Robert Kirby was a key piece of the Three Rivers College men's basketball team's first national championship squad in 1979. So it should come as no surprise he has fought to load his inaugural roster as the Raiders' head coach with guys who will play “the Raider way.”

“We've been blessed to get some guys that we feel like are high character guys,” Kirby said. “They're used to winning, they understand sacrifice, and they share the ball. We've made a conscious effort to find those guys — and some of them come from a distance, a good distance, but we made a conscious effort to find those particular types of guys that we feel like will be able to come in and play the Raider way.”

Leading the list of new recruits is a trio of players who were recruited by former Raiders coaches Brian Bess and Trey Rakes, but decided to stick with the program when Kirby took the reins in April.

One of those players is Antonio Williams, a 6-7 wing/forward from Hopkinsville High School in Kentucky. He averaged 26.1 points and 13.5 boards for the Tigers last season, including a 45-point performance in December against Madisonville-North Hopkins.

“Antonio is a big, strong, powerful guy for us,” Kirby said. “I think he could be an excellent rebounder. He's got great athleticism. He's still maturing and learning how to use it at a high level because he's so big, strong and powerful. In high school, he could coast a little bit and still be able to get 26 (points) and 18 (rebounds). At this level, he's going to have to pick his pace up a little bit more. … 

“Surprisingly, he's a better 3-point shooter than I thought. He can catch it and shoot it really well. … We expect for him to be an excellent rebounder and an energy-giver.”

Another member of that trio is Deion Wesson from Jonesboro, Arkansas, who played at Link Year Prep last season and was the starting point guard on Jonesboro’s 2023 Class 6A state title team in Arkansas. 

“Deion has got jet speed,” Kirby said. “He's really got a great first step and a really heady point guard. He's came out of a great system. …. He understands (the details of the game).” 

Kirby said Wesson needs to improve his consistency, but he is very pleased with other aspects of his game.

“He's shooting the ball really well,” Kirby said. “He's driving the ball, getting it to people and making good decisions.”

The third member of that trio is Kevin Peyloron, a 6-7 wing and a native of Spain who played last season at the Rock School in Gainesville, Florida.

“Kevin is really a great downhill driver,” Kirby said. “He's strong, physical and very athletic. … He's strong, powerful and a super athlete. He's still continuing to improve his 3-point range, but everything inside that arc, he drives it well, he pitches it well and he passes it well.”

Perhaps the highest profile addition to the Raiders roster is Will Patterson, a 7-2 redshirt freshman from Brooklyn, New York who was at Syracuse University in New York — yes, THE same Syracuse where Carmelo Anthony played. He has a 7-foot-6 wingspan and also had offers out of high school from Rutgers, Oklahoma and TCU.

“Will's a seven-footer, long, athletic and a rim protector,” Kirby said. “He guards the floor extremely well, finishes at the rim and can shoot the face-up shot. He plays to his length. When he catches it at the basket, he scores. ... But from 15-18 feet away, he can drive it as well.”

Another standout the Raiders have added is Allen Stoddard, a 6-8 forward from Alexander High School in Douglasville, Georgia, who can play all three frontcourt positions. He had 18 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots in a win over South Paulding in February and also had an 11-rebound, four-blocked shot performance against Langston Hughes earlier that month.

Back in January, Stoddard had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks against that same Langston Hughes squad, and also had 20 points and three blocks against Newnan in December. He also had 15 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks against New Manchester in December and 25 points against South Paulding in December.

Stoddard also was recruited by also recruited by Colby, a member of the Kansas Jayhawk Conference and Bishop State in Alabama.

“He is an exceptional energy-giver,” Kirby said. “He plays defensively like every possession is his last. He runs the floor extremely well, he blocked shots and he scores from the perimeter. He's still continuing to build on his 3-point range, but anything inside of 17 feet, he does a good job with it.”

