Ladner, who is now the coach at Southeastern Louisiana, said that it would be almost impossible to manage the table in that league. “The competition has become too fierce. The coaching is just too good. It’s just too difficult to win on the roads.” Pearl River Community College in Poplarville has a 16-0 record – 7-0 in league play. They might have the manpower to accomplish the almost impossible. The Wildcats won’t lose again like they did Monday night at Meridian Community College. They overcame a five point deficit in the final 60 seconds and won 62-61. Chris Oney, former Ole Miss Rebel coach at Pearl River, said that his team made the plays when they needed them. They are a credit to me. Although it wasn’t the best game, I do know that we scored one point more than they did. “This is a difficult place to play, and they are really really well-coached.” The Meridian Eagles certainly are that. James Green, a former player at Ole Miss, Southern Miss, and Mississippi Valley State coach, is their coach. He once led USM to a Conference USA title in a league that featured Marquette, DePaul and Cincinnati. Green will tell you that he believes Oney is the right person to lead Mississippi to the Hutchinson, Kan national championship. We recruited Kirk Parker from Vicksburg, and he would be a great star for us. He doesn’t even play that many for them.” Parker is a 6-foot-6 forward weighing 235 pounds and averages 2.8 points per game. Parker also has 5.1 rebounds per game in his limited time with the Wildcats. You should also know that Parker has already signed with Southern University. Oney currently has 13 players on his roster, with eight of them likely to go on to play Division I basketball. All will likely have the opportunity to play at four-year colleges. Oney stated that “Everyone on our bench can win games.” Brandon Rachal (6-6), a Natchitoches, La. guard-forward, is undoubtedly the most prominent player. He averaged 4.5 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game last season for LSU. Mississippi State fans may be familiar with him. In an SEC Tournament match last March, he scored 10 points against the Bulldogs. Rachal is a four-star recruit from high school. He was a Top 50 player nationally, and was the MVP of the Louisiana State Championship Tournament. He said that he doesn’t have a favorite team at the moment. Rachal stated, “I’m just focused on this team right now.” “We want to get as far as possible.” He answered, “No,” again. He said that he had not struggled to adjust to the juco level since he played in the SEC. He said that he doesn’t mind playing basketball and that it is good basketball. It’s a privilege for me to play basketball anywhere and anytime.” Rachal scored 14 points at Meridian and grabbed 11 rebound on what was, for him, a poor shooting night. Green’s Meridian Eagles defense played a great game, combining both zone and man-to-man defenses. They held an average team scoring 93 points per game down to just 62. Green stated that he felt the team defended well and maintained a controlled pace. “But Chris (Oney), does a fantastic job. “We didn’t do enough.” Mississippi’s junior college basketball is perhaps the best-kept secret. There is a lot of talent. Many people fill the gymnasiums. The coaching staff is of the highest caliber. Green, who has been a head coach and assistant at collegiate level for Mississippi’s junior colleges circuit for over 25 years, said that “I don’t know that this league ever had as many D-I types players as it does now.” “There are a lot of players who can move on and play.” Green stated that Pearl River has the highest-calibre players in the country, but it doesn’t mean that they will win every conference game. He said, “It’s difficult.” “There are some difficult, hard places you have to play.” Pearl River is the only state-ranked No. 9 still needs to play at Co-Lin and Jones. None of these will be easy. The Wildcats still have home games with East Central, Hinds and Gulf Coast. With seven games remaining, they are currently 7-0 in their league. Oney stated, “Nobody has ever done it.” Oney smiled. He said, “I’ll tell ya this, I don’t ever want to loose.” “But if it was to lose, I would not mind it being to James Green. He got me my first job straight out of Ole Miss. He got me a job at Nicholls State as an assistant. He is the one I will always be grateful for – but tonight, I am glad that we didn’t have to pay him back.”