Cowboys Prepare for Abbreviated Schedule

   The 2019-20 season was one that Connors State men's basketball coach Bill Muse and the Cowboys are glad to put in the past for a number of reasons.

   The season started with just one starter returning in Callen Haydon, a 6-0 sophomore from El Reno, which made it the least experienced starting crew that Muse has had in his 28 years at Warner. But despite the inexperience and the fact that Haydon was injured for several weeks, Muse coached the Cowboys to a 22-9 record but an uncharacteristic early end of the season, losing in the opening round of the Region II tournament.

   And then there was the pandemic. It led the Nation Junior College Athletic Association to delay the start of the 2020-21 season until late January and it hit close to home as it claimed the life of a member of the Connors family in Sports Information Director Wayne Bunch.

   Nine freshmen and two transfers will join two returning starters, a redshirt and a role player for Connors as Muse begins his 29^th year at the helm seeking his fifteenth conference title and eleventh trip to the NJCAA Big Dance in Hutchinson, Kansas. The head coach is the elder statesman among Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference coaches and his 671-238 record (a 73 percent winning percentage) continues to be the all-time best in Connors history.

   Leading the list of returning Cowboys is Jahcoree Ealy, a 6-5 wing man from Damascus, Arkansas. He averaged 15.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season for Connors and was a first-team selection to the OCAC All-Freshman team. He scored 25 or more points in four games last year with his best being a 29-point outing against the Oklahoma Wesleyan junior varsity.

   Also, back in the fold is the Cowboy's muscle man Jarquavious Cain, a 6-6 forward from Jonesboro, Arkansas. He averaged 14.9 points and 9.5 rebounds a game in 2020. He had a season high 27 points against Cedar Valley and scored over 20 points in eight games.

   Jace Jordan from Broken Bow played off the bench last year seeing action in 21 games with a season high 18 points against the Central Baptist junior varsity.

   A big question mark for the Cowboys will be the status of redshirt freshman Oumar Keita from Hazard, Kentucky. The 6-11 big man tore his ACL in pre-season last year and the injury has been slow to heal.

   Perhaps the most immediate help might come in the form of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M transfer Gavin Harris from Jackson, Missouri. The 6-4 guard transferred in the first semester last year and sat out the second and Muse has high hopes for him.

   The Cowboys should have good depth at the guard spot thanks to the incoming freshmen. The most notable has been Brandon Taylor from Coppell, Texas who looks to run the point for the Cowboys.

   Other faces that will rotate in and out of the lineup at one of the guard spots for Connors are Donald Garrett III from Garland, Texas, Jordan Tillmon from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Ricardo Jackson from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

   Muse is also anxious to see more of 6-8 Mason Alexander. The Tulsa Edison product played just one year of high school basketball but could be a breakout player for the Cowboys this season.

   Another freshman that might see immediate action is 6-9 forward Sammy Mike from Warner Robbins, Georgia. His presence could be vital if Keita is unable to go.

   Other recruits for the Cowboys that are battling for playing time include TJ Maxwell from Hilldale and Jalen Cloud out of Stigler. Hometown product Jack Van Daley will redshirt this year.

   But perhaps the biggest "recruit" to join the Cowboys this season will be the coach's son Bill Muse Jr. who comes aboard as an assistant coach for his dad. "Junior", as the players call him, grew up on the Warner campus, attended Hilldale High School and then played for his father for two years before moving on to play Division I ball at Coastal Carolina and Southern Mississippi.

   "Having him here is big for several reasons," said the elder Muse. "First, he grew up around the program and played for me, so he knows the system inside out and I don't really have to tell him what to do. Second, is that he can relate to these players who all have the goal of playing at the next level. He has been there recently and can tell it like it is to the guys. And third, he and I are really close and it's just nice to be able to have him around all the time."

   The decision to delay the start of the season this year brings some changes for the Cowboys in their schedule.

   "Our season has been cut from 30 to 22 games, so we'll have only three non-conference games to start instead of the usual 10 or so to sort things out and we're not doing any outside scrimmages to try and keep everyone healthy" said Muse.

   Cowboys fans will enjoy the season starting with four home games beginning January 20 against  Mid-America Christian followed by contests with Oklahoma Wesleyan and the University of Arkansas-Cossatot and then the OCAC opener February 1 against Western Oklahoma State. The season ends April 1 followed by the Region II tournament which will be held in Enid, Oklahoma this year.