Men's basketball team to play in NJCAA Team Summer Showcase next weekend

The Eastern Florida State College men's basketball team will be back on the court Monday to prepare for the NJCAA Team Summer Showcase.

The Titans will head to Georgia to play four games over the weekend at Columbus State College as part of a large event with 30 junior college men's basketball teams playing over the weekend.

"I am really, really excited and I know the guys are really fired up for it," Eastern Florida State College men's basketball coach Jeremy Shulman said. "It is an opportunity to go play in front of a lot of NCAA Division I coaches in a sanctioned event in June. It is an unbelievable opportunity for our guys to not only get some exposure but get to know each other a bit better and get a first look at what we have, but it is going to be fun. We are going because it will be enjoyable."

The team will practice for four days before leaving for Georgia for games on Friday evening and Saturday against some of the best teams in the country.

The Titans will be a bit shorthanded as five players forecast to be in the rotation will not be available.

"It will give the other guys a great opportunity to make a statement, show what they can do against some top teams," Shulman said. "It is also going to be the first and last opportunity for us to play against other teams until the official start of the season so we will get a glimpse of where our weaknesses are and what we need to work on before practice begins. I think that is going to be a real benefit for us."

It is the third year that the NJCAA has held this sanctioned event to coincide with the NCAA summer recruiting dates, but it will be the first time the Titans have been invited to compete.