JUCO basketball: Warriors ready to tip off season

OTTUMWA — It’s the new reality around the entire landscape of college athletics.

Each season, a team’s roster could be full of unfamiliar names. Schools across the country routinely are looking to bring in players to replace other players that have entered the transfer portal.

Of course, for junior college athletics, it’s nothing new. Two-year schools have seen rapid turnover for several years.

That as much as anything has made it even more impressive that the Indian Hills men’s basketball program enters this season looking to keep alive a long run of sustained success. Starting the season ranked eighth in the NJCAA National preseason poll, the Warriors tip off the 2026-27 season on Tuesday night at the Hellyer Student Life Center against North Platte beginning a long journey that third-year head coach Cole Dewey hopes ends with the program’s sixth consecutive national tournament apperance.

“We’ve got some athletes. We’ve got some size. We’re kind of well-rounded across the board,” Dewey said. “I like this group. They’re fun to be around and fun to work with every day. We’ve got a long ways to go. We’re nowhere close to being ready for March, but March is a long ways away. We’ve got some time.”

While the mission remains the same, it will be put on a vastly new Indian Hills men’s basketball team to accomplish it. Xavier Wilson and Kofi Asare are the only two players on the current roster that were part of last year’s 30-3 Warrior squad.

“Xavier is the only one played any minutes last year,” Dewey said. “Kofi was here on our bench from January to March, so he never touched the floor. He actually hasn’t touched the floor in two years.”

Wilson is coming off a freshman campaign at Indian Hills that culminated with a spot on the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Region XI Honorable Mention squad. Wilson appeared in all but one contest in 2025-26 for the Warriors, making 13 starts while averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.

When he steps on the floor this season, he will consistently be surrounded by four teammates that are brand new from his freshman campaign. The most experienced Warrior basketball player is ready to take on the challenge of being a team leader.

“It’s nothing new for me. I’ve been through it before,” Wilson said. “It’s a new team with new people. That’s it. It’s been a good adjustment. Everyone that has been brought in have been great to be around.”