Preview 2006: Pratt looks to build momentum

All Trevor Rolfs did in his first season at Pratt Community College is take over in mid-season and lead the Beavers to their first ever NJCAA national tournament berth.

"I think so that was a huge confidence builder for our kids, our program in general," Rolfs said. "I think the sophomores coming back, they've been there,done that, they know how to get there. Hopefully, they come back and show leadership and direction. We've got a solid nucleus."

Leading that nucleus is 6-foot-4 guard Jarvis Nichols from Carol Stream, Ill.

"Jarvis is a shooting guard, shoots the heck out of it," Rolfs said. "He's a pure shooter with a nice frame. He's 6-2, 200 pounds, just a really solid, good athlete. He can really, really shoot it."

By the way, Nichols is a good shooter. He will receive some help up front from a pair of D1 prospects. Marvin Lee is a 6-foot-2 small forward who has a vertical leap of about 40 inches. Josh Randall made the Region VI all-tournament team a season ago. Rolfs says Randall has a shot to be a very good Division One player.

In addition, Rolfs is very excited about a couple of his signees.

"I signed a point guard out of Louisiana, Akeen Nixon," Rolfs said. "He's very quick, a cat quick point guard who can score the basketball. But what I like about him most is he's unselfish, he looks to get others involved. I think he'll be a really good point guard in our system."

6-foot-5 shooting guard Bryce Simon may be one of the better kept secrets in the state of Kansas this year.

"He's from Syracuse, Kansas, ten minutes from the Colorado border, way out west of Garden City by about an hour," Rolfs said. "I don't think he was seen by a lot of people. A lot of people knew he was because they went to the state tournament, but Garden City and Colby were on him really hard and we were able to get him. We felt real good about that."

Over the next few months, JucoJunction.com will be doing team previews from coast to coast to get junior college basketball fans set for an exciting 2005-06 season. To talk about this story with other juco hoops fans, check out the JucoJunction Board or our premium forum.