SENATOBIA – Northwest Mississippi Community College will induct five former student-athletes and one coach into its Sports Hall of Fame during Homecoming Weekend next month.
Galen Young, just one of two NBA draft picks in school history, two-time NJCAA All-American wide receiver Andre Rone, all-around rodeo champion Jack Roberson, four-sport athlete Joe Boyles, NJCAA Women's Basketball Third Team All-American Nikita Taylor and two-time NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Coach of the Year, Marc Dukes, have been chosen for the 17th induction class on Saturday, Oct. 3.
There will be a "Meet and Greet" time for Northwest community friends and alumni in the David M. Haraway Center from 10 a.m.
– noon on the Senatobia campus.
"Our community friends and alumni are invited to join us for lunch,"
director of alumni affairs and development operations Dolores Wooten said. "You have two options: you may join us for the Homecoming Celebration Luncheon (seating is limited to first 250) where our program will begin promptly at noon, or you may choose to have lunch in the cafeteria where there is no program."
The buffet line for either option will run from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. The deadline to make reservations for lunch is Monday, Sept. 21. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for children.
GALEN YOUNG, MEN'S BASKETBALL, 1994-96Galen Young has showcased his athletic talents all over the world. A native of Memphis, Young came to Northwest by way of Hillcrest High School in 1994 and quickly left his mark on the Ranger basketball program.
In his two seasons with the Rangers, Young played in 62 games, tallying 1,077 total points with 391 field goals made. He averaged 17.4 points per game over those two seasons, while also averaging 10.3 rebounds per game and 2.8 steals per game. Today, Young still ranks within the top 10 of several stat categories, including second all-time in total rebounds (637) and free throws made (271).
Young was a member of the 1995-96 Northwest basketball team that advanced to the NJCAA National Tournament, where the Rangers finished sixth overall. Young was named team MVP as a sophomore and was also a two-time all-state selection, an NJCAA All-American and an NJCAA All-Tournament Team nod.
After Northwest, Young spent two seasons at UNC-Charlotte, where he helped the 49ers to two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1998 and 1999. During his senior season, Young led the C-USA champions in scoring, rebounding and steals, averaging 14.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He still ranks within the top 15 of several stat categories and is tied for first all-time in double-figure scoring games with 32. Young capped off his senior season by being named First Team All-Conference USA.
Young was taken in the second round of the 1999 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. After a brief stint in Milwaukee, Young joined the Grand Rapids Hoops of the Continental Basketball Association, where he was named to the CBA All-Rookie Team in 2000. After playing one season in Japan, Young returned to the CBA with the North Charleston Lowgators. He would bounce in and out of the CBA until 2007, being named a two-time league all-star selection and the CBA Player of the Year in 2007 after helping the Yakima Sun Kings to the league championship.
Young continued to play with various semi-pro teams in nine different countries until his retirement in 2012. He returned to UNC-Charlotte to finish his degree in criminal justice and graduated in 2014.
ANDRE RONE, FOOTBALL, 1994-96Andre Rone set almost every receiving record in school history during his 1994-95 All-American career.
Rone was a two-time NJCAA All-American selection, earning second team honors in 1994 and being named an honorable mention in 1995. Rone caught 117 career passes (school record) for 1,927 yards and 14 touchdowns, which still ranks in the top 10.
After leaving Northwest, Rone excelled at Ole Miss where he emerged as one of the best playmakers in the SEC. In his two seasons with the Rebels, he recorded 56 receptions for 738 yards and three touchdowns and added 26 punt returns for 246 yards. One of his most notable moments was catching a 10-yard touchdown pass from Stewart Patridge with 25 seconds left that led to a 15-14 win over Mississippi State in the 1997 Egg Bowl.
Rone played professionally in NFL Europe for the Berlin Thunder and went on to spend several seasons in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills.
After his playing career, the Daytona Beach, Florida, native continues to use his knowledge and talents to teach and inspire student-athletes across the metro-Atlanta area. Rone has coached receivers and soccer players on the high school level, as well as several other sports at the recreational level. Rone remains active in the community, volunteering with many organizations, including Head Start, the March of Dimes and the Special Olympics.
JACK ROBERSON JR., RODEO, 1976-78Jack Roberson Jr. was born in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 28, 1956, and you could say he's been riding nearly his whole life. He found a love for riding horses when he was five years old and has thrived in it ever since.
Roberson was introduced to the rodeo circuit when he was in junior high and excelled at it so much that he continued at the high school level. He joined the Grapeland High School rodeo team for the 1975 rodeo finals in Gallup, New Mexico, where he participated in bull riding, bareback and saddle bronc riding.
