Jackson, Butler, Rounkles receive national honors for NCMC

A twenty-eight win season, in addition to postseason region and district championships, have brought postseason honors for a pair of North Central Missouri College Pirates, including a first-team All-America selection for sophomore forward Marty Jackson.

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) made it’s first, second, and third-team All-America selections this week, with Jackson, a sophomore forward from Kansas City, among 10 players named to the Division Two first-team.  Jackson led the Pirates to a school record shattering 28-3 season in 2019-2020, and a second straight berth in the national tournament in Danville, Illinois.  Unfortunately for NCMC and the 15 other schools making the tourney, the Coronavirus pandemic canceled the event, leaving North Central players and months left to wonder what the Pirates would have none with a #9 seed that many saw as a slap to the face of a squad that spent seven weeks during mid-season ranked #1 in the country. 

Named as a third-team All-American for the Pirates was the high-flying freshman forward from Kirkwood High School in the St. Louis area, Atavian Butler.  Butler established himself quickly as one of the jewels in a recruiting class for Coach Jeremy Esry dominated by St. Louis area talent.

Here is the complete NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball All-America Teams:

First Team:

Marty Jackson – SO – North Central Missouri College

Ahamadou Fofana – SO – Erie, New York

Justin Brookens – SO – Iowa Lakes

Jacob Falko – SO – Cecil, Maryland

Darius Lee – SO – Sullivan County, New York 

Xavier Fuller – SO – Scottsdale, Arizona

Jamarius Hairston – SO – Davidson County, North Carolina

Courtney Carter – SO – South Suburban, Illinois

Jared Johnson – FR – Prairie State, Illinois

Taylor Currie – FR – Mott, Michigan

Second Team:

JaQuaylon Mays – SO – Johnson County, Kansas

Chandler Bevans – SO – John Wood, Illinois

Sheldon Stevens – SO – Southern Arkansas University Tech

Lorenzo Smith – SO – Dakota County Tech, Minnesota

Vejas Grazulis – FR – Muskegon, Michigan

Tyreke Johnson – SO – Lakeland, Ohio

Yuri Swinford – SO – Milwaukee Area Tech, Wisconsin

Isaiah Jennings – SO – Montgomery, Maryland

Luke Appel – SO – Kirkwood, Iowa

Leon Ayers – SO – Henry Ford, Michigan

Third Team:

Atavian Butler – FR – North Central Missouri College

Roman Behrens – SO – Central Nebraska

Rick’Keem Mixson – SO – Raritan Valley, New Jersey

Kendall Robinson – SO – Sullivan County, New York 

Jalen Lynn – SO – Arkansas State Mid-South 

Jake Lieppert – FR – Pima, Arizona

Cecilio Montgomery – FR – United Tribes Tech, North Dakota

Justus Baldwin – SO – Wake Tech, North Carolina

Joshua Morris – SO – Morris, New Jersey

Kylan Shipp – SO – Muskegon, Michigan

The North Central Missouri College women had their season end in disappointing fashion, with back-to-back losses costing the Lady Pirates a potential #1 region seed, then finishing the campaign in a one-point loss in the semifinals of postseason play.  Nevertheless, NCMC had 18 wins in a bounce-back season for the program, with redshirt freshman Kortlyn Rounkles, a product of Southwest Livingston High School, earning national third-team All-American honors, after averaging a team-high 18 points per game for Coach Jenni Croy.

Here is the NJCAA D-II Women’s Basketball All-American Team: