By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

A quartet of boy’s prep basketball standouts room the “Southern Six” have made their collegiate decisions known and are moving on the the next level to continue their playing careers at four year schools in the state of Mississippi.

On Friday afternoon in a signing ceremony at Pass Christian High School, Pirate versatile senior standout and multi-sport stalwart L.J. Jaynes inked a hoops scholarship with Tougaloo College.

Jaynes, a point guard on the hardwood, helped guide Pass Christian to the Region 8-4A championship this season and into the Class 4A South State playoffs as well.

“L.J. became our starting point guard at the beginning of his freshman season and has started over 120 games for us,” veteran PCHS head coach Buddy Kennedy said. “With him as our floor general we have played for the district championship three times, winning it twice. He has been a pleasure to coach and I have no doubt that he will continue to be successful both on and off the basketball court.”

Jaynes also started for the Pirates in football and does as well currently for the baseball team. In fact, he signed his scholarship at the school during lunch and soon afterwards jumped on a school bus and headed to Richland with the Pirate baseball team to begin the Class 4A South State playoffs Friday night.

Elsewhere, in Pascagoula on Saturday afternoon a quartet of Panther seniors that were apart of a record breaking PHS team this past season will participate in a scholarship signing ceremony of their own at 2 p.m, in the high school gym.

Dorian McMillian, the Class 6A “Mr. Basketball” in the state, will ink a deal with Jackson State. 

The sensational six-foot-3 sharpshooter McMillian, an athletic shooting guard, was selected to the prestigious “Dandy Dozen” squad as named by The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson newspaper in the preseason. He then went on to excel on the hardwood his senior season for the Panthers as he was named Most Valuable Player in Region 4-6A while leading head coach Lorenzo’s Wright crew to one of the most successful seasons in program history finishing at 29-2 overall.

McMillian led the Panthers in scoring this season at around 20 points per game, and he helped guide the Panthers to a school-record 29-game win streak at one point.

He was then named Class 6A “Mr. Basketball” in the state of Mississippi just before the state playoffs started.

He will join the Tigers in the Capital City that are part of the legendary Southwestern Athletic Conference or “SWAC”.

Thee of his teammates, Chris North (East Mississippi), Markeuse Grady (Holmes) and Cle’Darrius Ross (Mississippi Gulf Coast) will also ink deals with junior colleges.

Also, two other prep hoops standouts from the “Southern Six” will sign deals with four year schools later this month. St. Patrick brothers Matt Krass and Nick Krass are planning to ink scholarships with Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas. The Texans are a member of the Western Athletic Conference, or “WAC”. 

The program is led by head coach Billy Gillespie, who just completed his fourth year at the helm of the team after previously serving in the same capacity at Kentucky, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Texas-El Paso (UTEP).