Page 4 - Tri Lakes Basketball Preview 2015

4TT
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2015
| TRI-LAKES EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE BASKETBALL PREVIEW
HOT SPRINGS TROJANS
BOYS
Conference: 5A South
Coach: Rodney Echols Jr.
Assistant coaches: Marcelle Goins and Josh
Smith
2014-15 record: 23-6, lost to Maumelle in the
semifinals of the 5A state tournament Returning starters: Trey Lenox, Kajuan Christon, Cleo Floyd and Exavian Christon all
return to the starting lineup this year. Floyd is the starting quarterback for the Hot Springs football team.
Best inside players: Paris Harris, 6-5; Quin- dell Smith, 6-5; and Floyd, 6-1, are the best inside players. Floyd’s ability to drive the basket makes him a threat from anywhere on the court, coach Rodney Echols Jr. said.
Best outside players: Guards Lenox, 6-3; Exavian Christon, 6-4; and Kajuan Christon, 6-1, all contribute on the perimeter. The team’s good size on the outside allows the players to create mismatches in all areas of the court, Echols said.
Team strengths: Experience, athleticism and guard play
Team weaknesses: None listed
Games to watch: Lake Hamilton, Nov. 23, and at Fayetteville, Dec. 10
Toughest opponents: Fayetteville, Springdale Har-ber and Tupelo, Mississippi
College prospects: Exavian Christon, Lenox and Kajuan Christon are all being recruited by colleges, the coach said.
In a nutshell: “The senior group has won back-to-back 5A-South Conference champi- onships but lost in the semifinals [of the state tournament] last year to Maumelle,” Echols said.
HOT SPRINGS TROJANS
NOV. 9 ..... @PINE BLUFF TOURNAMENT (GIRLS) NOV. 14 ..........@SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (BOYS) NOV. 17 ................................@JACKSONVILLE NOV. 23 ................................ LAKE HAMILTON NOV. 23 .............................ASHDOWN (GIRLS) NOV. 24 .......... HOT SPRINGS CLASSIC (GIRLS) DEC. 10-12 .. @FAYETTEVILLE TOURNEY (BOYS) DEC. 14 ................................@MENA (GIRLS) DEC. 18 . @WHITE HALL TOURNAMENT (GIRLS) DEC. 19 ...................... @MONTICELLO (BOYS) DEC. 19 . @WHITE HALL TOURNAMENT (GIRLS) DEC. 28 ................................BENTON (BOYS) DEC. 28 ..@LAKE HAMILTON TOURNEY (GIRLS) DEC. 28-30 ..................@PARIS, TEXAS (BOYS) JAN. 5 ......................................... PINE BLUFF JAN. 8 ......................................@MAGNOLIA* JAN. 9 ..................@PONTOTOC, MISS. (BOYS)
GIRLS
Conference: 5A South
Coach: Mark Upshaw
Assistant coach: Nikki Natt
2014-15 record: 26-4, Class 5A state cham-
pions
Returning starter: Keyneso Hunter
Best inside player: Hunter
Best outside players: Imani Honey and Ar-
iana Guinn
How will you match/exceed/fall short of your success from last year? “We have only three players that were on the team from last year,” coach Mark Upshaw said. Members of the team will rely on fresh talent and Hunter’s play in the paint to propel them to another state tournament.
Team strengths: The Lady Trojans return their leading rebounder this year and have some
HOT SPRINGS GIRLS continued on 10TT
HOT SPRINGS LAKESIDE RAMS
JAN. 11 ......................... WHITE HALL* (BOYS) JAN. 12 ........................ WHITE HALL* (GIRLS) JAN. 15 ...........................CAMDEN FAIRVIEW* JAN. 19 .......................... @WATSON CHAPEL* JAN. 22 ...................................... DE QUEEN* JAN. 26 ............... @HOT SPRINGS LAKESIDE* JAN. 29 ........................................... @HOPE* FEB. 2 ................................... @WHITE HALL* FEB. 5 ......................................@MAGNOLIA* FEB. 5 ............................. MAGNOLIA* (BOYS) FEB. 9 ............................... WATSON CHAPEL*
FEB. 12 FEB. 16 FEB. 19 FEB. 23
........................ @CAMDEN FAIRVIEW* .................. HOT SPRINGS LAKESIDE* .................................... @DE QUEEN* .............................................. HOPE*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
NOV. 10 ...................................... @SHERIDAN NOV. 17 ....................................ESTEM (BOYS) NOV. 18 ...... @FORDYCE TOURNAMENT (GIRLS) NOV. 19 .......................................... @LR FAIR NOV. 21 ...................COSSATOT RIVER (GIRLS) NOV. 23 ......... LAKESIDE TOURNAMENT (BOYS) NOV. 23 ......................... MONTICELLO (GIRLS) DEC. 1 ...................................BRYANT (BOYS) DEC. 8 .................................. FOUNTAIN LAKE DEC. 10 ..... @RUSSELLVILLE TOURNEY (BOYS) DEC. 14 .................................. CENTERPOINT DEC. 18 ................................... @BATESVILLE DEC. 28 .............................. FORDYCE (BOYS) DEC. 28 ............. HOT SPRINGS TOURNAMENT JAN. 8 ...................................... @DE QUEEN*
JAN. 12 ............................. WATSON CHAPEL* JAN. 15 .............................................. HOPE* JAN. 19 ................................. @WHITE HALL* JAN. 22 ....................................@MAGNOLIA* JAN. 26 ................................. HOT SPRINGS* JAN. 29 ........................ @CAMDEN FAIRVIEW* FEB. 2 ............................ @WATSON CHAPEL* FEB. 5 ........................................ DE QUEEN* FEB. 9 ................................ MCGEHEE (BOYS) FEB. 9 ...................................... WHITE HALL* FEB. 12 ........................................... @HOPE* FEB. 16 ............................... @HOT SPRINGS* FEB. 19 ....................................@MAGNOLIA* FEB. 23 ...........................CAMDEN FAIRVIEW*
*DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES
WILLIAM HARVEY/TRI-LAKES EDITION
Hot Springs’ Iyana Williams eyes the basket.