Written by: Jennifer Jacobs

A common theme of the Georgia College men’s basketball team is youth, with head coach Mark Gainous saying it’s the youngest team they’ve ever had. This year’s team consists of sole senior Kelvin Nwanze, redshirt juniors Desmond Mitchell-Laflam and Mark McCorkle and 13 combined freshmen and sophomores.

Gainous is starting his third year as head coach and is excited for the upcoming season. In his first season as head coach, the Bobcats went 9-19, but they rebounded to post an 18-11 record last season.

A new face who will receive a lot of playing time is redshirt junior Desmond Mitchell-Laflam. He previously played at Indian River State College but had to sit out a year to due to an ACL injury. “We needed a point guard because we didn’t have any returning,” Coach Gainous said.

The key players for this year’s team include returners Nwanze, sophomore Isaac Thomas, walk-on Mark McCorkle and redshirt freshman Garrick Debowles. “The main goal for the season is to make the conference tournament and hopefully make the national tournament,” Nwanze said.

Mitchell-Laflam brings experience and leadership to the team, having played three years in junior college already. “I’m pretty excited for the new faces and team,” Mitchell-Laflam said. The team has done some bonding off the court, playing video games together, hanging out in the locker room and eating dinner at The Max together.

The men’s basketball team started official practice on Oct. 14 and have a scrimmage on October 25 at Middle Georgia. The season i s approaching quickly, with the first games of the season slated for Friday, Nov. 11 and Saturday, Nov. 12 in the Peach Belt Conference Challenge.

Coach Gainous encourages fans to come out and support their young squad for the Bobcats’ first home game on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at the Centennial Center.

(Feature image by: GC Athletics)