He attended Northwest Mississippi Junior College in 1977-78, and because of his riding as part of its rodeo team, was rewarded with a scholarship from the U.S. Tobacco Company. Roberson was named all-around champion in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, finishing first in bareback riding and second in bull riding that year.
Roberson continued his career in the Professional ACA (now PCA) and won the finals in 1981, receiving numerous trophy buckles along the way until retiring from the circuit in 1984.
Roberson's family will tell you he is, was and always will be a cowboy, and his achievements prove as much.
JOE BOYLES, FOOTBALL, BASEBALL, BASKETBALL, TRACK, 1961-63A native of Batesville, Joe Boyles was a four-sport athlete at Batesville High School. Playing five years of varsity basketball from eighth grade through his senior year, he was named to the All-Delta Valley Conference Team for three consecutive years in basketball and was an All-Delta Valley Conference Honorable Mention selection in football his senior year.
While at Northwest, Boyles played football, baseball and basketball and ran track during his freshman season in 1961-62. He served as Ranger football co-captain his sophomore season and was named an all-state honorable mention that year.
After leaving Northwest, he earned his bachelor's degree from Delta State University and coached football, basketball and track for five years at North Panola High School.
Boyles returned to Northwest in 1977 and worked for over 34 years as the financial aid director, serving under three presidents: Henry B. Koon, Dr. David Haraway and Dr. Gary Lee Spears.
His love of sports has continued throughout his life, as he has coached Little League and American League baseball teams for 12 years and church league basketball for five years. He also umpired Little League and high school baseball games for 48 years and served on the J.P. Hudson Park Board for five years.
An active member of First Baptist Church of Batesville, he especially enjoys participating in the Senior Choir as well as Keenagers. Other interests include gardening, sports events and visiting with family and friends.
NIKITA TAYLOR, WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, 2003-05Nikita Taylor is one of the most decorated players in Northwest women's basketball history, still ranking in the Top 10 all-time in 12 different statistical categories.
The Indianola native moved to Holly Springs in seventh grade, running track and playing basketball at Holly Springs High School. A year later, Taylor was asked to join the high school team as an eighth grader. A young, energetic kid with a big heart, Taylor had to learn the rules of the game under the leadership of coach James Robinson, Maxine Tucker and the patience of her mother, Barbara.
At 14 years old, Taylor was the starting point guard on the high school team and went on to serve as team captain as a sophomore, gaining the respect of her peers and upperclassmen.
She enrolled at Northwest in the fall of 2003 and made an immediate impact.
The Lady Rangers were 36-21 overall and 17-7 in the division during the 2003-05 seasons, winning the NJCAA Region 23 Championship and advancing to the NJCAA Sweet 16 her sophomore year. A 2005 NJCAA Third Team All-American and two-time First Team All-MACJC selection, Taylor is the second-leading scorer in school history, scoring 1,027 points and averaging 21.9 points per game in two seasons.
She went on to sign with Union University and later tried out for the WNBA's Tulsa Shock in 2008.
MARC DUKES, MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH, 1993-98Before coming to Northwest in 1993, Marc Dukes had been coaching for 13 years in the high school ranks, 11 of which were in Mississippi. Four of his teams were ranked in the top 10 in the state, with his 1985 team winning 36 games and finishing as State Class AAAA runner-up for one of his two state tournament appearances. He twice received Coach of the Year honors and was WDAM-TV Coach of the Year in 1985.
Dukes was named head coach at Jones County Junior College in 1986, and in five seasons, he was 87-53 overall. He led the Bobcats to five consecutive winning seasons – a first in program history – and his 1990-91 team set a school record for wins with 21.
After two years at Pineville High School in Kentucky, coach Dukes accepted the head coaching position for the Northwest men's basketball program.
In five seasons at the helm, his teams compiled a record 129-31, advanced to two NJCAA national tournaments, won two Region 23 titles, two MACJC State Championships and three consecutive MACJC North Division crowns.
In 1995-96, he guided the Rangers to a school-record 30 wins and the program's first appearance at the NJCAA National Tournament since 1980. That team finished sixth in the 16-team tournament field. Two years later, the Rangers finished 29-7 and made the school's only trip to the NJCAA Final Four during the 1997-98 season.
Dukes was named Region 23 Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1998 and MACJC Coach of the Year in 1994, 1996 and 1997. Four of his players were also named NJCAA All-Americans during his tenure.
Dukes left Northwest in 1998 to take an assistant position at Ole Miss and was a part of Rebel teams that made three trips to the NCAA Tournament, including the program's only trip to the Sweet 16.
During the last two seasons, he has served as head coach of the boys' basketball program at Magnolia Heights School. In both seasons, his Chiefs have won the Class AAA Division II State Championship with a combined record of 60-15.
