By JOE BUIE
Staff Writer, Tyler Morning Telegraph

From the East Coast to East Texas, Johnathan Edwards and RJ Samuels have made the most of their two years at Tyler Junior College. They've helped the Apaches achieve a 40-15 overall record the last two seasons while being on track to graduate.

The men's basketball sophomores will join four of their teammates today in playing their final home game for TJC, as the Apaches take on Bossier Parish at 6 p.m. at Wagstaff Gymnasium.

 

Both Edwards and Samuels crafted their basketball skills in New Jersey while attending Christian academies, although one player is from New York.

Edwards' hometown, according to the roster, is Queens, N.Y., but the 6-9 forward says he's actually from Long Island.

"My dad teaches in Queens and I spent most of my time in Queens," Edwards said. "I live at the border of Queens and Long Island. I could walk across the street and be in Queens. Everything I did was pretty much in New Jersey. I have more friends in New Jersey than New York, actually."

Samuels, meanwhile, is from Trenton, N.J., where he first attended an inner-city public high school -- Trenton Central -- before graduating from Life Center Academy.

In two seasons of basketball at Life Center, the 6-1 Samuels traveled part of the country playing an independent national schedule against some of the top high school programs like Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.

Edwards and Samuels crossed paths during their high school years on the basketball court, competing against one another in AAU and even attending the same academy -- Life Center, but not at the same time. Edwards transferred from Life Center after one year and then played two years at Living Faith Christian Academy in Cherry Hill, N.J., where he competed against NBA star Kevin Durant, Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings and Villanova's Corey Fisher.

"It helped me a lot, playing against that type of competition," Edwards said. "It exposed me to a lot."

Both players had connections that led them to Tyler, including Samuels first meeting TJC freshman point guard Mitch Marquis in AAU ball when Samuels was a freshman or sophomore in high school.

Edwards is a starter for the Apaches (16-9, 9-8 Region XIV North) and gets more notoriety. He averages 9.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Samuels comes off the bench and is a jack-of-all-trades. Head coach Mike Marquis said he's only had one other player at TJC who could play all five positions like Samuels can.

"My role is to give a spark to the team," said Samuels, who averages 4.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Samuels said one of his primary jobs is to give the team a lift with his energy, including diving on the floor for loose balls. Marquis said Samuels has the makeup to be a good coach one day, if he chooses that profession.

While Samuels is scrambling all over the court doing the dirty work, Edwards is driving into the post and putting up one of his left-handed hook shots.

"It needs a little work as far as (shooting) outside," Edwards said. "I have a little bit of an advantage being left-handed. Most players are right-handed. It helps me out on the court."

The regional tournament-bound Apaches have two games left in the regular season, including Saturday at Angelina. But first, TJC wants to avenge an earlier loss to Bossier Parish (6-18, 1-16).

"They have one (conference) win and the one win is against us," Samuels said. "For us sophomores especially, for this to be our last (home) game, we want to go out there and play like we've never played before and get the win back."

The Apaches have lost three of their last four games, including last Saturday at home to Kilgore, 68-67.

"Against some better competition, like San Jac or Trinity Valley, we've had really good games," Edwards said. "Then we have some games where we didn't play up to our capability. We just have to focus for 40 minutes and get the job done."

SMOKE SIGNALS:

The sophomores will be recognized before the game. The other sophomores are Kyle Ford (Whitehouse), Brad Gay (Missouri City), Labree Sledge (Victoria) and Byron Maxson (New Orleans). … At halftime, the TJC men's and women's soccer teams will be presented with their national championship rings. … The TJC women's basketball team is off until Saturday at Angelina.

Link to Original Article:  http://tylerpaper.com/article/20100224/SPORTS06/2240323