The first year of the college there was a men’s basketball team. They had practice at the elementary school and played their games at the newly opened Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. Orville Gregory was the first head coach with Sonny Maynard as assistant.
November 18, 1969 First Basketball Game verse Haskell “Indians”
JCCC’s First Intercollegiate Athletic Team
The Kansans 1969-1970
1969 Head Coach Orville Gregory Assistant Coach Sonny Maynard Players Larry Tidwell, Jim Volts, Rick Peterson #12, Dave Staudenmyer #14, Rob Swartz #15, Steve Benson #20, Don Schrader #21, Bill Lile #22, Jim Timberlake #23, Rick McConnell #25, Dan Adams #30, Blain Schober #31, Jeff Shaake #41, Daryl Martin #43, Jerry Bichelmeyer #45, John Winters Manager, Phil Blue Trainer.
1973 Men’s Basketball Team Head Coach Orville Gregory, Assistant Sonny Maynard and Jeff Simons
Games played at JCCC Gymnasium for 1972-1973 season
Antonio Triplett All Conference 1979-1980
1983 Men’s Basketball Team – Head Coach Lafayette Norwood, Assistant Coach Glen Moser
1987 Men’s Basketball Team – Head Coach Lafayette Norwood
January 2020 – Mike Jeffers, Head Men’s Basketball coach was selected for the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
For 28 seasons, Mike Jeffers has roamed the sidelines throughout the always-competitive Jayhawk Conference. Jeffers’ ability to lead Johnson County (KS) as one of the top programs in the country year-in and year-out has resulted in a spot in the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
With over 550 career wins at the NJCAA level, Jeffers has created a culture of winning that continuously raises the level of competition throughout the state of Kansas. Following four seasons at former NJCAA-member Brewton Parker (GA), Jeffers took over the Cavaliers’ program in 1991. A 19-win season in his initial campaign was the beginning of a successful journey in Overland Park.
Over the course of the last 28 seasons, Jeffers has tallied nine Region VI titles, three Jayhawk Conference titles, and two coveted national championships. Jeffers led the Cavaliers to national titles in 2001 and 2009, earning NJCAA Coach of the Year honors in each season. Jeffers entered the 2019-20 season as one of the top-20 active winningest coaches in the NJCAA. Jeffers’ induction in the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame is the first for a member of the Johnson County program.