The Press Register

Richard "Dell" Cannon, a 2003 Coahoma County High School graduate and 2005 Coahoma Community College graduate, has spent the past nine seasons playing or coaching basketball for Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena.
 

Cannon played for the Delta Devils from 2005-07. He helped lead them to a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title and NIT berth in 2007. As a senior, he averaged 7.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
 

"Mississippi Valley State gave me the opportunity to play on a Division I(A) level to play against the best the country has to offer besides the NBA," Cannon said.

Cannon, a health and education major before graduating in 2007, became a graduate assistant coach from 2007-2010 before he became a full-time assistant. 
 

"I love Mississippi Valley State University," Cannon said. "I won the (conference) championship as a player. When I went into graduate school, I kind of wanted to get into coaching."

He was a part of two SWAC Tournament coaching staffs at MVSU, including in 2008 under James Green and 2012 under Sean Woods. Athletes he has coached include Larry Cox, now playing in China; Jim Hill High School head coach Stanford Speech; former SWAC Tournament MVP Carl Lucas; and honorable mention All-American Paul Crosby. He coached against former Wake Forest and current Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul along with former UCLA and current Minnesota Timberwolves forward and center Kevin Love.
 

According to Cannon, playing and coaching at a Division IA school require a detailed class and practice schedule, a lot of film study and extra time in the gym. He added the speed of the game is much quicker.
 

"It's not about your ability anymore," Cannon said. "It's about how good can you think. If you can't think the game at this level, then you've got a whole lot of trouble, no matter the athletic part and everything like that."
 

Looking ahead to next season, Cannon expects the Devils to play an up-tempo brand of basketball. 
 

"You want to play fast, but think slow," Cannon said. "You want to cause a whole lot of chaos, but organized chaos. We're organized. We know what we're doing. You might think we don't know what we're doing, but when everyone is on the same page you can't go wrong."
 

Three athletes from 2013-14 graduated and they are looking to fill the roster with another big player and wing man.
 

Cannon feels very fortunate to be in his current position.
 

"I got to give it all to God to put me in this situation because I've coached some of the best," Cannon said. "I've coached the SWAC player of the year, first-team All-Conference guys, some of the best in the country and some professional (athletes)."
 

Cannon's shining moment as a player for the Tigers came as a sophomore in 2004-05 when he helped lead the team to the Region 23 Tournament.
 

CCC had not been to the regional playoffs in a long time, but Cannon did his part to turn things around by earning a spot on the All-Region first team his two seasons with the program. He averaged 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 rebounds. 
 

"Once again, I went to a program that was down and helped turned them around," Cannon said. "I am not saying I did it, but I was a part of it."
 

He was able to play all positions, but the majority of his time with the Delta Devils, Tigers and Red Panthers was spent as a small forward.
 

Cannon's head coach at CCC was James Washington. He had heard stories from younger athletes about Washington prior to playing JUCO basketball, but found them to be not true.
 

"When you play for him, you get to see the real side of him," Cannon said. "He's going to break down basketball more because he's been on the college level so he knows how to break it down. At the same time, he's going to get in with the confines of the offense. On defense, he's going to teach you to be disciplined and everything. He'll show you how to really get it."

Cannon credited assistant coach Cedric Tenner with pushing him the hardest when it came to individual workouts.
 

Cannon's career with the Red Panthers got off to a slow start when he was kicked off of the team as a sophomore. However, he rejoined the program as a junior under head coach Isaiah Peterson.
 

By the time Cannon was at MVSU, he was 6-4, 200, but his biggest growth spurt came between his sophomore and junior years at CCHS. He was 5-9 as a sophomore and 6-2 as a junior.
 

The Red Panthers just missed advancing to the state tournament during Cannon's junior and senior seasons. The forward position was their strong point on the court. Power forward Edwin "Tone" Smith averaged 23 points and 15 rebounds while Cannon averaged 20 points and 20 rebounds.
 

Cannon was on the All-District first team his junior and senior years while earning All-State honorable mention as a senior. He credited Peterson with helping him personally and turning the overall program around.
 

"What can't I say about him?" Cannon said. "I can go on and on about him. He's a true father figure. Even though I had my father, he's still a father figure for me, not just for basketball. He's a life teacher. He teaches basketball and discipline. There's just so many things that you can say about him and not one of them would be bad."
 

Cannon also credited former Red Panthers assistant coach Joseph Griffin with pushing him hard and providing him with a better work ethic.
 

Cannon started playing organized basketball in a league at Higgins Middle School Saturday mornings led by Billy Fields and Frank Beasley. He first picked up a basketball in elementary school and played several sports when he was younger, but basketball was where he excelled.

It was in third grade when he was nicknamed "Dell." He and his dad, Richard Cannon Jr., have the same first name so he went by his middle name, Ridell, as a little kid. He liked the name Dell and wrote it on his paper in third grade. When the teacher asked him who Dell was, he raised his hand and his name was changed on the class list. 
 

All these years later, Cannon is coaching at a Division IA school, he still supports his hometown teams and the kids and they support him.
 

"I can't say enough about my hometown," Cannon said. "I love it. Coahoma County as a whole, that's Clarksdale, Lyon, Jonestown, Friars Point, Lula, Bobo, Dublin, Sherard, all of those places, they support me throughout. When I come home, it's nothing but love."
 

When Cannon's coaching career becomes stable enough, he plans to give even more back.
 

Cannon would like to be a Division I head coach, but recognized he could only choose his goals, not path and would be happy wherever he winds up down the road.
 

Several family members have been there for Cannon every step of the way, especially his dad and his mom Audrey Brown Cannon. His uncles James Clark and Charles Cannon showed him how to play basketball and taught him the rules of the game.
 

He got his start at Lyon Elementary School, located in the town he was born and raised in. Other members of the community who have helped Cannon on and off the court are Coahoma County Sheriff Charles Jones, who has been like a big brother to him, and Fred Thompson, who has been more like an uncle.
 

Cannon never played for Coahoma Agricultural High School head coach Michael Stringer. However, Stringer taught Cannon how to do the right things on and off the court.

As much as basketball has been a part of Cannon's life, he keeps things in proper perspective.
 

"Basketball is not everything to me," Cannon said. "There's some other things I love more than basketball. There's God first, family second and then basketball."
 

Josh Troy is the sports reporter for the Press Register and can be reached at 662-627-2201,  at sports@pressregister.com or by visiting facebook.com/clarksdale.register.