Jon Felmet will be entering his second season as a Head Coach. In his first season, he led the Thunderducks to a 17-14 record (6-6 in M.A.C.). He was able to bring in Metro Athletic All-Conference players including the Freshman of the Year, First and Second Team members, as well as three on the Honorable Mention list. The Thunderducks are returning 10 players from last year’s program, including an Honorable Mention NJCAA Division III All-American., so Coach Felmet has higher expectations for the 2008-2009 season. “Although we have 10 guys returning the highest compliment a coach could have is that 6 of those are on schedule to graduate with their Associate’s Degrees in May.”
“This conference is one of the toughest around. I believe it’s going to be a tight race as it always is in this league. Each team is capable of beating one another on any given night, home or away. Northlake will be well coached and disciplined, Brookhaven will be fast paced and athletic, Eastfield will probably have the best talent and most athletic team, so I would think they would be considered an early favorite, Cedar Valley will be athletic and a team that is capable of being mentioned at the top of the conference, lastly, Mountain View will be athletic and hard to beat as well."
Coach Felmet has also been in the M.A.C. Conference as an assistant coach at rival Cedar Valley College. He was there under Coach Kyle Leath from 2003 – 2006 seasons. During that time he helped guide the Suns to back to back fourth place finishes. In his final season the Suns won 10 straight games and started M.A.C. play with a 7-0 record, ultimately finishing in third place. All of the teams advanced to the Region V tournament semi-finals in each year. Coach Felmet was responsible for bringing eight M.A.C. All-Conference honorees, one Freshman of the Year, and four Region V honorees to the Suns program.
After finishing at Richland, he then traveled south to St. Edward’s University, in Austin, Texas, where he was a two year starter for Coach Mike Jones. His senior season at St. Edward’s he led his team to a 17 – 11 finish with a birth in the Heartland Conference Tournament.
Following his eligibility, Felmet completed his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Kinesiology. Upon graduation, he began working on his Master’s Degree while beginning his collegiate coaching career as a Graduate Assistant coach at Midwestern State University.
Felmet is from Emory, Texas. He graduated from Rains High School, where he was a three year letterman and starter on the basketball team. His senior season he led his team to a 29-3 record, while making a trip to the Area finals.
He received his Master’s Degree in Health and Human Performance from Texas A&M University-Commerce in August.
Coach Carter brings many years of experience and knowledge to the Thunderducks’ staff. “Coach Carter will be very good for our program,” Coach Felmet says. “In one year he has developed a good relationship with our kids and has earned their respect.” He is responsible for the weight program, as well as coaching the defensive end of the floor. “He bring passion and intensity to our defensive,” says Felmet. He will also bring his experience in recruiting to the T-Ducks program.
He has experience at many different levels of basketball. Small and large high schools, private schools, the Junior College level at Jacksonville College, which he helped lead to a #14 NJCAA National Ranking in 1996. Coach Carter has been at the NCAA Division I and II levels at UT-San Antonio and Texas A&M University-Commerce respectively. He has also spent some time at the professional levels. In 2005, he was hired as the Head Coach/Director of Basketball Operation for the Jacksonville Jackals of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in Florida. Prior to being hired at Richland he was the Head Coach for the Tijuana Galgos in the Mexico Professional League.
Christopher Carter was born in Gilmer, Texas to Shirley and the late Robert Carter. He is an enthusiastic sports fan and active with helping youth achieve their dreams. Also, enjoy spending time with his 14 year old daughter (Montana), family, friends and working out.
Coach Carter graduated from New Diana High School in 1989. He lettered all four years in basketball, football, and baseball. Carter attended college at Kilgore and Paris Junior College. He later attended Texas A&M – Commerce, which was formerly known as East Texas State University
He currently serves as the Sport Director for the Southern Sector YMCA’s in Dallas.
Coach Ramiro Espinosa Jr. is entering into his first year of coaching college basketball. Just as Coach Felmet is no stranger to the MAC conference, neither is Coach Espinosa. He played at the rival Cedar Valley College under Coach Felmet. While at Cedar Valley he helped the Suns to a 3rd place finish in conference and received the team’s Heart Award. After getting his Associates Degree at Cedar Valley, Coach Espinosa moved on to the University of North Texas and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies.
Reunited with Coach Felmet, this time as an assistant coach, “Coach E” hopes to lead the Thunderducks to a M.A.C. Conference Championship and hopefully a trip to Delhi, New York. He hopes they have another successful year together. Coach Espinosa wants nothing more than for the guys to succeed – not just in basketball but also in the classroom.
“I am excited about having Ramiro as a part of my staff. He had a very high I.Q. as a player for me at Cedar Valley, and will bring that to the team. He has already learned so much in a short period of time, and constantly wants to learn more. With his academic background he can guide the guys through hard times in the classroom as well.”
Coach Espinosa was born to Ramiro and Diana Espinosa Sr. He is from Oak Cliff, TX and graduated from Duncanville High School. Coach Espinosa gets his daily inspiration from his little brother Christopher who passed away from cancer as a young child.