East Mississippi Community College men’s basketball coach Billy Begley should be busier right now.
Typically, April — after spring break and after the end of the basketball season — is one of the most jam-packed periods on the recruiting calendar. NCAA coaches should be traipsing through Keyes T. Currie Coliseum. Begley’s Lions players should be fielding offers and preparing to make their selections. High school seniors should be picking EMCC as their college choice.
But in the midst of a recruiting dead period brought on by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, not much is happening this year. Instead, Begley is in his office, where he’s already rewatched every single game his team played this season as he finds himself with a lot more time on his hands.
“Everything’s just kind of in a holding pattern right now,” Begley said.
EMCC women’s basketball coach and athletic director Sharon Thompson pointed out that unlike at a four-year college, NJCAA schools must navigate setting up their own players with bigger programs as well as convincing high school recruits to join the program.
That’s not always easy, but Begley has tried to expedite that process by making highlight reels for the Lions’ sophomores on both the men’s and women’s teams. He got the hang of editing Synergy Sports Technology film after watching a short tutorial made by another coach, and on Wednesday he sent Thompson the videos he made on his Mac for each of her six sophomores.
“She has some girls that can really play — girls that know how to play and girls that can just flat out put the ball in the hole,” Begley, who had never before watched film of women’s basketball, said of Thompson’s MACJC title-winning team.
Sophomore guard Tye Metcalf, who helped the Lions to a 24-3 record on the season, has received the most recruiting interest, including offers from mid- and low-major NCAA Division I schools. Thompson expressed hope all six of her sophomores would be able to play at the four-year level, whether it’s in Division I, Division II, Division III or the NAIA.
On the men’s side, guard Donte Powers and guard/forward KJ Riley have earned looks, with Powers receiving Division I interest and Riley being recruited by Division II schools.
“I know they’re kinda getting antsy, and I’m getting antsy for them a little bit,” Begley said.
While EMCC focuses on getting its current players to the next level, the Lions of course have not lost sight of bringing in talent for the seasons to come. A current moratorium on in-person recruiting visits and other restrictions have “hurt bad,” Thompson said, but she knows the rules are affecting all programs equally.
“The good thing is — I always try to look for the positive in a negative situation — everybody’s abiding by the same rules,” Thompson said. “It’s not like one coach or team or school has an advantage over another one.”
During typical visits, recruits see the Lions’ Scooba campus, tour facilities and meet with current players — whom Thompson has told not to “sugarcoat” things so she can keep a clear conscience.
That goes back to her father Jack’s insistences for her when she was highly recruited out of high school and visited colleges. (Thompson eventually signed with Mississippi State.)
“‘Hey, don’t roll the red carpet out for us,'” Jack Thompson told coaches. “‘I want you to tell my baby how it’s gonna be.'”
Thompson and Begley know EMCC’s “books and ball” focus can turn off recruits looking for the glamor of a JUCO in Florida or Texas, but Begley said he tells out-of-state players the opportunity the school offers is “second to none.”
“East Mississippi is not gonna be your final stop,” he said. “We want East Mississippi to lead you to another place.”
That message can be hard to convey, though, as the Lions’ coaches must communicate with players through phone calls, text messages and FaceTime — “I hope coaches have unlimited calls and texts; if not, phone bills will go sky high,” Thompson pointed out — rather than show them the campus in person.
“It doesn’t do it justice sometimes as opposed to physically being there and saying, ‘Hey, this is what we have to offer,'” Begley said. “The big-times — the Mississippi States, the Alabamas — kids see that on TV all the time, but they don’t see East Mississippi on TV. My guys don’t see the schools they’re being recruited by. They don’t see the Arkansas-Pine Bluffs, the Texas States on TV, so they want to go see it for themselves. It’s just kind of tough right now.”
For the time being, Begley, Thompson and their fellow coaches across the country will do all they can do to keep their recruiting efforts alive.
“Everybody’s trying to figure out how to survive this thing and keep our head above water and just recruit within the guidelines and the rules and regulations that we have,” Thompson said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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