Coyotes look to reload, not rebuild

In just two years at the helm of the Weatherford College Coyotes basketball program, head coach Chris Lewis revived memories of some of the program's greatest days by, well, having one of the greatest seasons in quite some time. 

The Coyotes created a lot of buzz around the community and beyond as they won the most games for the program in a decade and a half. They finished 23-8. 

Also, the team tied for third in the Northeastern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference, earning their first Region V Tournament berth in eight years. Once there they reached the semifinals, defeated No. 18 Clarendon 65-62 before falling 84-59 to No. 21 Ranger. 

The Coyotes were nationally ranked themselves at one point in the regular season. In fact, they never lost more than one game in a row. 

Now comes time to reload. 

"We had a really good season last year with a lot of sophomores. This year we are younger and still learning what it takes to be successful at the college level," Lewis said. "We've got a good group of newcomers that continue to grow and develop together.  

"I expect us to have our struggles early, but hopefully by the time conference rolls around we are firing on all cylinders." 

The roster is almost the exact opposite of last season when it had eight sophomores and five freshmen. This season there are four sophomores and nine freshmen. 

No starters are back from last season. There are two returners, however, 6-foot sophomore guard Wayne Wiggins from Mansfield and 6-foot-5-inch redshirt freshman forward Tyson Whybrew from Pflugerville. 

Wiggins, a reserve last season who is expected to join the starting lineup this year, was an honorable mention all-conference honoree. He averaged a team-leading two steals per game and was third on the squad with an average of three assists. 

Newcomers that Lewis believes could make an immediate impact include 6-3 sophomore guard Jared Washington (Mansfield, transfer from Midwestern State University), 5-11 sophomore guard Christian Watkins (Stockbridge, Georgia, transfer from Gordon State College), 6-7 sophomore forward Donato Joseph (Calgary, Canada, transfer from Wenatchee Valley College) and 6-8 freshman forward Handy Toussaint (Powell, Ohio).  

Also joining the team as incoming freshmen this season are 6-7 guard Melvin Quennecart (Langy sur Marne, France), 5-9 guard Jamie Hodges (Michigan City, Indiana), 6-9 forward Gordon Magok (Juba, South Sudan), 6-6 forward James Otieno (Mombasa, Kenya), 6-6 guard Marcus Myen King-Danchie (London) and 6-10 center Hamza Ghoulial (Azrou, Morocco). 

Lewis expects the conference to be tough again this season. What else is new? 

"I think all the teams in conference are capable of beating each other, so it comes down to who shows up on the given day," he said. "I expect teams like McLennan and Ranger to be some of our tougher opponents, but teams like Hill, Temple, Collin will all be good as well." 

And, once again, the region looks to be among the best in the nation. 

"There are a couple teams in the west that are in the top 10 preseason polls and a handful of region teams in the top 25. It will be a great challenge for our guys to go against some of them early in the season," Lewis said.  

"I'm excited for the season to begin and working hard to help these guys grow and be successful this season and beyond in their careers."