Page 6 - 2018 TL Basketball Preview

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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018 | TRI-LAKES EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE BASKETBALL PREVIEW
BRYANT HORNETS
Hornets pushing to ‘be the best we can be’
BY NATE OLSON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
There’s been some state-title talk around Bryant High School this fall, and not just with the football team, which has been ranked in the top five since the preseason.
Hornets basketball players have been vo- cal about their team’s chances to make it to Hot Springs, despite no recent track record of that kind of success.
“We have talked about [a state title] some,” said Hornets coach Mike Abrahamson, who is in his eighth season at Bryant. “It is not something I would like to set as a goal as a do-or-die thing because it is hard to do. Ev- ery team that wins one has to have some luck, but we definitely feel like we can play with anybody in our class. We need to be the best we can be, and the rest will take care of itself.”
Junior point guard Khalen Robinson, 6-1, 170, knows what it takes to win a title. He helped Episcopal Collegiate to the Class 3A championship as a freshman before transfer- ring last year. Robinson averaged 15 points and 3.4 assists per game last season. He is the Tri-Lakes Edition 2018 Boys Basketball Player to Watch. Robinson is attracting heavy inter- est from NCAA Division I schools and has scholarship offers from Oral Roberts Uni- versity in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg; and Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. He is trying to be the only player in the Abrahamson era to sign with a Division I program out of high school. Kevin Hunt attended prep school and junior college upon graduation
from Bryant and now plays for DI McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Senior shooting guard Rodney Lambert, 6-2, 180, is the only senior who started last
year. He averaged 8 points per game.
“He is a good creator and plays well in transition,” Abrahamson said. “He is very
explosive.”
Junior Treylon Payne, 6-2, 170, who
teamed up with Robinson at Episcopal two years ago, enrolled at Bryant in the fall. Payne, who scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons at Episcopal, is also a col- lege prospect, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recruiting writer Richard Davenport said.
“He is really good,” Abrahamson said of Payne. “He is not quite a point guard, more of a pure scorer. He scores in every way pos- sible. He has great body control and handles the ball well with a point-guard mentality. He drives and finishes well around the rim.”
Sophomore guard Camren Hunter, 6-2, 155, averaged 7 points per game as a fresh- man last season, and Abrahamson calls him “a college player.”
Junior guard Colby Washington, 6-2, 170, is making a bid for more minutes in the backcourt this season after battling injuries. “He is super athletic and solid in all areas,” Abrahamson said.
Junior point guard A.J. Jenkins, 5-7, 150, adds depth, as do sophomores Kayleb West, 6-1, 160; O.J. Newburn, 5-9, 155; Aiden Adams, 6-0, 160; and freshman Khasen Robinson, 5-9, 140, the younger brother of Khalen Robinson.
Junior Jonathan Hall, 6-4, 190, is the tall- est Hornet and roams the paint with high
PHOTOS BY STACI VANDAGRIFF/TRI-LAKES EDITION
Patrick Martin prepares to make a shot while run- ning drills in the practice gym.
energy, the coach said. He has a knack for of- fensive rebound putbacks. “He is a blue-col- lar guy who has improved a lot since last year,” Abrahamson said.
Little Rock Central junior transfer Patrick Martin, 6-3, 180, will also see time in the paint and “is one of the only guys on our team who can block shots,” the coach said.
“We are not very big,” Abrahamson said. “We may get a couple of football players who
LADY HORNETS continued from 5TT
an anterior-cruciate-ligament tear last season, Matthews said, “We look for her to have a really big year.”
Allison Steen, a 6-0 senior, adds depth in the paint, the coach said. Steen is a high-en- ergy player with rebounding and shot-block- ing ability and can “have a big impact on the success of our team this year,” he said.
“We will need to continue to improve and mature as we get into our season,” Matthews
Khalen Robinson attempts to make a basket during a recent practice.
could improve our depth, but we are going to have to offset our lack of interior presence with speed. We are not going to be playing games in the 40s. We are going to push the tempo and play an exciting brand of basketball.”
said. “Our players have grown a lot this offseason, and we will need to continue to do that as we head into the season. To have grown and improved in the offseason was important, but to take that same mindset into competition is really important.
“So much of what can help us have success this season is in the mindset area. Having the proper mindset will help us continue to improve, both from a basketball standpoint and from a mentality standpoint.”
BRYANT LADY HORNETS
PHOTOS BY STACI VANDAGRIFF/TRI-LAKES EDITION
Bryant Senior Robyn Gordon looks to make a pass during practice.
Sophomore Ryleigh Laughlin works on her ball- handling skills.