Warrior Basketball

Former Warriors Enjoy Solid Seasons

(April 22) -- A total of seven players who graduated from Indian Hills Community College all were major contributors to the success of their current schools during the 2007-08 season. Those contributions included two MVP awards, an All-American designation, leading their teams in scoring and rebounding and numerous other awards and accomplishments during the past season.

A review of the performances of the former IHCC players starts with Marcus Walker, who played one season at Indian Hills, helping lead the Warriors to the 2007 NJCAA national tournament. During his junior year at Colorado State, Walker earned Newcomer of the Year and second-team all-conference honors in the Mountain West Conference. Walker was also named the Rams' Most Valuable Player for the 07-08 season after leading Colorado State in ten different categories. He started all 32 games during the season and averaged 17.1 points a game. Walker, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, led CSU in scoring in 12 straight games during one stretch and scored at least 23 points in seven consecutive games during that span. His high game for the season came early in the year at Tennessee State when Walker poured in 43 points, hitting 15-of-18 shots from the field and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.

Two other former Warriors also played their first season of major college basketball in Colorado. Jabril Banks and Robert Palacios were part of a University of Northern Colorado squad that tripled its win total from the year before. Banks, from Denver, Colorado, was named the Bears' Most Valuable Player and Top Rebounder while Palacios, who hails from Caracas, Venezuela, was named the team's Best Defensive Player. Palacios started all 29 games for UNC while Banks started all but one game. Banks averaged team highs in points (13.2) and rebounds (5.8) and shot .575 from the field and .741 from the foul line. Palacios had a 5.8 scoring average and led the team in steals and assists. He also led in offensive rebounds, despite standing only 6-2. Banks was also named the school's Men's Newcomer of the Year, selected from all the student-athletes at Northern Colorado.

David DuBois, who, like Marcus Walker, played his only season at IHCC in 2006-07, started all 30 games for Western Illinois. DuBois was the team's leading rebounder, averaging 5.3 boards per game. He averaged 9.9 points a contest, third on the team, and was second in assists and first in steals. DuBois shot .465 from the floor and was the team leader in minutes played. DuBois was one of five players named to the All-Newcomer Team in the Summit League. He ranked 11th in the league in rebounding and eighth in offensive rebounds.

A two-year starter at Indian Hills, Sean Haluska went to Iowa State with the idea of joining the basketball team as a walk-on and wound up seeing a lot of playing time, both early in the year and during the Big 12 conference season. Haluska's best scoring games of the season came in three consecutive games in February when the Carroll, Iowa product scored 12 points against Nebraska, a season-high 15 at Texas Tech, and 10 against eventual national champion Kansas. Haluska played in 30 games for the Cyclones and hit 14 of his last 31 three-pointers (over 45%).

Jamaal Smith was the only one of the former Indian Hills players who was a senior this year. Smith played in 33 games for New Mexico under first-year coach Steve Alford and averaged 8.8 points a game, mainly coming off the bench. Smith was an outstanding shooter during his lone season at IHCC, setting the school record for three pointers made in one season (a mark that was broken by Dwight Hardy this past season) and tying the record for free throws made. The native of Las Vegas, Nevada shot the ball very well for the Lobos in 2007-08, hitting 49% of his field goals, 49% of his three-pointers and 79% of his free throws. His high game was 24 points at Wyoming.

Former Warrior Nestor Colmenares, a first-team All-American for IHCC as a sophomore, moved on to play at NAIA powerhouse Campbellsville University in Kentucky this season and helped lead his team to the semifinals of the NAIA Division I national tournament in Kansas City. It was the first trip to the "Fab Four" in school history and they lost to the eventual national champ, Oklahoma City, in the semis. Colmenares averaged 20.5 points and 12.8 rebounds in four games at the tourney and was named to the ten-player All-Tournament team. Colmenares averaged in double figures in points and rebounds for the season and was named a second-team All-American by both the NAIA and Basketball Times. Colmenares and Robert Palacios were both two-year starters at Indian Hills after coming to IHCC from Caracas, Venezuela.

