It’s basketball season in Ellisville, and the Bobcats have high expectations.
Following a 27-7 season, a trip to the national tournament, and a preseason rank of No. 9 in the nation, Jones has lofty goals for the 2024-25 campaign. The team’s roster indicates their dreams for the season could very well become a reality.
The problem that junior colleges face in athletics is turnover. Coaches are only ever guaranteed two seasons out of a player. In most cases though, the star players play one season before they transfer to a division one program. Bobcat Head Coach Newton Mealer has broken that trend this year.
Out of the 15 players on the Bobcat roster, six are returning players. On top of that, four of the five starters have come back to play their sophomore season at Jones. The four starters are LJ Hackman, Dimp and Ky Pernell and Kylan Howze. The two non-starters are Jylan Howze and Malik Franklin. Last season Jylan Howze was an integral player off the bench that contributed quality minutes. Franklin was one of the Bobcats’ top scoring players in the 23-24 season, playing in all 34 games and averaging 13 minutes per contest. In addition to his 7.6 points per game, Franklin sported a respectable 38% three-point shooting percentage.
The difference with the returning group of players at Jones this season is that they have quite the resume to back up the hype.
As mentioned before, the Bobcats went 27-7 overall last season. Eleven of those wins came in MACCC play, bringing their conference record to an astounding 11-3. That 11-3 record earned them a conference title and a high seed in the Region 23 tournament. After going 3-0 and beating the MGCCC Bulldogs in the championship game 83-81, the Bobcats were crowned Regional Champions.
In addition to team achievements, Jones also had players win individual awards. Bobcat guard Dimp Pernell won MACCC player of the year. Three players from the squad were named to the all-tournament team at the Regionals, among them was tournament MVP Ky Pernell.
Fans who caught the Bobcats last season already know what style of basketball the team plays. Coach Mealer’s group loves to play a fast paced, run and gun type of ball, making the A.B. Howard Gymnasium the place for basketball fans this season. But just because the Bobcats like to play a heavy guard style of basketball does not mean that the dirty work down low will be neglected.
Jones bulked up the roster over the summer. Coach Mealer added size by bringing players Avery Thomas III, Kaison Saunders and Tre Pullins aboard. Of those three players, Avery Thomas and Kaison Saunders are tied for the shortest while both sporting a height of 6’7”.
The Bobcats played a Jamboree on Oct. 22 against the Southeastern Baptist College Chargers. After scoring 104 points, Jones brought home the win. More importantly though, they showed that there are plenty of reasons to believe the hype. Jones starts the regular season on Nov. 1 with their first home game on Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. against Piney Woods.
by Ollie Hammonds
