PRACTICE #1 Starts FRIDAY AT MIDNIGHT

The season is close to kicking off! We finished our pre-season strength & conditioning yesterday morning. The guys have been going 5:30AM - 7:30 AM for the last 3 and a half weeks. I am sure they are very pleased with being done with this part of the process. They will really like me more once I remind them that we will have 6 AM weights 2-3 days out of the week for the rest of the year.

 We have been doing a few community service projects the last few weeks and have more coming. We went out to Sheppard Hill and helped split logs and stack them for a few hours. The guy's were in shocked when they saw all of the logs stacked up. I am sure a lot of them had never been in a situation like that before. They seemed to enjoy themselves though with the work. We also went down to Souris one evening and helped rake leaves out of the bushes in the park in Souris. 

Next week we are teaming up with DCB baseball and we will be going over to the grade schools and helping out with the after school program every first and third Monday of each month. The guy's enjoy being around and playing with the kids. 

We also will be hosting a basketball clinic/camp 2 Sundays out of every month starting in November. We had sent out a form with no price or registration out to see if there would be any interest, now that we have seen an interest, we have sent out new forms with the price and registration form on it. The cost will be $75 for all 10 sessions or $10 a session. 

We have a very good group of student athlete's this year. They have been working very hard and for the most part have been doing everything we have asked of them. Of course we have had our minor hiccups, but nothing out of the ordinary for a new freshmen. We only have a sophomores on the team this year, so we are extremely young, and will make our mistakes, but we will fight to make up for any that we make. 


We are preparing ourselves to be able to put the best possible product out on the court for everyone's enjoyment. We feel we have the type of student athlete's that can make a huge impact on the court and also in the classroom.
 

Introduction

Hello everyone!

        I am Coach Lemon. I am the new Men's Basketball Head Coach at DCB. This will be the start of my third year here at Dakota College. I have been an Assistant Coach on both Basketball and Football teams here, an admission counselor, retention, housing, and now I am the head men's basketball coach along with serving as the academic coordinator for our TRiO program here on campus.

       A little background information on myself and the coaches on staff. I am 26 years old and originally from Jacksonville, Illinois. I attended Routt Catholic High School graduating in 2008. I attended Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. I graduated from their with my Bachelors in Organization and Professional Development in 2012. While at EIU, I worked for the men's basketball team under Coach Mike Miller (Currently serving as the Westchester Knicks, New York Knicks D-league Head Coach) as a student manager, video coordinator, and the director of basketball operations. After graduation I moved to Brenham, Texas and worked at Blinn College as an assistant basketball coach and housing director. I then helped out for a year at a NCAA Division 3 school, Illinois College in my hometown before moving up here. I live here in Bottineau with my son, Kash Lemon. He was born this past July.

       James Hollowell will be on staff as an assistant coach. James is originally from Indianapolis, IN. James graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 2012 with a Bachelors in Sports Management. He was also a member of the Men’s Basketball team at EIU, participating in the Ohio Valley Conference, James was first team all-new comer. He then proceeded to continue playing and his education at the University of Indianapolis, where he graduated with his masters in sociology, while also being named second team in the GLVC and making the all-academic team. James has been coaching at North Central High School, as the JV Head Coach and a Varsity Assistant. He also served as the Head Coach of Indiana Elite, one of the top AAU programs in the state of Indiana. James is currently in the process of completing his licensure in special education from Butler University. James will be Assistant Basketball Coach, Residence life (Milligan Hall) , Diversity, Intramural Director, and Judicial Officer while here at DCB. James is married to his wife Ceara Hollowell, and have one daughter; Jade who is 1 year old. 

      JC Chisholm will also be helping out with the program this year. JC was a member of the Watford City High School State Champions back in the day. JC manages the Cobblestone Inn here in Bottineau. JC brings a wide knowledge of basketball from within the state. JC and his wife Tracy (teaches Math here at DCB) reside here in town with their 2 kids, Elizabeth and Alexander.

      We will have around 20 student athletes on the team this year, with 4 returners from the previous year. We are looking to build upon the success that the program has had recently, and continue to rise expectations of the basketball program.

     We are looking forward to getting out in the community and doing different community service projects. If anyone is ever in need of help moving things, or anything we would gladly help, free-will donations will be accepted :) but is not required. 

     If there is ever anything we can do to help out, please get a hold of me. We are looking forward to this upcoming season, and we hope to see you all out at the games this year.

         We will also be setting up a team store online this year, so be on the look out for that!

Thanks!

Coach Lemon

GO JACKS!!