Warriors End Up 6th at National Tournament; Hardy and Buycks Named to All-Tourney Team

(March 24) -- The Indian Hills Warriors dropped a 70-63 decision to Eastern Arizona in the 5th place game at the NJCAA National Tournament on Saturday (March 22) in Hutchinson, Kansas. The Warriors (28-and-10 for the season) split their four games in the 2008 tourney. The Region XI champions defeated Itawamba (MS) CC in the opening round 75-73 in overtime on Dwight Buycks' three-pointer with 9.9 seconds remaining. IHCC then lost to South Plains (TX) 66-61 in the quarterfinals. South Plains went on to win the national championship, beating Salt Lake (UT) CC in the title game, 67-56. The game with Indian Hills was the closest contest that South Plains had in their four games on the way to the national title. Indian Hills stayed alive in the tournament, and earned a spot in the game for 5th place, with a 76-75 win against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a game that wasn't decided until NEO missed a pair of free throws with 0.3 seconds to play.

Indian Hills' dynamic freshmen duo of Dwight Hardy and Dwight Buycks were both named to the 12-player all-tournament team for the national tourney, announced at the conclusion of Saturday's title game. Hardy led the tournament in scoring with 119 points, one point below a 30.0 average for four games. Buycks poured in 79 points in the Warriors' four games, one point under a 20.0 average for the tourney. Hardy scored at least 26 points in every game in Hutch, with a high game of 36 against NEO. Buycks' best game was a 24-point effort against Itawamba.

Both Hardy and Buycks started every one of IHCC's 38 games in their freshman campaign. Hardy led the team in scoring at 18.9 points a game. He averaged 26.3 points a game over the last dozen games and 32.2 over the last five. His high game of 42 points came against Lake Region State (ND) in the district title game. Hardy also set the school single-season record for three-point field goals with 102. That breaks the previous record of 95 threes by Jamaal Smith in 2005-06. Hardy, a freshman from Bronx, N.Y., scored in double figures in 35 of 38 games.

Buycks was in double figures in 36 of the 38 contests. He averaged 17.8 for the year, 22.5 over the last six games. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native had two 33-point games for the season, one against Kirkwood CC in a triple-overtime game in mid-December and the other in the same game against Lake Region when Hardy scored 42.

Hardy's 718 points scored are the most for an IHCC player since Cory Hightower scored 745 in 1999-2000.

With their 28-10 record in 2007-08, the Warriors ran their record to 87-18 in the three years since Jeff Kidder took over as head coach. That's a .829 winning percentage. IHCC's 6th-place finish in this year's national tournament marks the 6th time in eight national tourney appearances that the Warriors have finished in 6th place or higher. Their overall national tourney record is 20-10 and they are the only team to win three straight national championships, accomplishing the feat in 1997, '98 and '99.

IHCC Places Four on All-Region Teams

(March 17) -- Indian Hills had four players named to the 2008 All-Region XI basketball teams released by the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. The Warriors had two players on the all-region first team, one on the second team, and an honorable mention choice.

IHCC's co-scoring leaders Dwight Hardy and Dwight Buycks, each averaging 17.6 points a game, were selected for the five-person first team. They are joined on that squad by Derwin Kitchen and Lloyd Phillips from Iowa Western, the team Indian Hills defeated in two straight games to claim the Region XI postseason best-of-three series, and Roberto Mafra of Southeastern. Hardy, Buycks and Kitchen are freshmen; the other two first-teamers are sophomores.

The all-region second team includes Leon Powell of Indian Hills, averaging 11.3 points a game, along with Ray Miller and Chris Poellnitz of Iowa Western, Cecil Stinson of Southeastern and Marquis Navarre of Marshalltown. Powell and Poellnitz are both freshmen while Miller, Stinson and Navarre are all sophomores.

The honorable mention list includes IHCC freshman LaRon Dendy and three players from Marshalltown -- sophomores Martez Hawkins and Luis Valera and freshman Douglas Kurtz.

National Tournament Pairings

(March 13) -- The pairings have been finalized for next week's NJCAA Basketball National Tournament at the Sports Arena in Hutchinson, Kansas. The final three spots in the 16-team field were filled on Tuesday night, one of them by Indian Hills Community College. The Warriors qualified for their 8th trip to Hutchinson with a 97-69 rout of Lake Region State College at the Hellyer Center.

