season and shot 65.3 percent from the foul line. Alyssa Nieves averaged 8.8 points per game and was a 71.4 percent free throw shooter. Jackson hit 28.9 percent of her three point attempts and Nieves hit 31.9 percent of her shots from the three-point line. Bigue Sarr averaged 7.1 points per game.
The other two sophomores returning for the Lady Jets are Fatou Pouye, a 6’ 0” forward from Kaolack, Senegal, and Aubry Maulden, a 5’ 7” guard from Darien, GA. Pouye averaged 2.6 points per game last season and Maulden averaged 3.1.
The Lady Jets have one more sophomore on the roster this year. Mari Hill, a 5’ 6” guard from Aichi, Japan. She played for the National Champion Tallahassee Community College team last season and is a member of the Lady Jets this season. Rounding out the Lady Jets roster for 2018-2019 are seven freshmen. They are: Rio Yamazaki, a 5’ 1” guard from Noda, Japan; Amara Edeh, a 5’ 11” forward from Enugu, Nigeria; Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din, a 5’ 10” forward from Decatur, GA; Anna Mckendreee, a 5’ 6” guard from Flowery Branch, GA; Oumy Gueye, a 5’ 11” forward from Theis, Senegal, Laky Somo, a 6’ 0” center from Maputo, Mozambique; and Kamya Hollingshed, a 5’ 7” guard from McDonough, GA.
The Lady Jets are counting heavily on the six sophomores to provide leadership and mold the other seven players into a team that can compete nationally as well as in the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association conference. “We have some big shoes to fill from last season, but we have a great group of young ladies as well as talented athletes. We just need to see how hard they are willing to work to help us accomplish our goals of earning another trip to the National Tournament this season,” said Coach Frey.
The Lady Jets averaged 69.5 points per game and 47 rebounds last season. They also had an average of 15.1 assists each outing. They Lady Jets shot 42.5 percent from the field, 29.5% from the three-point line and hit 69.3 percent of their free throws.
Leading the Jets for the 2018 – 2019 season will be three returning players. Sophomore Adonis Green, a 6’ 7” forward from Stockbridge, GA is returning as well as Durand Green, a 5’ 10” guard from Brunswick, GA; and Sam Matice, a 7’ 0” forward from Saskatchewan, Canada. Adonis Green averaged 6.9 points per game for the Jets last season while Durand Green averaged 4.5. Sam Matice accounted for 1.6 each game.
In addition to those three returning players, the Jets also have sophomore Johnathan Tchuisse, a 6’ 6” forward from Paris, France joining the team. There are 10 freshmen that have been signed to round out the team including international players, Lamine Conte, a 6’ 3” guard from Paris France; Khader Bini, a 6’ 8” forward from Paris, France; and Kelvin Simion a 6’ 9” Center from Yenagoa, Nigeria.
The other freshmen players are: Dijon Brown, a 5’ 8” guard from Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Jaylan McKinney, a 5’ 8” guard from Swainsboro, GA; Brice Paster, a 6’ 3” guard from Macon, GA; Jalen Wilson, a 6’ 4” wing from Chicago, IL; Justin Johnson, 6’ 7” guard from Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Nick Cummings, a 6’ 2” guard from Eastman, GA; Toriano Lewis, a 6’ 1” guard from Richmond, VA; and Dorian Fisher, Jr, a 6’ 3” guard from McDonough, GA. Coach Garrett also has three red shirt players this season Sidni White, a 6’3” wing from Douglasville, GA; DaMarcus Caines, a 6’ 1” guard from Eastman, GA; and Jeremy Johnson, a 6’ 4” wing from Orlando, FL.
The Jets played 32 games last season and averaged 85.1 points per game and 39 rebounds per game. They also averaged 14 assists per game.
The Jets and Lady Jets both open the season the first weekend in November. The Lady Jets will travel to Gainesville, FL on November 1st to take on Santa Fe College at 6 p.m. and then travel to Ocala, FL for a matchup against the College of Central Florida on November 2nd at 5:30 p.m. The Jets travel to a tournament in Harriman, TN on November 2nd and 3rd. They will face Roane State at 6 p.m. Friday and Cleveland State on November 3rd.
The Lady Jets first home games will be November 10th and 11th when they host the Lady Jets Classic Tournament. They will open up against Cape Fear at 3 p.m. on November 10th and then take on Wallace State College at 3 p.m. in the Hangar on November 11th. They also have a home game on November 14th against East Georgia State College beginning at 5:30 p.m. and then take on Central Georgia Tech in the first conference game at 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 17th. The Jets will host their Jets Classic that same weekend and will face USC Salkahatchee at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 16th and then play Tallahassee Community College at 3 p.m., Saturday, November 17th before the women’s action.
The Lady Jets will also host Albany Technical College on November 20th at 5:30 p.m. in a conference match-up. They will travel to Georgia Highlands to participate in a Thanksgiving Classic on November 24th and 25th. They will play Roane State at 2 p.m. on November 24th and Pensacola at 12 noon in Rome, GA on November 25th. That will wrap up the November side of the schedule for the Jets and Lady Jets.
2018 – 2019 Lady Jets – Shown seated (l to r) are: Aubrey Maulden (20); Rio Yamazaki (3); Anna McKendree (14) Alyssa Nieves (4); Kamya Hollingshed (30); Mari Hill (10); and Ricka Jackson (1). Standing are: Manager Destiny Penn, Assistant coach Kezia Conyers, Bigue Sarr (21); Oumy Gueye (23); Amara Edeh (5) Yasriyyah Wazeerud-Din (13); Fatou Pouye (12); Laky Somo (24); and SGTC Athletic Director and Lady Jets head coach James Frey.