UMO men's hoops: Higginbotham likes chemistry, seeks point guard

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 13, 2014 1:49 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Win the day, always be thankful for what you have and never be satisfied.

Sounds simple, doesn't it?

It's a formula University of Mount Olive head men's basketball coach Joey Higginbotham has adopted this season. His players, so far, have hung their hat on the mantra.

Seven players, who contributed significant time on the court, return off last year's team that earned a share of the Conference Carolinas regular-season championship -- the third with Higginbotham on the bench and sixth overall in program history since 1999.

"We do have a lot coming back ... got a chance to be really talented," Higginbotham said. "(But) we've got to stay healthy, get that rotation of nine (players) and go play (every night). Hopefully we can continue to get better like we have during these three weeks of preseason."

The biggest void the Trojans had to fill was point guard. Dory Hines, the school's all-time assists leader, graduated along with Ewon Wright. Wright shot nearly 45 percent from behind the 3-point arc.

Returning starter Dontrell Brite, JUCO transfer Jaquan Blount and freshman Tayon Gleaves will quarterback the offense at different points. Blount earned All-American honors at Pitt Community College.

Gleaves played at Charlotte Independence.

"He's getting better," Higginbotham said of Blount. "It's been a process with that position because Dory has been there for four years. (Blount) has made huge strides from our two scrimmages to the Old Dominion exhibition.

"We'll get there."

UMO returns a majority of its experience in the post -- senior Kendall Hargrove (6-foot-3, 185 pounds), senior Jordan McCain (6-3, 222), junior Mike Moore (6-8, 205) and junior forward Dominique Reed (6-6, 227). The quartet combined to average nearly 40 points and 20 rebounds per game.

Hargrove isn't afraid to crash the glass, Moore has increased his aggressiveness, Reed gained some confidence against ODU and McCain will continue to handle the sixth-man role.

They're joined by returnee John Wieland, a junior from Pittsboro who scored eight points a game and shot 82 percent from the free throw line.

Higginbotham continues to search for two more subs off the bench. He likes senior Josh Hicks, who saw some playing time last year and has a great IQ when he's on the court. Newcomer James Rucker from Raleigh missed two weeks due to an ankle sprain and suffered a concussion, but did play sparingly against ODU.

"I'm really pleased with this team and the progress that we're making on a daily basis," Higginbotham said. "We're fixing the things we need to fix. I enjoy this team. They're good kids, fun to be around and they're acceptable to coaching.

"We've got a long ways to go, but we're definitely headed in the right direction."

Here are five things to watch this season:

Frying pan, into the fire

* UMO opens its season Friday against USC Aiken in the annual Barton College 45-Second Classic in Wilson. Aiken won the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional last season and advanced to the semifinals of the Elite Eight.

While the Pacers lost some key players to graduation, Higginbotham still considers the perennial Peach Belt power one of the nation's top programs.

"We have a challenging non-conference schedule," said Higginbotham, whose team plays Carson-Newman (Tenn.) on day two.

49th Pickle Classic

* The annual two-day event is part of an alumni weekend that includes a ceremony which recognizes the newest inductees slated for enshrinement in the school's athletics Hall of Fame.

Joining UMO and Barton are former Classic participants Virginia State and Bluefield (W. Va.) State. The Trojans face BSU on opening night, while Barton plays VSU.

They'll switch opponents the following night.

Conference Carolinas

* Newcomers Emmanuel (Ga.), the NAIA Division I national runner-up in 2014, and Southern Wesleyan join the league this season. Neither is eligible for the conference tournament.

While Higginbotham has some knowledge of Emmanuel, he's not too familiar with Southern Wesleyan. But the UMO alum also knows that the eventual regular-season and/or tournament champion will have to get past King (Tenn.) University, Barton and Limestone -- three teams that could easily advance to the NCAA tournament.

The Trojans have made two NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2005.

Getting better daily

* Higginbotham says the Trojans can be competitive in the league and has the goal of reaching the conference championship game.

Should UMO find a point guard who matures and navigates the team through a difficult non-conference schedule, then the sky -- as they say -- could be the limit. Traditionally, the Trojans show vast improvement in January and February as the team chemistry becomes consistent on the court.

The Trojans won 10 of their final 11 regular-season games a year ago.

Who's the leader?

* The returning starters have accepted the newcomers from day one. Hargrove has shown leadership during the preseason along with Blount, who continues to learn the nuances of the program -- on and off the court.

As always, Brite works and leads by example.