KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This basketball season has been a long – but successful – one for the Johnson County Community College men's basketball team.
“They got here in August, and we didn’t play any games until January, and we’ve been off and on a few times with COVID," head coach Rand Chappel said, "but, you know, we started playing some good basketball once we got going in March, and we won 13 games in a row."
The Cavaliers tied for the regular season championship and won the region last week, sending them to the NJCAA Tournament.
“We see banners in here, we really want to put one up, and I think that’s pretty much all there is to it," forward Jaycson Bereal said.
The last time the Cavaliers hung a championship banner was in 2009.
The phrase, "offense wins games, defense wins championships," could apply now for the Cavs. The team leads the nation in field goal percentage defense.
“We’re having a great season. We’re taking care of business," forward Jaland Whitehead said. "Everybody comes in focused and ready to play."
This season, the Cavaliers were led by a new head coach and joined by new teammates. Early on, the team set goals and is executing them now.
“He came in and he set goals and said he wanted to win a National Championship, and we stand behind him on that," guard Desi Williams said of Chappel.
JCCC will tip-off against Mott Community College on Tuesday, the same school the team defeated in 2001 for the NJCAA title.
