Poll Shakeup

The NJCAA released its final weekly rankings for the fall semester, picking back up in January after a 3-week hiatus for the holidays.  7 teams remained unbeaten (#1 South Plains, #2 Salt Lake, #3 Daytona St, #5 Snow, #8 Mineral Area, #15 Triton, #20 Indian River).  Region 8 (Florida) has gotten off to a hot start with 5 teams represented this week, more than any other region.  Region 5 (West Texas) & Region 6 (Kansas) tallied 4 teams apiece.  

Transfers Filling It Up

JUCO can serve as a great stepping stone for many prospects, but choosing a school as your next destination can be tricky.  Several JUCO players have seen great amounts of success at their new destinations, and here are a few that are currently in the Top 100 in points/per game in the NCAA Division 1 statistical rankings through 12/11/23.  

Jordan Johnson (Hinds CC) 23.8 PPG at New Orleans

Tyon Grant-Foster (Indian Hills CC) 21.3ppg at Grand Canyon

Sky Wicks (State College of Florida) 20.0ppg at Incarnate Word

Dalton Knecht (Northeastern CO) 19.0ppg at Tennessee

Shahada Wells (Tyler) 19.1ppg at McNeese St

Marcus Hill Jr. (Southern Union) 19.1ppg at Bowling Green

Landon Glasper (Coffeyville) 18.9ppg at North Carolina A&T

Isaiah Stafford (John Logan) 18.3ppg at Valparaiso

Dominique Daniels (Cal-San Bernardino) 18.0ppg at Cal Baptist

Tai'Reon Joseph (East Central MS) 17.9ppg at Southern

Tough Sledding

The Indian Hills Community College Warriors have been through a gauntlet schedule through their first 12 games.  The Warriors have played 8 of their 12 contest to start the year vs teams that have made at least one appearance in the NJCAA Top 25.  IHCC's 3 losses under first-year Head Coach Josh Sash have come at the hands of then #1 Northwest Florida in Niceville, FL, at #5 Vincennes, and at home vs #2 South Plains.  This weekend they escaped with a thrilling buzzer beater by Kansas City-bound Davonte Hall to defeat previously ranked College of Southern Idaho.  Indian Hills is currently ranked #12 in the country after this week's poll release.  

Holiday Tournaments

There will be a few holiday tournaments taking place before Christmas, as most NJCAA schools will take an extended break.  Highland CC (IL) will host the 55th Annual William Bear/Diamond Brothers Insurance Classic on December 15th/16th in Freeport, IL (Bracket https://highlandcougars.com/documents/2023/12/4/Tournament_Bracket_2023.pdf ).  The Brunswick CC Dolphins host their 13th Annual Holiday Classic. The event will have teams from NC, GA, TN, VA, and PA and 11 men's and women's games over three days in Bolivia, NC.  South Georgia St will host the B-MAC Buffet Christmas classic on December 15/16, including #3 Daytona St as a participant.  The Tallahassee CC Classic will include Gulf Coast St, Florida Southwestern, and Andrew on December 15/16 as well.  

Milestones

Congratulations are in order to Butler Head Coach Kyle Fisher, who has spent the last 12 years in the Jayhawk Conference (7 AC at Coffeyville, 5 as HC at Butler), notched his 100th victory at BUCO over the weekend with an 80-75 win over Dodge City.  Fisher's record at Butler is 100-35, and he currently has this year's Grizzly squad ranked #17 in this week's edition of the NJCAA Top 25.