June 3, 2011
DeMuynck for the defense
Jourdan DeMuynck has always been an intriguing player, first at Castro Valley High and then Chabot College. At 6-foot-6, with shooting and ballhandling abilities, he possesses the versatility to create positional mismatches. Now, he’s taking those talents to the Lone Star State for some D-1 battles.
DeMuynck is headed to Coach Byron Rimm II and Prairie View A&M, located just outside of Houston. The Panthers are a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference along with Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Grambling State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley State, Southern University, Texas Southern and Arkansas Pine Bluff.
He averaged 16 points (with a season high of 30 against Ohlone) and 6.5 rebounds per game in the recently completed Chabot season, along with just under four assists and league-leading 2.5 steals a contest. DeMuynck was honored as a Coast Conference North First Team selection.
But it’s defending that he takes ultra seriously. DeMuynck offered, "I take pride in locking down the other team’s best player every game."
Prairie View was a fit in a number of ways for DeMuynck. "I wanted to go where I was needed and where a lot of playing time was available," he said. The Panthers are losing the top two scorers on the squad, one a guard.
Plus, style was a consideration as he added, "Prairie View’s open and fast pace offense, which I’ve been used to since playing at Castro Valley, also suits me well."
Plus, there was this factor: "Prairie View has a pretty nice schedule next year with games against Colorado State, BYU, Baylor, Oregon, UNLV and Texas A &M, and a number of the games will be televised on ESPN." The Panthers matched up with Michigan State, Wisconsin, Marquette, Baylor and Texas A&M in 2010-11.
As for facing some familiar faces, backcourter Christian Williams, out of Sierra High in Menteca, is on the Jackson State roster with Sacramento High’s Fred Ellis entering his senior season at Baylor come the 2011-12 season. If a matchup with Marquette can be worked out, Juan Anderson will be a freshman in Milwaukee and that would pit Castro Valley alums against one another..
Asked how he connected with Prairie View, DeMuynck said "they saw me first at a game with City College of San Francisco and I had a good game." A visit to the school occurred in February and that clinched the deal.
He’s looking to major in criminal justice since "a lot of the classes I’ve taken at Chabot apply to that major."
This summer, DeMuynck will participate in the San Francisco Pro-Am before heading to Texas in August.