Even two states away, members of that highly successful Natchez High Bulldog basketball team from 2001-02 remain close.

It’s been two seasons since that Bulldog team under veteran head coach Mike Martin claimed a North State championship and went to the Big House with five starters that went their separate ways following graduation. Four of them signed to play junior college ball &045; Je’Kel Foster and Vasshun Newborne at Howard College in Texas, Chris Logan at Northeast Mississippi and Derek Jarvis at Co-Lin.

The fifth starter, Burton Broudy, didn’t pursue basketball after high school.

But two years later when the four players’ time is up at junior college, they still find time to catch up and find out what’s in store for the next two years.

&uot;I talk to them,&uot; said Logan, playing guard at Northeast. &uot;I hadn’t heard from (Foster and Newborne) since the Christmas break. They’re doing real well now. (Jarvis and I) talk every week since both of us are in Mississippi.&uot;

And there’s plenty to catch up on. All four made solid contributions to their respective teams, but the buzz now is the crossroads of their careers. Foster and Newborne, now at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla., have a number of options as to where they’ll land next.

Logan has some schools offering interest, but Jarvis tore an ACL two weeks ago and remains a question mark as to what he’ll do. But while Jarvis and Logan have made pivotal contributions to their teams, Foster and Newborne have received the most attention while playing for one of the most successful junior college programs in the South.

&uot;I’ve never had two kids more prepared for college basketball in my 13 years,&uot; Chipola head coach Mike Jans said. &uot;Coach Martin did an outstanding job preparing them for the next level. They didn’t have to start from scratch. They know how to work. They had high demands placed upon them before we got them, and it made my job a lot easier.&uot;

Neither of the two have really spent much time trying to figure out their next move, as has Logan. At Chipola, the Indians just put the clamps on a regular season conference title and will host the state junior college tournament after finishing the regular season on Saturday.

And there’s a personal things this year with Newborne and Foster. Last season at Howard they lost to South Plains by five in the championship game to end their bid of making the national tournament.

&uot;Last year South Plains beat us all three times,&uot; Newborne said. &uot;It was close all three times, but we came up short. (This year) we have a little advantage of being at home. We want to win state and go to the national tournament. That’s one of our biggest goals.&uot;

Newborne, Foster

The call came during the summer, just after both Newborne and Foster left Big Spring, Texas, for the summer. Jans, who had spent two years at Howard, accepted the position at Chipola June 10 as the 13th head coach in the storied history of Indian basketball.

The school’s Web site features a list of former players who have gone on to four-year programs, including John Billups at Ole Miss, Max Kirkland at Auburn, Johnny Walker at Mississippi State and former LSU signee JueMichael Young, now at Louisiana Tech.

&uot;They have all the means necessary to be a first-class junior college program,&uot; said Jans, a native of Fairbank, Iowa. &uot;I wasn’t looking for a job. I really enjoyed my time at Howard, but the opportunity was too good to pass up. I think they (Foster and Newborne) enjoyed Howard, but (this) is closer to home and seems more like Natchez than Big Spring. When I threw that out to them, they responded favorably &045; which made me very happy.&uot;

Foster and Newborne could have returned for a sophomore season at Howard and continued to wreak havoc on the league &045; both were all-conference with Foster also being named all-region.

But they made the move.

&uot;Once I found out he was leaving, I knew I was going,&uot; Foster said. &uot;That’s one of the reasons I went to Howard &045; because of Coach Jans.&uot;

Their new team has had plenty of the same results as its competition in the Panhandle Athletic Conference, sitting 24-3 and ranked sixth in the nation. Individually, Foster has spent some time playing point guard aside from his normal duties at shooting guard.

The player voted as Howard’s Mr. Offense and MVP last year is averaging 17 points, five rebounds, 5.5 assists and two steals a game. He’s 85 percent of his free throws and 70 3-pointers.

&uot;He’s a year more experienced, a year stronger,&uot; Jans said. &uot;His numbers are just eye-popping as far as scoring goes. He’s just a really good all-around player. He does a lot of everything.&uot;

It’s a similar situation to Howard, Foster said, as the pair were accompanied by former teammate Leon Woodstock in the move to Chipola. The same coach means the same offensive and defensive systems, and the two were so ahead of the curve that Jans named them team captains.

&uot;It’s been pretty easy playing for the same coach,&uot; Foster said. &uot;We know what to expect for the team. We just work hard every day in practice and try to get better every day. We have a more mature team with a lot of sophomores. Pretty much everybody works hard in practice, and we’re pretty balanced.&uot;

The 6-6, 230-pound Newborne has occupied the power forward position in his first season. He’s improving on a season where he won the team Coach’s Award and Best Rebounder Award at Howard.

&uot;The thing about him is he’s always getting better and better,&uot; Jans said. &uot;He’s a very skilled young man. He can pass and catch and has the ability to go on the block and get things done. His body has developed tremendously. He’s really matured in the weight room, and it’s really helped his body.&uot;

The improvements raised the stock of both players within the Division I ranks, and the list of interested coaches continues to grow. Newborne’s list includes Louisiana-Monroe, Southeastern Louisiana, South Alabama, Eastern Kentucky, St. Louis, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Central Florida.

Foster has drawn interest from Washington State, Oklahoma, Kansas, Marquette, Ohio State, Illinois State, South Florida, Arkansas State, North Texas, Minnesota and New Mexico.

Neither, however, is eligible to play in the SEC thanks to a new rule requiring junior college transfers to have three consecutive semesters at one junior college. The move to Chipola, turns out, nixed those dreams.

&uot;It’s a fairly new rule,&uot; Jans said. &uot;I really don’t know why. It’s a conference rule and not a national rule. That’s why you don’t hear SEC interested in them.&uot;

All that is going to wait until after the season. And in the grand scheme of it all, not having SEC schools may make it easier for the two to make a decision.

&uot;I’m undecided right now,&uot; Newborne said. &uot;It’s a lot of schools. I’m going to make my decision after the season. If we can go to the same school, that would be nice. But it’s not a big issue.&uot;

Chris Logan

Not much has changed in Logan’s game since leaving high school. He’s playing mostly point guard at the Booneville school while spending time at the shooting guard position as well.

Making the difference from the two positions has taken some time to learn, but Logan has blossomed into the role.

&uot;He’s doing a pretty good job,&uot; Northeast head coach Mike Lewis said. &uot;Earlier in the year he tried to take on too much of a scoring role, and that kind of hurt him. He’s settled down and is taking care of business. We run some stuff to get him the ball on the second touch. But sometimes he gets impatient and shoots too early.&uot;

This season the Tigers’ offense is different from last season when the focal point was small forward Trey Johnson, now starting point guard at Alcorn. To be honest, Logan would rather play the two guard instead of the point, but the offense this season is different.

&uot;I’m in a position to score more points this year,&uot; Logan said. &uot;Last year I had to give Trey Johnson the ball. That’s the difference between this year and last year. It’s pretty much like a motion offense. (Coach) pretty much lets the guards screen and roll out. We ran an offense last year, but this year we just play. We’ve got a good team. We just can’t come together.&uot;

The Tigers were in position for a playoff spot coming into this week with their final two regular season games, but an 80-74 loss to Mississippi Delta put those hopes on hold until next season. The Tigers (9-14, 1-4) will end their season Thursday at home against Itawamba.

&uot;In junior college you’d really like to have these kids for four years,&uot; Lewis said. &uot;They’re better when you get kids that long, and you can use your bench when things aren’t going well. (Logan) is an intelligent kid and makes good grades. Kids in general nowadays have trouble understanding shot selection and things like that. The better high school program they come out of, the better it is for them to adjust.&uot;

With the season end in sight, Logan is also waiting until then to start thinking about his next move. Lewis predicted he could wind up at a Division II program somewhere since only the more exceptional guards make it to the next level.

But there’s interest in him from smaller Division I programs, such as Campbell of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

&uot;I’m going to go Division I somewhere,&uot; Logan said. &uot;I’ve got a couple offers. Last year Middle Tennessee State was recruiting me a lot, but I don’t know where I’m going to go yet.&uot;

Derek Jarvis

The most disappointing result has been Jarvis, who injured his ankle in a Feb. 2 contest against Gulf Coast. The 6-7 post was averaging six points and just under seven rebounds game while getting plenty of minutes for the Wolves up until then.

In the first four minutes of that game he went down with a knee injury. He was scheduled to have surgery Monday in Jackson.

&uot;I’m sure he’s disappointed, but there’s nothing we can do about it,&uot; Co-Lin head head coach Dennis Sims said. &uot;He had lost weight and worked hard in the weight room over the summer. He was playing hard and playing well. He was a strong kid who was hard to move, and it was hard to get position on him.&uot;

Jarvis’ numbers this season were up from his five points, five boards a game season from a year ago as a freshman. Earlier this season he had 18 rebounds in a game, a mark Sims said was &uot;the highest since I’ve been here.&uot;

The injury was a disappointment after the season of improvement. Alcorn had expressed interest back in the fall, Sims said, following a season where Jarvis averaged just five points and five boards a game.

&uot;That’s major surgery,&uot; Sims said. &uot;I’m not going to try to guess how long he’ll have to rehab it, but it’s a long time. He’s got to work hard and get that leg back in shape. But shoot, they’re doing so much with kids tearing their ACLs. People ask me, and it’s tough for our program and our team. It’s tough for him, but he’s a strong kid and a strong-willed young man. He’ll come out of it OK.&uot;