- DMACC begins play under new head coach Blake Sandquist
- Sophomore returnees include Greg Brown, James Glenn, Jimarius Sneed and Jean Francois
- Bears are coming off a national championship and a third-place finish in the past two seasons
The DMACC men's basketball team opens the 2022-23 season against Kansas City (Kan.) Community College (KCKCC) tonight at Kansas City, Kan.
The Bears, who are ranked ninth in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II preseason poll, begin play under new head coach Blake Sandquist. Sandquist replaces former DMACC head coach Brett Putz, who resigned after two seasons at DMACC to join the Indiana State University (ISU) men's basketball coaching staff. Putz directed the Bears to the NJCAA Division II national championship in 2021 and to a third-place finish in 2022.
"We have played six or seven scrimmage games and we have a really, really deep team," said Sandquist, who comes to DMACC after 11 seasons as associate head coach with the William Penn University (WPU) men's basketball staff. "We played about 10 different guys (in every scrimmage game). We just have a really good group of kids, a lot of versatile players who can move around and play different positions."
Sandquist welcomes four returnees from the 2021-22 DMACC team that finished at 22-8 and ranked eighth in the NJCAA Division II poll. Returnees include guards Greg Brown of Omaha, Neb., James Glenn of Altoona and Jimarius Sneed of Chicago, Ill., and forward Jean Francois of Coral Springs, Fla.,
Sandquist said Glenn has been hampered by a wrist injury but should be available in the next week or so.
"It will be nice to get him back," Sandquist said. "He's probably our best shooter and is one of our leaders."
Sandquist said freshman Jaron Crews of Ankeny is expected to be the starting point guard with freshman Kwat Abdelkarim of Lincoln, Neb., also getting a look at the position and at shooting guard. Other candidates at shooting guard are Glenn, Brown, freshman transfer Cael McGee of Stoughton, Wis., and freshman Elijah Thomas of Sunrise, Ariz.
Forward candidates include Sneed, Brown, Francois, freshman Victor Desmond of Onalaska, Wis., and Covid-19 sophomore Saiveon Williams of Chicago, Ill. Players vying to play inside are Francois, and freshmen Angelo Winkel of Altoona and Benton Neyail of Ankeny.
Sandquist said the team's strength will be its speed and versatility.
"We play pretty fast," Sandquist said. "We try to get the ball out and go as fast as we can and score quickly. We'll try to keep the other team at a disadvantage and just use our speed and athleticism. Sometimes we'll have to slow it down and execute our sets, but we have to just continue to play as a group.
"If we can stay healthy, we have a chance to be pretty good."
Following their game with KCKCC, the Bears will play Spoon River Community College (SRCC) and Community Christian College (CCC) Nov. 4 and 5 in the Southeastern Classic at West Burlington. DMACC will open the home season Nov. 8 against the Graceland University junior varsity (GUJV).