Jointer Transfers; Parts Ways with Ole Miss

Mario Jointer wanted to attend Ole Miss, and the Rebels seemingly wanted him, but the 6-2 shooting guard became a free agent recently when he signed with Chipola J.C. in Marianna, Fla.

Jointer became familiar with Chipola when he played at Okaloosa-Walton C.C. in Niceville, Fla., as a freshman in 2001-2002. The plan was for Jointer to sit out this year at Northwest Mississippi and then enroll at Ole Miss in the fall of 2003-2004.

But an SEC rule states that a player must attend a junior college for three consecutive semesters before enrolling at a member institution. Therefore, Ole Miss then hoped that Jointer would be granted a waiver to play at NW Mississippi in 2003-2004 before enrolling as a junior in Oxford in the fall of 2004.

Under Mississippi junior college rules, in-state players are only permitted to play at a JUCO that is located in their region of the state. Jointer's waiver was not granted this spring, so he decided to bounce to Chipola. That has essentially reopened his recruitment this spring.

According to Chipola Asst. Coach Joel VanMeter, South Alabama is an early factor in Jointer's recruiting process. That's not surprising, since former O-W Asst. Coach Isaac Brown (who recruited Jointer out of high school two years ago) is now an assistant coach at USA.

"Mario can really go off the dribble," VanMeter said. "He's comparable in a lot of ways to Brandon Freeman."

Freeman, a high scoring wing, just completed his sophomore year at Chipola and is headed to Arkansas Little Rock in the fall.

Jointer is currently enrolled in summer school classes at Chipola. JUCO Junction hopes to catch the Indians in action next season, but in the meantime, we'll keep you posted on Jointer's recruitment. Stay tuned!