New-look Pirates open Esry era with road trip to Overland Park tonight

A new era of North Central Missouri College men’s basketball opens tonight (Tuesday night) at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, where the host Cavaliers take on the visiting Pirates in the first game as NCMC head coach for Hamilton native Jeremy Esry.

While tonight will be the first in the head coaching chair for Esry, he does not come into the job without a ton of knowledge about the Pirate program, having played two seasons in the mid-2000’s for former coach Steve Richman, before returning to North Central as an assistant, before his elevation to the top job earlier this year.

Coach Richman remains with NCMC as the school’s new softball coach, while continuing his duties as Athletic Director.

As is always the case at the JUCO level, North Central will see its fair share of new faces into the program this year, as the Birmingham pipeline being developed by the Pirate program will bring 6’6″ freshman forward Dee Scruggs and 6’4″ freshman guard Tyreke Bell this season, along with a returning point guard, in sophomore Demetrius Houston Jr.

Coach Esry was able to hit the local schools for talent in the Pirates freshman class, mining up and down Highway 6 for Kirksville High School’s Chance Edwards, Trenton High School’s Cree Mullenix, Gallatin High School’s Harris Cameron, Winston High School’s Jordan Leonard, and St. Joseph Benton High School’s Mikhyln (M.J.) Johnson.

Adding length and versatility to the NCMC roster is Jalen Gant, a 6’7″ freshman from Kansas City:

Hoping to find similar success to the career of graduated All-American Terrance Bush, NCMC went back to Bush’s alma mater, Des Moines North High School to bring in 5’9″ point guard Teyontae Jenkins.   Joshuah Goss, a 6’4″ forward from Sachse, Texas, will play as a freshman for North Central, with Coach Esry hopeful that opens a recruiting door into the Longhorn State.

In addition to Houston, Pirate fans will see familiar faces in sophomore returners Major Finley and Lorenzo Chisholm, both backcourt specialists, with Finley a shooter from the off-guard position, and Chisholm adding depth to the point guard spot.  Brandon Burden, a 6’3″ forward from the Bootheel community of Hayti, returns for his sophomore campaign at NCMC.

North Central’s opponent, Johnson County, is ranked #15 in the country in the NJCAA D-2 preseason poll.   While talented, the Cavaliers will be young, as 10 freshman, many expected to contribute immediately, are on the roster.  Two-time All-Conference selection Nick Larking, out of Lee’s Summit High School, is expected to be one of the top players for JoCo, along with 6’1″ guard Oliver Edwards and 6’3″ guard Marquawn Wilson.

On the Kansas side of the state line, Johnson County stayed local with the addition of 6’5″ forward Patrick Cairns (Blue Valley Southwest), 6’6″ forward Alex Martin (Blue Valley), and 6’4″ forward Darrell Stewart (Shawnee Mission West).

Tonight’s game from the Johnson County Community College gymnasium tips at 7:30, and can be viewed on KGOZ-TV, starting at 7:25.  Tom Johnson will call the action from Overland Park.  You can access KGOZ-TV through You Tube, through the KTTN Radio channel.