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Douglas is entering his second season as Stillman’s head coach. He has had great success in recruiting very good Division II talent at the guard and forward positions. Douglas’ first two recruiting classes are comprised of mainly junior college players.

Stillman will have three starters from last year’s team in seniors Rickey Gibson, Wayne Bender, and Dannelle Smith. Gibson, a 6’4 guard from Birmingham, AL led team with 74 assists and 81 steals. Bender, 6’8 swing man from Columbus, MS, was the leading scorer with 16.4 points per game, and Smith, a 6’1 guard from Birmingham AL was second on team in steals with 57.

Pharoah Kirk, a sophomore from Detroit, MI, and Joshua Warren, a senior from Tuscumbia, AL, both should get a lot of playing time for Douglas. Kirk averaged 3 points and 1.2 assists as a true freshman last season and Warren is a high-flying guard who averaged 1.6 points in 2004-05.

Douglas also expects two transfers from Lawson State Community College to make an immediate impact. Monyea Pratt, who played two seasons at Lawson State. At 6’6 he will bring more size to the Stillman line-up. Pratt can score from the perimeter or the paint and can use his excellent athletic ability on the defensive end. Raymond Rolley, a 6’3 guard is an excellent shooter, whose scoring ability should take some pressure off of Gibson and Bender.

Douglas has very high expectations for his Tigers. Since Stillman became a full member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference the Tigers can now compete for a conference championship and expect to make a statement in their first conference tournament.

"We can compete with the top teams in the SIAC," Douglas said. "We will play hard every night and if we can grow together as a team, then by the time we reach Birmingham for the tournament we should be a force to be reckoned with."