Kirby and the Raiders also have added Matt Hampton, a 6-4 guard from Dallas, Texas played at SEMO Prep last season. Hampton scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds at John A. Logan last November, then added 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals against Three Rivers on Jan. 10.

“He’s our warrior right now,” Kirby said. “He’s got that toughness, that grit and that grind. He’s a very good ballhandler, very good at getting downhill … and seeing the floor. He shoots it well from perimeter. He’s going to continue to grow and we’re going to try to play him some at the point.”

Also joining the Raiders is Marcus Martin Jr., who played at Dyer County in West Tennessee last winter. The 6-3 guard scored 41 points in an 82-63 win against South Gibson in the District 13AAA semifinals on Feb. 17 at Crockett County and averaged about 17-18 points per game for the Choctaws.

Martin also was coached by TRC baseball alumnus Derek McCord, who had a successful run as a high school coach at Scott City and Cape Girardeau before heading to West Tennessee

“Derek’s a great coach,” Kirby said. “He’s a former Raider, so he understands. He came from a good tree and he’s done a great job of instilling those things into Marcus. Marcus is an exceptional 3-point shooter. He has deep, deep range on his shot. He’s a very good athlete, he’s got good footspeed and he’s developing in to a really good perimeter player for us. We think he’ll be a really good wing player for us.”

Ethan Johnson is 6-4 guard from Sierra Canyon High School in the Los Angeles area. Johnson’s high school teammates included Bryce James (LeBron James’s son and Bronny James’s younger brother) and Justin Pippen, the son of Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen.

“Ethan is another guy that’s an exceptional shooter. He can really shoot the ball really well. He’s still got to work on his finishing at the rim. But he can handle it, drives it well and shoots it well. He’s very coachable.”

Johann Pautsch, a 6-9 forward from Germany by way of SEMO Prep, also had an offer from Region 13 power North Dakota State College of Science and had 23 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots last season against Tennessee Prep. He also played against several junior colleges last season, including Three Rivers and John A. Logan.

“Johann’s a big, strong banger,” Kirby said. “He’s a very physical player and finishes really well at the rim. He really can shoot about from about 17-18 feet out. He’s not really a great ballhandler out there, but he sees the floor really well and is an exceptional passer. He’s a tough kid — very tough, physical, a great rebounder and a great rim protector.”

Also joining the Raiders for next season is Marial Malek, 6-6 forward and sophomore transfer from Shorter College in North Little Rock who is a native of South Sudan. He averaged just under 10 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.83 steals and 1.22 blocked shots per game last season for the Bulldogs, a Division II junior college.

“He is a good defender and rebounder,” Kirby said. “He handles the ball extremely well for a 6-6 guy. He can handle the ball as a point guard and shoot the ball from the perimeter. He puts it on the deck really well, sees the floor and he’s one of those guys who likes to rebound. … You don’t have to tell him to go rebound — he’ll do it on his own.”

The Raiders also have added Binael “Bin” Basil, a highly regarded 6-8 forward from Quebec who played for Brookwood Elite in eastern Canada.

“Bin’s a strong, powerful player,” Kirby said. … “He’s an exceptional athlete, puts the ball on the floor really well and is continuing to grow as a wing player.”

Last but not least, the Raiders have added Sikou Diagouraga, a 6-11 center from Mali by way of Tennessee Prep who also drew interest from Region 16 rival Missouri State-West Plains.

“Sikou is one of those guys who you love to coach,” Kirby said. “He tries to do everything you ask of him. Whenever you’re coaching him on the floor and you start correcting him on something he’s doing on the floor, the first words out of his mouth are ‘I’ve got to fix it — I’ve got to fix it.’

“He demands more from each one of his teammates. He works really hard, he scores around the basket really well — and he can catch and shoot the face-up jumper. He’s got to continue to work on his dribble and driving the ball through traffic to the rim. He does a good job of blocking shots and rebounding.”

Mike Buhler - Daily American Republic