A late-season surge paced by returning guards Al Key and Turon Parker and departed power forward Dwayne Brunson, Craig Fletchall’s fast-and-the-furious Barton Community College Cougars roared in the National Junior College Athletics Association Region VI basketball tournament last March.
The Cougars, ranked nearly all of last season, as high as No. 7 in the national poll, took a bite out of Coffeyville, beating the No. 5-ranked Red Ravens in the quarterfinals before falling to another Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Eastern Division power, Cowley, in the semifinals.
Barton, which opens its season tonight against Fort Scott in Barton’s Highland Hotel/Pizza Hut Classic at 7:30 inside Kirkman Activity Center, finished 26-7 last season. They know they might have gone further had they displayed more physicality inside, something Fletchall addressed in the offseason as he enters his eighth season as BCC’s head coach.
“We thought that was our weakness last year,” Fletchall said. “Deep in the playoffs, Cowley outphysicaled us in the semis and you know, we just want to have a mix.
“We have some returning ball-handlers and we have some size, but the weakness we’ve always had has been those tough 3- and 4-men matchups. I think we have a couple of those guys that are going to compete this year.”
Some of Fletchall’s newcomers include 6-foot-11, 240-pound post player Sami Eleraky, along with 6-8, 209-pound Dominique Wilson, out of Kansas City, Kan.
Eleraky, a native of Aalborg, Denmark, initially signed with the University of California in the Pac-10 Conference, but failed to qualify academically.
“Dominique Wilson and Sami are more finesse players,” Fleltchall said. “They’re skilled, they have good hands and they’re good passers.
“We’ve got Raphael Stephens (6-5, 225, sophomore), out of Topeka High, and Raheem Johnson (a 6-8, 240, freshman, out of Romulus, Mich.), who are more physical players and they’re not as skilled as the other two, right now, but they’re definitely more physical.”
Fletchall, whose team plays Northeast Kansas Technical College at 7:30 on Saturday night in the classic finale, said he will be liberally mixing-and-matching during the preseason, trying to find an ultimate eight- or nine-player rotation for the rigors of Jayhawk West play.
The Cougars, who were 17-2 in all home games, finished in fourth place in the Jayhawk West standings with a 10-6 record.
“It’s a good mix for us,” Fletchall said of the addition of the inside players “We were afraid that we had too much of the same type, but I think those guys will complement each other well.”
The Cougars lost a wealth of experience from last season, including seven sophomores. The most notable loss is power forward Brunson, a 6-7 Jayhawk West honorable mention selection, who averaged a double-double — 17.4 points and 10.4 rebounds — while blocking a team-high 87 shots. Brunson has taken his talents to NCAA Division-II Fort Hays State University.
Forward Julian Rose, who averaged 6.3 points and 4.4 rebounds while averaging 15 minutes per game last season, is starting for Ottawa University, which played Oklahoma State the other night.
Six-foot-4 small forward Darius Hill, who averaged 8.2 points and 5.5 rebounds, is now playing for McPherson College.
As inexperienced as they are on the front line, the Cougars return one of the top backcourts in the conference in their trio of sophomores — starring third-team NJCAA All-America selection Key and his team-leading 18.7 points-per-game scoring average, coupled with 6-2 southpaw Parker and 6-4 deep shooter Andell Cumberbatch.
“I believe that we are the best backcourt coming back, so we’re going to have a big target on our backs,” Parker said. “We have to play up to our standard.
“We have play at a higher level than our standard to get where we want to be.”
Parker, a native of Canton, Ohio, was one of the catalysts during their late-season surge. After coming back from a tear of the patella cruciate ligament (PCL) in his left knee last January, Parker averaged 9.5 points and had 81 assists — second on the team to Key — while shooting shot 74.1 percent from the foul line on the season (63 for 85). He also led the team in 3-pointers (28 for 77 for 36.4 percent).
Cumberbatch averaged 6.3 points and knocked down 14 3s in providing an offensive spark off the bench.
“Al and I have the chemistry,” Parker said, “and we also have Andell coming back.
“Our backcourt is looking good. We’ve also got a knockdown shooter like Trey (Unrau), a freshman coming in.”
Unrau, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee during Moundridge High School’s Class 3A boys state basketball tournament game last March against Rock Creek in Hutchinson, says he’s ahead of schedule and around 80-percent healthy.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Unrau, Fletchall’s first signee in this year’s recruiting class, averaged 26.2 points per game last season. He finished his illustrious prep career with a school-record 2,250 points.
Parker said the Cougars had some good fortune last season, but acknowledged he wasn’t happy how it ended as they fell short of advancing to the national tournament.
“We have a lot of hunger,” Parker said. “Last year left a bad taste, losing (to Cowley) and being so close.
“This year, we’re going 100 percent harder and taking everything seriously. The sophomore season always goes by fast, so you have to stay humble and work hard in practice.”

BARTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE COUGARS

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
    Nov. 2-3 — BARTON HIGHLAND HOTELl/PIZZA HUT CLASSIC
    Today — Pratt vs. Northwest Kansas Technical College, 3 p.m.
    Tonight — Barton vs. Fort Scott, 7:30
    Saturday — Pratt vs. Fort Scott, 3 p.m.
    Saturday night — Barton vs. Northwest Kansas Tech, 7:30
    Monday — FRIENDS UNIVERSITY JUNIOR VARSITY, 7:30 p.m.
    Thursday — At Ottawa University JV, Ottawa, 7 p.m.
    Tuesday, Nov. 13 — At Kansas City Kansas (KCKCC), Kansas City, Kan.
    Friday, Nov. 16 — At Salina Classic
    Barton vs. Kansas State-Salina, 3 p.m.
     Friday, Nov. 17 — At Salina Classic
    Barton vs. Northwest Kansas Tech, 3 p.m.
    Monday, Nov. 20 — McPHERSON COLLEGE, 7:30 p.m.
    Thursday, Nov. 23-Friday, Nov. 24 — BEST WESTERN/COUGAR BOOSTER CLUB CLASSIC
     Nov. 23 — Brown Mackie College vs. Hill (Texas) College, 3 p.m.
Barton vs. Neosho County, 7:30 p.m.
    Nov. 24 — Brown Mackie vs. Neosho County, 3 p.m.
Barton vs. Hill (Texas) College, 7:30 p.m.
    Friday, Nov. 30-Saturday, Dec. 1 — At Highland Community College Classic
    Nov. 30 — Barton vs. North Central Missouri College, 3 p.m.
    Dec. 1 — Barton vs. Midland University JV, 2 p.m.
    Tuesday, Jan. 1-Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013 — At Neosho Classic Chanute)
    Jan. 1 — Barton vs. Missouri State University-West Plains, 6 p.m.
    Jan. 2 — Barton vs. Parris Junior College, 2 p.m.

KANSAS JAYHAWK COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONFERENCE
WESTERN DIVISION SCHEDULE
    Saturday, Jan. 5 — At Seward (Liberal), 8 p.m.
    Monday, Jan. 7 — DODGE CITY, 7:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Jan. 9 — At Garden City, 7:30 p.m.
    Saturday, Jan. 12 — BUTLER, 7:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Jan. 16 — At Hutchinson, 7:30 p;m;
    Wednesday, Jan. 23 — COLBY, 7:30 p.m.
    Saturday, Jan. 26 — At Pratt, 8 p.m.
    Saturday, Jan. 30 — CLOUD COUNTY, 7:30 p.m.
    Saturday, Feb. 2  — SEWARD COUNTY, 7:30 p.m.
     Wednesday, Feb. 6 — At Dodge City, 8 p.m.
    Saturday, Feb. 9 — GARDEN CITY, 7:30 p.m.
    Monday, Feb. 11 — At Butler, 8 p.m.
    Wednesday, Feb. 13 — HUTCHINSON, 7:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Feb. 20 — At Colby, 8 p.m.
    Saturday, Feb. 23 — PRATT, 7:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, Feb. 27 — At Cloud County, 7:30 p.m.
End regular season