Sophomores lead the way for 1 Moberly
The Moberly Area Community College Greyhounds have won 25 Region 16 titles in the last 51 years. This year, MACC is strong again. The Greyhounds are the top ranked junior college team in the country.
There are five sophomores on the Moberly roster and each is receiving strong Division One interest. The fifth, 26-year old Marty Wise would be able to play DI, but he is too old. Therefore, a Moberly assistant has said he will end up at one of the top-tier Division II schools in the nation.
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JucoJunction.com was in Moberly last night for the Greyhounds' 64-62 exhibition win over the Columbia College Cougars. We had a chance to speak with each of the other four Greyhound sophomores about their games and recruiting. The group has made a decision that none will sign until after the season so that they can focus on winning the fifth national championship in school history.
Gant is a 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward from Charleston, Mo. He can play the three or the four. Gant is getting looks at both positions, but admits he would rather play power. forward.
He is receiving interest from George Mason, San Diego State, Rice and Long Beach State.
“I took a visit to George Mason,” Gant said. “It was really good. That's a real nice school, but all the sophomores decided to sign after the season.”
Hardaway is a 6-foot-3 swingman originally from Mumford, Tenn. He is nursing an ankle spraing but expects to be back to full strength by the time Moberly opens its season next week.
“I think I play defense well and I bring toughness to this team,” Hardaway said.
He is looking at Chattanooga, Drake, Sam Houston State, Ole Miss and Stephen F. Austin right now.
Gibbs is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound shooting guard and looked the best of the four sophomores during the exhibition game. He is quick enough to get his own shot on the dribble, but also has a good shot from outside.
“I want to get stronger,” Gibbs said. “I worked on my free throws, I worked on my jumper so now it's just time to get the strength in there. My quickness has come along.”
Gibbs has perhaps the most impressive list of schools after his services. He listed Ole Miss, Washington, Southern Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas State, Southern Miss and Middle Tennessee as the schools showing interest. He's also working on becoming a more versatile player as a sophomore.
“I'm working myself to play both [positions],” Gibbs said. “I already play two so I'm going to work myself to play one.”
Smith is the Greyhounds' point guard. At 6-foot-3, 180 pounds, Smith is lightning quick. He's also a little older than most junior college sophomores. After leaving a community college in Illinois for family-related reasons, Smith took a year-and-a-half off before landing at Moberly.
Now, headed into his sophomore season, Smith is getting interest from Minnesota, Georgetown, Texas A&M and Southern Miss.
"I just need to work on controlling the ball, lowering the turnovers," Smith said. "Sometimes I see people before they see it and it causes a lot of confusion. I can get people the ball. I can get people where they need to be and if you need me to score I can do that too."
Moberly gets the season off to a quick start next week. The Greyhounds with host Southeastern Illinois next Thursday in a matchup of the top two teams in the country.