蒙哥马利县社区学院 Mustangs Men’s Basketball Head Coach 《bet36365体育网站》王子 couldn’t have asked for a much better first season at the helm.

The 32-year-old, originally from Philadelphia, who lives in Ambler, led the team to a 28-3 season, which included a National Junior College Athletic Association Region XIX title for the first time in four years and a sixth-place finish in the NJCAA 在新罕布什尔州的赫基默举行的全国三级锦标赛.Y.

As a result of the team’s success on the court, Prince was named both the NJCAA North Atlantic District Coach of the Year and the Eastern Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (EPAC)年度最佳教练.

同样，他的几名学生运动员也受到了赞扬. 克里斯·迪诺菲被提名 most valuable player of the Region XIX tournament; Sean Emfinger was named to the national all-tournament team; Baasil Saunders was named EPAC first team All-Conference and All-Region first team; and Brandon Bush was named EPAC second team All-Conference 以及全区第三队.

For Prince, a 2014 alumnus of the College, who 他self played for the Mustangs, and served as assistant coach from 2019 to 2023, the accolades from this season speak 感谢团队中每个人努力工作的价值.

“我觉得我做得还行，”他打趣道. “不，我认为我们做得很棒. 教练组 was great in assisting me and helping me out through the full year. 我很感激 能站在这里的机会.”

While the Mustangs’ season didn’t end quite the way the team wanted first losing its first game, then winning a second game, before losing the 最后一场比赛 for fifth place, 普林斯说，他们仍然很享受这段旅程.

他说:“我认为这场比赛既有趣又令人兴奋。. “我觉得很棒 经验. 很多球队都很优秀，而且很顽强. 我想是一个 thing that I learned was the physicality of the game is 很多 different than what 我们在该地区经历的.”

The players, he said, gained valuable 经验 from the tournament.

“他们做得很好，”他说. “我只是认为这是全新的，他们必须适应 to the physicality, keep a straight mind and continue to push through as they learn 这些新事物.”

As a first-year head coach, Prince said the season presented both challenges and rewards. From managing different personalities from different backgrounds, to seeing the athletes’ smiles as they accomplished their goals together as a team, Prince said he learned 很多.

“We were number two on defense 今年, I’d like to get the number one spot,” he said, “and just learn to be 很多 mentally stronger and physically stronger – we’ll be implementing a new weight training program during the season.”

In the off-season, Prince said the Mustangs will lose about six sophomores, so his 焦点是通过招募来取代这些球员. 他还想继续这样做 提高球队的防守表现.

In 2020, the Mustangs last went to the NJCAA National Tournament where the team was 在输掉两场比赛后被淘汰.

Prince said there are many similarities and few key differences between the two squads. The 2020 squad led the country defensively, the 2024 squad came in second, he said. Both teams were able to bring a high degree of physicality to their play, including 得到篮板和失误. 普林斯说，今年的球队更具运动性 并且以更快的速度演奏.

“Four years ago, that team was coached by one of the best coaches I’ve seen in my entire life,” he said of Nyere Miller, now Assistant Director of 体育运动 for Recruitment. “这是一个了不起的人.”

Miller likewise was impressed with how much Prince has done since taking over from 他.

他说:“我不认为情况会好转。. 他马上就跑了. 它显示了 他能做什么. There’s definitely an adjustment when you go from an assistant 教练对主教练. 然而，他设法让他的球员发挥出最大的作用. 不仅仅是影响 回归者，但带来了一批新的运动员. 今年没有下降. 这支球队一直表现出色. 过去四年我们一直在排名. 蒙哥马利 County Community College basketball is starting to be known regionally and nationally.”

From his own assessment of the 2020 and 2024 teams, Miller said the 2020 team showed 在国家层面的竞争中缺乏经验.

“I think we got overly excited winning the region,” he said. “那是我们的第一次 在全国锦标赛上. 很多都是新的. 经验是一个重要因素. 很多团队 在那里周期性地取得成功.”

The 2024 team came into the season with the expectation of reaching the national tournament. While it lost the first game, it won the second game, before losing the third and 最后一场比赛. 米勒说，这是向前迈出的一步.

“This year a national tournament has grown to become an expectation for us. 一个国家的 比赛是我们努力的目标，”他说. “最后一步是全国冠军. 每年的排名都是这个过程的一部分. 赢得比赛是伟大的一步 今年. The next step is winning multiple games and going from there.”

Kelly Dunbar, Director of 体育运动 and Campus Recreation, said she is very proud 普林斯第一年所能完成的事情.

“他的基础是由尼雷尔领导的，”邓巴说. “他们有一位强大的导师 的关系. 他帮助了可兰经，这个项目并没有中断. 会有高潮 和低点. As long as we keep it consistent with bringing in talent, we’ll remain competitive.”

Dunbar said she can still remember Prince as a student-athlete playing for the Mustangs 当她执教女子篮球队的时候.

“当他还是学生运动员的时候，我就在这里. 我见证了他作为一名球员的成长 gradually,” she said, “and then as an assistant coach, grow into the person he is 把他学到的东西变成自己的.”

As an alumnus, Prince said it was amazing to be able to lead his alma mater to a national 在他担任主教练的第一年就参加了锦标赛. 他感谢政府和教练 感谢工作人员的持续支持.

“I know everybody has dreams,” he said, “but I’ve always felt like I’m living my dream. When I was a player, it was the first year we were eligible to go to the playoffs. Twelve years later, I’m able to lead them to a national championship, it’s truly amazing. 这不是我编出来的.”