Here are the national tourney first-round matchups:

March 18

10:00am Vincennes (IN) (28-4) vs. Salt Lake CC (29-3)

12:00pm Paris (TX) (28-5) vs. Southeastern Illinois College (27-6)

2:00pm Three Rivers (MO) CC vs. Eastern Wyoming (23-11)

4:30pm Eastern Arizona (27-5) vs. Walters State (TN) (31-1)

6:30pm Shelton State (AL) (24-10) vs. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (26-7)

8:30pm Seward County (KS) 29-5 vs. Chipola (FL) 32-1

March 19

11:00am South Plains (TX) (26-5) vs. Georgia Perimeter (23-10)

1:00pm Indian Hills (26-8) vs. Itawamba (MS) (29-2)

Only five teams (Chipola, Salt Lake, Itawamba, Walters State and Three Rivers) from the final regular season top 20 made it to the national tournament. Chipola is the highest-ranked team (No. 2) to advance. Salt Lake was No. 4, Itawamba, Indian Hills' opponent, No. 5, Walters State was No. 14 and Three Rivers tied for No. 19. The tourney runs through March 22 with the national title game at 8:30pm on the 22nd.

Warriors Headed Back to Hutch!

(March 11) -- Led by the one-two punch of Dwight Hardy and Dwight Buycks, the Indian Hills Warriors wrapped up a trip to the NJCAA national tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas next week with a 97-69 rout of Lake Region State College on Tuesday night at the Hellyer Center. It will be the 8th national tourney appearance for the Warriors and their second in a row.

Hardy had a phenomenal first half to help IHCC to a big halftime lead. The freshman guard made 13 consecutive field goals in the first half, hitting seven two-point baskets and following it up by making six straight 3's, and compiling 34 points by the half, five more than the team total for Lake Region. When Lake Region used a box-and-one on Hardy in the second half, Buycks took over, scoring 22 points in the final 20 minutes and draining three three-pointers.

Hardy wound up with a season-high 42 points and Buycks tied his season-best with 33. Only three of their teammates scored with LaRon Dendy adding 12.

Indian Hills will take a 26-and-8 record into next week's national tourney. They'll take on Itawamba (MS) CC in the first round on Wednesday, March 19 at 1:00pm in the final first-round game.

IHCC Moves Up to 4th As The Warriors Head to Arizona

(November 19) -- The Indian Hills basketball team, undefeated through their first five games of the season, is ranked 4th in the nation in the NJCAA's first regular season poll released today. The Warriors were 5th in Division I in the preseason poll. They have defeated their first five opponents by an average of 24.2 points. IHCC's defensive average of 54.0 is second in the country in Division I, according to Michael Johnson's latest JUCO Classic News Service Report.

Chipola College, which was ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll, maintained its top ranking this week. The Indians are followed by College of Southern Idaho and Midland College. Rounding out the top ten, after Indian Hills in the No. 4 spot, are Three Rivers (MO), Arkansas - Fort Smith, Northeastern (CO), Southwestern Illinois, Vincennes (IN) and Coffeyville (KS).

Indian Hills faces its toughest test of the young season this weekend as the Warriors take part in a holiday tournament hosted by Scottsdale Community College. IHCC plays Cecil College from North East, Maryland on Thursday night at 6:30 CST. Cecil is currently ranked 3rd in the NJCAA Division II poll. On Friday night, the Warriors take on Howard Junior College from Big Spring, Texas, a traditional power in western Texas, at 6:30 CST. Howard JC brings an 8-0 record into this weekend's tourney. And the Warriors conclude their stay in Arizona with a contest against Scottsdale CC on Saturday night at 8:30 CST. All three games can be heard live on Centerville radio station KMGO, 98.7 FM, and on the internet at www.kmgo.com.

Warriors Ranked Fifth in Preseason Hoops Poll

(October 17) -- The Indian Hills Community College basketball team will begin the 2007-08 season next month ranked 5^th in the nation. The Warriors earned the No. 5 ranking in the NJCAA Preseason Division I poll released on Wednesday.

Indian Hills was 34-2 last year, a record that includes a forfeit victory over Iowa Western, who was ruled to have used an ineligible player in one of the Warriors’ three losses last season. The two losses that count on the IHCC record from a year ago were sustained in the national tournament.

Chipola College from Marianna, Florida is the top-ranked team in the NJCAA preseason poll. Chipola lost in the national title game to Midland College of Texas last March. Midland is 4^th in the preseason ratings. Rounding out the top five are No. 2 College of Southern Idaho and No. 3 Coffeyville (KS) Community College. CSI and Coffeyville joined Chipola and Midland in the final four at last year’s national tourney.

