Last season for Little Cypress-Mauriceville was filled with frustration and disappointment. The Bears did not have their full starting lineup after the middle of December resulting in a 12-15 record for the year.
Coach Brad Jeffcoat has some Bears back to lead this year’s team. The injuries to some of the Bears allowed others to play and gain more experience which should be a benefit this season.
Starting at point guard last year after playing a lot of minutes as a freshman the year before is Da’Marion Morris. Ben Elliott started as a sophomore and has a chance to become the all-time leading scorer in Little Cypress-Mauriceville history. Elliott scored very well last season and is doing the same this year as a junior.
Alantheon Winn was injured as a freshman and saw no playing time from the start of district through the remainder of last season. Winn has stepped up and Jeffcoat said he is playing fantastic basketball right now, and might be the most talented player the coach has had LC-M. The sky really is the limit for Winn according to Jeffcoat.
Kaine Humberson is the starting point guard for the Bears. Humberson is a three-year varsity player who has really turned the corner with his talent. He is a good passer, a smart player, and is having a very good year as a senior.
Inside Miguel Molina is a 6-6 post who also had some injury issues last season. At times Molina has played really well. Jeffcoat added, “At times he’s been a little bit inconsistent, but I think he has the ability to provide something we haven’t had inside in quite some time.”
There are some younger Bears that Jeffcoat will use to advantage for the upcoming district schedule. Playing healthy now Winn, after breaking his wrist before district last year, should be a huge factor this season. Only a sophomore Winn can shoot the ball, is super athletic as evident by his averaging a dunk a game, and is a very exciting player.
Off the junior varsity from last year is Noah Fuller. He is kind of a glue player for the Bears that keeps them going good. “He gets a lot of rebounds, he scores about six or seven points a game, and we’ve been really excited with what he’s brought to the table so far,” Jeffcoat replied.
Little Cypress-Mauriceville has been very active in the pre-district. Coach Jeffcoat recapped the season to that point when the Bears were 10-6 including finishing third in the Aransas Pass tournament which gave them the opportunity to play some different teams from south Texas with some different styles of basketball.
More recently the Bears finished fifth at the Hardin-Jefferson tournament winning three out of five games. The highlight of the season so far was a victory at home against the Nederland Bulldogs for the first time in a few years.
Jeffcoat is excited about the start of district Friday, December 17, at Lumberton. Jeffcoat indicated, “This is kind of what everything is geared up towards, and our kids are ready to go.”
Expectations were not met last year for the Bears. Jeffcoat provided his main goal for this season at LC-M is to make the playoffs, but more specifically to be in the top two with a shot in the last couple of games to win the district championship. If and when the Bears get to the playoffs Jeffcoat always wants to win at least one game because he feels like once you get through the first round the bracket opens up a little bit.
The coach is confident in this year’s Bears. “This group has probably more talent than any I’ve had, the ability is there, we’ve got to fine tune somethings get rolling at the right time, but playoffs are our goal and we think that is more than achievable,” Jeffcoat concluded.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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