October 30, 2003
Wildcats out to successfully defend their MACJC title
Road will be a tough one with plenty of newcomers gracing Mathis’  2003-04 roster

     POPLARVILLE — Can Pearl River Community College’s Wildcats successfully 
defend their 2003-2004 MACJC state basketball championship?
     Fourteen-year Wildcat head coach Richard Mathis says the task will be a 
difficult one, but with his impressive flock young and speedy newcomers, 
he says his group could turn a few heads after they gel into the Juco 
game. A year ago he was talking the same jargon.
     “Back in early November of last year, if somebody had told me that we’d 
wrap up at 25-5, win the state championship, and make a respectable 
showing in the regional tournament, I would’ve probably laughed in their 
face,” said Mathis. “We weren’t a very good roundball team at the start, 
plus we were relying on a lot of first-year guys to step up quickly and 
compete. It took a while in coming, but we finally gelled into one solid 
unit.
     “This year’s group has better shooters, but we’re mighty thin at the 
four and five spots and we haven’t had anyone to step up and stake a 
claim on our starting point spot.”
     When last February’s MACJC State Tournament rolled around, the River was 
rolling and Mathis wound up winning his fifth career state championship 
and his third with the Wildcats with a 92-83 victory over Northwest.
“All championships are nice, but that one was particularly sweet,” said 
Mathis, who has also won a women’s title at East Mississippi and a Men’s 
title at Northeast Mississippi. “At the start of the year, I wasn’t so 
sure about our ability to go all the way. We had the athletes, but those 
athletes couldn’t shoot very well.
     “But they worked their tails off and have proven to me that they’re a 
bunch of achievers that pulled together for a common goal.”
     Mathis faces a mountain in replacing All-American shooting guard Yandell 
Brown who led the Wildcats in scoring the past two seasons, while 
earning All-MACJC and All-Region XXIII honors.
     Brown averaged 24 points, five assists, and five rebounds last year and 
copped a spot on the All-Region XXIII team for the second straight 
season after leading the balloting for the elite group of players.
     Sophomore Kitt Jones of Forrest County AHS and freshmen Gabe Willis of 
St. Stanislaus, Malcolm Fonerette of Bassfield, and Jacoby Rawls of 
Sumrall are in a heated competition at the point position.
     “Each one brings good things to the table, but none of them are the 
complete package just yet,” Mathis said. “And we’ve got to have the 
complete package if we’re going to repeat.”
     Sophomore Carlos Cole of Hattiesburg High was a huge compliment to 
Brown a year ago and will be back as the two guard, backed up by freshman 
Jason Simmons of Hattiesburg High.
     “Carlos is probably the most steady and consistent guy we’ve got,” 
Mathis continued. “He’s a good one to have around. He makes his shots, 
plays defense...he just plays hard on the court.”
     All-MACJC honorable mention center Ray Selvage of Baton Rouge returns to 
the lineup after averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds a game last year. 
Mathis says the 6-foot-8 sophomore has improved immensely in the past year.
“Offensively, he’s definitely improved and his work ethic is much better 
than it was as a freshman,” he said, also citing the efforts of 
sophomore forward Ethan Smith of Poplarville High who will be starting 
at the four or five spot.
     “Ethan can score inside or go outside and hit treys,” Mathis said. “That 
should pose problems for all the teams we face this year.”
Selvage will be complimented by two-sport standout Larry Brackins of 
Dothan, Ala., who transferred to PRCC after a All-Conference freshman 
basketball season at Feather River Community College in California. The 
6-foot-5 forward is currently the leading pass receiver in the MACJC 
with the Wildcat football team and should join Mathis’ group as soon as 
the post-season football playoffs end.
     “Larry can be a gigantic plus,” Mathis said. “He’s an impact kind of guy 
and should do nothing but compliment the remainder of our guys.”
Freshman forward Daryl Cohen of Century, Fla., has been impressive and 
should start at the No. 3 spot, backed by sophomroe Jonathan Williams of 
Stone County.
     Mathis says this year’s unit will be competitive from the outset, but 
“it will probably be after the Christmas break before we get the right 
parts in the right places and those parts starting working together as a 
team.
     “We’ve got a bunch of young guys that’s going to have to contribute 
quickly,” he continued. "We'd love to repeat and our goal is always to 
make it to the national tournament. But our immediate goal is to finish 
in the top four in the South Division...you have to do that to even have 
a shot at winning a national berth."
     Last year, the Wildcats came within a whisker of playing for a 
first-ever berth in the NJCAA National Tournament, but Holmes pulled our 
a last-second 72-71 nail-biter in the regional semi-finals to end PRCC’s 
season. Holmes went on to lose to Northwest in the finals.