UMO seniors Hargrove, McCain provide versatility on court

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on March 23, 2015 1:52 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

Just 47,500 feet separate C.D. Hylton and Potomac High Schools.

Roughly nine miles of rural highway that twisted and turned along the outermost edges of Prince William Forest Park, separated Kendall Hargrove and Jordan McCain.

Now, after four years playing together on the University of Mount Olive basketball court, it's safe to say they're a bit closer.

Hargrove and McCain, who attended Hylton and Potomac, respectively, are close to ending their collegiate careers. They'll have a chance to leave quite the mark, however, as the Trojans face Tarleton State (Texas) in quarterfinal-round play of the NCAA Division II Elite 8 on Wednesday afternoon.

Hargove and McCain knew of each other long before their days in Kornegay Arena were ever an option, not to mention a reality. The two played against each other in high school and were teammates on a local AAU team.

"We were buddies in high school," McCain said, "but we didn't hang out as much because we lived on separate sides of town."

The town is Woodbridge, Va., a community of 4,000-plus residents located 30 minutes south of the nation's capital. It's considered one of the southern-most towns that comprise part of the are informally known as northern Virginia.

It's also been a recruiting hotbed for UMO head coach Joey Higginbotham.

"We knew about both of them," he said. "During my first year as a head coach, my assistant was from Woodbridge, so that's how we knew about them. Actually, the few games I went up to watch were games when they played against each other."

After heavily recruiting both players, Higginbotham invited them down to visit the campus together. A week later, on the same day, they both committed.

"It was interesting to go down together and see what were going to become in the next four years," Hargrove said.

Fast-forward four seasons and the Trojans are in the thick of a national championship title hunt thanks in part to major contributions from their two seniors. McCain is an offensive force, averaging 13.2 points per game, good for second best on the team. He's also third on the team in assists per game (2.7) and shoots 53 percent, 40 percent from three.

While Hargrove has his moments offensively -- he also averages double figures and shoots over 50 percent from the floor -- it's his defense that the team relies on. Voted the 2014-15 Conference Carolinas defensive player-of-the-year, Higginbotham often talks about how it's Hargrove's defense that keeps the Trojans in tight games.

If you ask one about the other, the response you get is not atypical of what you would expect from two brothers. They joke around, giving facetious answers while the other is within earshot.

Get them alone, however, and the tone changes.

"(Kendall) is our glue guy, he's our best defender," McCain said. "When he keeps the energy up, we all feed off him."

"(Jordan) gets us going early with his scoring ability," Hargrove said. "We see Jordan scoring and it gives the rest of us a boost."

With graduation right around the corner, the reality of life after basketball is suddenly much closer than it may appear. The two are both criminal justice majors. McCain plans to pursue a career in his field of study.

Hargrove is looking to take a different approach.

"I'm looking to play basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters," he said. "and if that doesn't work out, me and Jordan are going to be partners in the ATF."

Post-grad partnership is the only thing that would make sense for the loud, out-going Hargrove, and the soft-spoken and reserved McCain. The two have been partners in just about everything else for the last eight years.

"They're both personalities that will never be replaced," Higginbotham said. "They're both great kids. I don't worry about these guys off the court or in town. They both do the right thing.

"They're really like brothers. They really are."