The Mississippi Valley State men’s basketball team will open the 2010-2011 season with an exhibition contest against Victory University (formerly Crichton College). The game will take place November 3, 2010 at Greenwood’s Leflore County Civic Center. Admission for the game is $1.00.
The 2010-11 MVSU basketball team enters their third season under Woods and staff and this season looks to be the most promising campaign yet. With the departure of senior guard Julius Cheeks, and ten returning players and four newcomers, the Delta Devils have set themselves for a serious run at the SWAC basketball crown. In mid-October, the Delta Devils were predicted to finish seventh in the Southwestern Athletic Conference this season, a pick that hs brought motivation to head coach Sean Woods and the program.
“It is a pick that leaves us with something to prove” said Woods. “We will have to play hard throughout the season to play better than that prediction.”
Leading the way for the Delta Devils this season is all-expecting, all-everything combo player Shannon Behling. The 6-foot-7 senior is the team’s top returning player averaging 11.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game with 20 blocks and 53 steals on the season. Joining Behling is guard D’Angelo Jackson and center Amos Studivant. Jackson (6-1, Sr.) averaged 6.4 points and 1.9 rebounds while garnering 50 assists off the bench; Studivant (6-8, Jr.) slowly came on last season, finishing with averages of 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Behling was named preseason all-conference second-team while Studivant received first-team honors.
An exciting crop of newcomers will join the program this season, bringing athleticism and toughness to the mix. Leading the pack is Falando Jones (6-4, F) and Paul Crosby (6-8, C). Jones averaged 15.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He shot 72 percent from the free throw line while shooting 47 percent from the field including 33 percent from three-point range. Crosby was a 2009 NJCAA All-Region second team selection, second-team all-conference pick and a member of the Region XIV Tournament Team. He averaged 10.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 0.5 blocks and 0.8 steals per game while shooting 41 percent from the floor.
