Off to Omaha: Jimmies depart for national tournament

Starting two games in the now-defunct NAIA Division II men's basketball national tournament as a sophomore left quite the impression on the University of Jamestown's Jack Talley.

The goal is always to return, but not only is Jimmie men's basketball heading back to nationals this week after missing last year's tournament, but Talley and the Jimmies also drew former North Star Athletic Association rival Bellevue University for Friday's opening-round game in Omaha, Nebraska.

The first NAIA men's basketball tournament to be held since the combining of two former divisions is rather exclusive. The Jimmies earned one of 11 at-large bids into a field of 48 teams, which will be reduced to 16 teams bound for Kansas City on March 18 following this Saturday.

"It feels like it's written in the stars," Talley said. "I don't think there's anything that could match it. Obviously playing at home when the full crowd is here is awesome, but it's something about the stakes of nationals. I think everyone raises their level of play, which makes it good basketball."

Talley is one of three current seniors, along with Brady Birch and Brock Schrom, to have played extensive minutes when UJ steamrolled Southeastern University, Florida, by 21 points before falling to eventual national champion Spring Arbor University, Michigan, in the round of 16 at the 2019 D-II national tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

If the Jimmies are able to get past the 20-win Bruins on Friday at 2 p.m. inside the Omaha Sports Commission, UJ would play the tournament's No. 3 overall seed, Louisiana State University Shreveport (16-1), on Saturday at 2 p.m. with the right to advance to Kansas City hanging in the balance. The LSU Shreveport Pilots are the champions of the Red River Athletic Conference and are making a 17th consecutive appearance in the national tournament.

"We've been really focused and doing a lot of situational stuff," Birch said. "Just getting ready for different game scenarios ... whatever could come at us down there at nationals. Everyone's playing loose, everyone's playing confident. No injuries. We're all ready to go."

The Jimmies won't have the services of guard Allante' Pickens. The senior transfer was tied for second on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg) but is no longer a member of the team, which will place added backcourt responsibilities on sophomore Marc Kjos and freshmen Will Cordes and Cole Woodford.

But UJ head coach Danny Neville's young crop of guards has already had the bulk duties stacked on their plates throughout the season, which should hopefully make the absence of Pickens appear seamless. Obviously, the Jimmies would like play this weekend to flow through 6-foot-9 Great Plains Athletic Conference Player of the Year Mason Walters.

Neville said the team used the last week of preparation to address more deliberate action offensively, which stung the Jimmies in late-season losses to GPAC opponents Northwestern College and Dakota Wesleyan University.

Northwestern, the GPAC tournament champion, will play either Bethel, Kansas, or Voorhees, South Carolina, on Saturday in Wichita, Kansas. Morningside, the GPAC conference champion, awaits either Thomas More, Kentucky, or Union, Kentucky, on Saturday in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.

"In some of those late games we didn't get great possessions or were shooting too early in the shot clock, and, again, that has a lot to do with youth," Neville said. "But getting more sides, getting more touches, getting Mason the ball when we need to, just things like that we've tried to clean up so, hopefully, we can attack that."

UJ's season scoring average of nearly 83 points per game is almost 10 points better than Bellevue's 73.6 points per night.

Neville said the Bruins' 6-foot-6 senior guard Jemeil King, who has scored 937 points in two seasons with Bellevue, can be a handful, as he's nailed 52 3-pointers to go along with 106 assists. Senior forward Lewis Hayes is also averaging more than 12 points per contest.

The Bruins (20-13) are coached by Lucas Gabriel, who took over for Shane Paben in 2019. The NSAA tournament champions are 5-3 all-time against the Jimmies and are making a 20th national tournament appearance.

"They have a really good guard, Jemiel King. A lot of it revolves around him, and they've got some guys who can put the ball in the basket," Neville said. "It's traditional Bellevue. They're going to rebound, they're going to guard, so they're the same old team that they were before."

"They're athletic. They like to run," Birch added. "They like to get in your face and be the tough guy, so we're just gonna throw it right back at them."

Talley, who's weathered everything from sickness and injury to a one-game suspension for an on-court tussle prior to UJ's loss at Northwestern on Feb. 10, said the Jimmies don't plan on leaving any arrows in the quiver.

"We've gotta be locked in, and I think we are," Talley said. "We've put in all the work, so we've just got to put it on the table when the time comes."