ITTA BENA — Chico Potts is getting the opportunity he has always wanted, but it certainly won't be easy.

In his first role as head coach, Potts believes he's up for the challenge as he takes over a depleted roster and a program in academic shambles at Mississippi Valley State.

Potts, 36, was hired to replace Sean Woods, who brought Potts in from Delta State as an assistant four years ago when Woods was hired to replace Lafayette Stribling.

Two days after Potts' hiring, MVSU's men's basketball team was hit with a one-year postseason ban by the NCAA because of sub-par work in the classroom.

MVSU received the level three penalty for falling below the mandated cutline of 900 for its four-year Academic Progress Rates. APR measures graduation rates of every Division I team. This year's data calculates rates from 2007-08 through 2010-11. Valley's APR was 865 in men's hoops.

The team will also lose three non-conference games for the upcoming season and practice time as part of the NCAA penalties.

Potts was aware of the APR woes and knew of the pending penalties before being hired. He believes he has a plan to fix the off-the-court issues.

On the court, Potts needs players. Only three players return from the Delta Devils team that won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Only one of those, Brent Arrington, saw significant playing time.

"This is a great opportunity for me, and I plan to make the most of it. This is definitely the opportunity that I have waited and prayed for," said Potts, an Indianola native.

"I'm excited about leading this program going forward. Over the past four years, I have grown here with this university and built some really special relationships and I'm so thankful and I feel so blessed for this chance.

"Yes, I understand we face a big challenge because we have to replace seven good players who were the glue to last year's team. We've got to get some guys signed and on campus. We're a little behind, but we've got some guys committed to coming here," he said.

Potts, a former Indianola Gentry star, started his college career playing for Lon Morris Junior College in Jacksonville, Texas, before going on to Louisiana State University and finishing his career at Delta State University.

The experience of playing at those levels has served as a strong tool in helping Potts as a recruiter, and he believes that it will continue to be an instrumental part in bringing in talented players.

"Having the chance to play on just about every level of collegiate basketball is a big deal when you're talking to student-athletes.

"I have the experience of playing big time SEC basketball as well as D-II ball. I know what they have to offer, and I know how to present this university because there is such a good and rich athletic tradition here.

"Growing up right down the road in Indianola, I am very familiar with Valley. I love the Delta, and I believe in what we can do here at Mississippi Valley. For my family and me, this is where we want to be, and we are going to do our very best to be great representatives of this university," Potts said.

Potts said he will bring in an aggressive but disciplined approach to the game.

"I believe in running the court so we will have an up-tempo game, but we will be disciplined to look for and take good shots. We are going to attack the paint, and we are going to defend like our lives depend on it," said Potts.

Potts got his start as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Delta State, in 2001 before he made stops at Greenville-Weston (2002-03) and Tupelo High School (2003-06). He was an assistant coach under Jason Conner from 2006-08 at Delta State before joining Woods at MVSU in 2008.