Indian Hills will play 11 teams that are either ranked or received votes in the preseason poll for Division I or Division II. The only other ranked team in DI the Warriors will face is Iowa Western, rated 30^th in the preseason. Teams in that division that received votes, but weren’t ranked, and are on the Warriors’ schedule include Howard (TX) College, conference opponent Southeastern Community College, Southeastern Illinois and Wabash Valley (IL) College.

From the preseason Division II top 25, Indian Hills will face No. 7 Cecil (MD) CC, No. 10 Wilbur Wright College from Chicago, 13^th-ranked Kirkwood CC, No. 20 Lincoln (IL) College and 22^nd-rated Scottsdale (AZ) CC. They’ll also take on Iowa Central CC, which received votes, but wasn’t ranked.

The Warriors open the season with the IHCC Classic sponsored by Jack Blackwell Tire on Nov. 9-10. Indian Hills will play New Creations School from Richmond, Indiana the first night and will battle Lincoln Trail (IL) CC the next evening.

Dubois Headed to Western Illinois

(May 7) -- Another sophomore from this past year’s Indian Hills Community College basketball team has found a home for next year. David Dubois, from Madison, Wisconsin, has signed a letter-of-intent with Western Illinois University.

Dubois, a 6-6 forward, was a starter for the Warriors after transferring from Idaho, where he played his freshman season. He averaged 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds a game in helping lead IHCC to a national tournament berth. Dubois also shot 57% from the field in his only season at Indian Hills.

Two other IHCC sophomores, Jabril Banks and Robert Palacios, signed earlier with the University of Northern Colorado

Coach Kidder Sets Camp Dates

(April 24) -- The dates are set for Indian Hills basketball head coach Jeff Kidder's annual summer basketball camp. The day camp will be held June 25-28 in the Hellyer Student Life Center on the IHCC Ottumwa campus.

The camp is for boys and girls ages 6-16. It will run from 8am to noon each day. There will be instruction from coach Kidder, his assistant coaches, and current and former Indian Hills players. In addition to the instruction, there will be contests and games each day.

The registration fee is $60. Every player who attends will get a camp t-shirt and prizes will be awarded.

To obtain a registration form, you can call (641) 683-5267 or (641) 683-5288

Two Warriors Going to Northern Colorado

(April 12) -- Two teammates on the Indian Hills basketball team the past two seasons are heading west to continue their careers. Jabril Banks and Robert Palacios have signed national letters of intent with the University of Northern Colorado.

For Banks, a 6-foot-7 forward, he will be returning to his home state of Colorado. Banks came to Indian Hills from Washington High School in Denver. He averaged 4.6 points and 3 rebounds a game for the Warriors as a sophomore, playing in mostly a reserve role. Banks’ freshman averages were 8.1 points and 4.1 rebounds a game.

Palacios, a 6-2 guard, was a two-year starter for Indian Hills after joining the IHCC program from Caracas, Venezuela. He was named an honorable mention all-Region XI player both seasons. As a sophomore, Palacios averaged 5.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and nearly 3 assists per game. He averaged 6.6 points and 6.3 rebounds a game as a freshman.

Banks and Palacios were key members of an Indian Hills team that went 58-9 over the past two seasons and qualified for the NJCAA national tournament this past season.

The head coach at Northern Colorado is Tad Boyle, who just finished his first season with the Bears. One of his assistants is B.J. Hill, who was an assistant at Indian Hills in the 2005-06 season. Northern Colorado plays in the Big Sky Conference.

Colmenares Named 1st Team All-American

(April 11) -- Indian Hills Community College sophomore Nestor Colmenares has been named a first-team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Colmenares was the leading scorer and rebounder this past season for IHCC, averaging 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds a game while shooting 70% from the field. He was a first-team all-region pick and led Region XI in rebounding and field goal percentage. Colmenares started every game for the Warriors in the 2006-07 season and scored in double figures in 29 of IHCC’s 36 games.

A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Colmenares was also named to the All-Region XI first team as a freshman. He started all 31 games last year, averaging 14.1 points and 10.0 rebounds a game. His field goal percentage was .620. The 6-foot-7 forward was the second-leading scorer and top rebounder for the Warriors as a freshman.

Indian Hills had a record of 58-9 over the past two seasons and Colmenares helped lead the Warriors to the school’s 7^th national tournament appearance last month.

Colmenares is the second first-team All-American for Indian Hills in the past two seasons. Jamaal Smith was named to the 10-member first team last year.