Tiger basketball picks up six local signees

Northeast Mississippi Community College men’s basketball program continued to bolster its roster with six in-district signings on the first day athletes could sign with college programs on Friday, April 8.
 
Northeast men’s head basketball coach David Robbins signed six local athletes from four in-district high schools that included Kareem Brown and Tadarious Coburn of New Albany, Acie Vance of Ripley, Steven Polk and Deonta Herman of Corinth and Jon Harrison of Belmont.
 
Brown and Coburn helped lead the Bulldogs to the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 4A State Tournament in Jackson and a 24-5 record.
 
Brown, a 5-8 guard, was a threat from beyond the arc connected on 41-percent of his three-point attempts while averaging 9.6 points per game for the Bulldogs along with 3.1 assists and 2.2 rebounds a contest.
 
Brown had 21 points in an 80-70 win over Brighton, Tenn., and then knocked down 18 against county rival Myrtle on January 7 in a 76-69 win.
 
Brown was also a threat at the free throw line for the Bulldogs becoming one of the team leaders at the charity stripe connecting on 77-percent of his shots.
 
Coburn, a 6-6 forward, averaged 17.1 points a game and snagged 8.8 rebounds for the Bulldogs and was named the Division 1-4A Player of the Year after scoring 377 points his senior season.
 
Coburn shared the wealth averaging 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game while knocking a 2.2 blocks per game.
 
Coburns was a 2010-11 McDonald’s All-American nominee as well as a 2011 Class 4A All-State honorable mention selection.
 
Vance, a 6-1 guard, led the Ripley Tigers in almost every statistical category averaging 31.4 points a game for Grant Gardner’s crew.
 
Vance also pulled down 5.7 rebounds a game to go along with 4.6 assists and 2.9 steals a contest in being named the Division 1-3A Player of the Year.
 
Vance, who scored 48 against eventual Class 3A state champion Booneville in the Division 1-3A tournament, put up 47 twice his senior season – against New Albany on November 23 and in an 84-83 win over DeSoto Central on December 20.
 
Vance, a 2011 Class 3A All-State honorable mention selection, recorded a double-double against Pontotoc on November 20 with 20 points and 10 rebounds and turned the trick once again against DeSoto Central with 47 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Herman and Polk helped lead the Corinth Warrior basketball team to the Class 3A state runner-up trophy during their senior seasons.
 
Herman, a 5-11 guard, led Corinth in assists (7.5) and steals per game (4.2) and scored 14.9 points per game for the Warriors.
 
During his senior season, Herman also pulled down 5.6 rebounds a game and connected on31.8-percent of his shots from beyond the three-point arc.
 
A Class 3A All-State honorable mention selection, Herman amassed 1,382 points, 518 rebounds, 660 assists and 353 steals during his career with the Warriors.
 
Polk broke on the scene on December 17 when the Corinth senior went off for 47 points against Belmont in an 82-70 win that included a hot night from the field.
 
During his career-high game, Polk was 16-for-21 from the field that included a 9-for-12 showing from beyond the three-point line. Polk also pulled down seven assists and dished out a handful assists in the win.
 
Polk averaged 14.6 points a game for the Warriors while pulling down 2.9 rebounds a game and had 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals a contest.
 
Polk scored double digits 24 times during his senior campaign, which included eight games of 20 points or more.
 
Harrison, a 6-5 forward, led the Belmont Cardinals with 18.5 points a game and 7.5 rebounds a game while picking up 1.6 steals a contest.
 
Harrison also dealt out 3.4 assists during the Cardinals 26-game season and scored 370 points for Belmont his senior year.
 
During his career, Harrison morphed to an inside game after connecting on 40-percent of his shots from beyond the three-point arc his junior season.
 
Harrison knocked down 78-percent of his shots from the charity stripe during his senior campaign while connecting on 54-percent from the floor during his final season with the Cardinals.
 
Harrison recorded five double-doubles on the season – all coming in wins for the Cardinals – including wins over Itawamba, Kossuth, Red Bay (Ala.), Potts Camp and Lewis County (Tenn.).
 
Harrison went for a season-high 32 against Ripley in a 95-88 win on December 10 and had 31 against eventual Class 3A state champion Booneville in a 69-68 setback on December 3.

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