MIAMI, Ok — The NEO Men’s Basketball team gets their season started on Thursday with a matchup with Oklahoma Weseleyan University JV with tip-off set for 7:30 p.m.

NEO is coming off a season where they finished 23-6 and won the Region 2 Championship.

The Golden Norsemen are ranked 23rd in the NJCAA Pre-Season polls.

Head Coach Jeremy Jackson brings back a talented squad including one of the Top-50 players in JUCO in Massai Graham who averaged 9 points and 7 rebounds last season.

They also return sophomores Treyvon Byrd and LePra George Jr, while also bringing some talent in with freshman Damani Barley and Albert Wilson.

NEO also added some transfers like 6’11 big man, Javarzia Belton from Coffeyville CC.

We spoke to the team on they handle the high expectations that are in place for this year’s squad.

NEO Sophomore Wing Massai Graham said, “Feel like honestly, we just had a lot of jitters, that’s just like the best word I can find. You know, I’m saying, we just were just so nervous and antsy, I’m saying we need to get out there and compete, you know, we’d been here all day practicing and working out. So, we just as ready to compete”.

NEO Sophomore Point Guard LePra George Jr said, “We try not to think about it for us. We know what we have and what we can bring to the table and stuff like that. So we try not to think about it. We feel like we’re the best team in the country, so it’s like trying to think about the rankings where we just got to go out there and show it, prove it. So”.

NEO Head Coach Jeremy Jackson said, “You know, I really like being the hunted. I think that’s a thing that our team really takes on and and takes pride in, is being the best. We want to do that. But we’ve got to go out and prove that we are too and being predicted Preseason number one in our conference and 23rd in the country is great. It’s something that that we’ve always wanted here at NEO and the past few years, we’ve been lucky enough to earn those rankings”.