Page 5 - 2018 TR Basketball Preview

THREE RIVERS EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE BASKETBALL PREVIEW | SUNDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2018
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JACKSONVILLE LADY TITANS
Lady Titans want another shot at state tourney
BY MARK BUFFALO
STAFF WRITER
For the first time in several seasons, the Jacksonville Lady Titans played in the state tournament, finishing the season 14-17.
The Lady Titans advanced to the first round of the Class 6A State Tournament, losing to Lake Hamilton 66-54 as the sixth seed from the 6A-East Conference.
Third-year Jacksonville coach Marian Kursh wants to build off that experience this season. “Every year, the goal is to grow,” Kursh said. “This is my third year. After looking at the stats, although it was slow progress, we made progress each year. I knew that coming in, it was going to be kind of difficult. The goal and expectations are to grow and get
better every year.”
During Kursh’s first season, the Lady Titans
finished 12-21 before advancing to postseason play a year ago.
MARK BUFFALO/THREE RIVERS EDITION
Jacksonville’s Brooke Roland, right, dribbles away from Taniya Mason.
“This year, surprisingly, we have a lot of young talent, so that is something new,” she said. “But the good thing is the girls have been here, and I don’t have to do as much coaching as I did my first two years. They know what I expect, and they help us in practice.”
Jacksonville’s top returning player is junior Shymaryia Christopher, who averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists per game last year.
Some of the other players who will help this year include senior Deshundra Shockley and sophomore Ariel Morant.
“All of them bring something to the table,” Kursh said. “I’ve got a freshman who is going to be pretty good in Dakarya Jackson.”
Jacksonville is now a member of the 5A-Central, which is a combination of former Class 5A and 6A teams, with the restructuring of the Arkansas Activities Association from seven classifications to six.
Teams include Little Rock Hall, Maumelle, Little Rock Parkview, Pine Bluff, Sylvan Hills, Watson Chapel and White Hall. Watson Chapel finished as runner-up in the Class 5A state tournament last year.
The Lady Titans won’t have to play in a blended conference anymore, playing games against Class 5A teams that don’t count toward getting into the state tournament.
“I’m happy about it,” Kursh said. “We didn’t like going up to Searcy. Every year was not fun. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but it was something we had to do.
“I think this raises the standards for the girls. They understand that the top four go to state. There is no more ‘we can play and lose and pos- sibly still get in.’ Now you’ve got to take care of business. Me, personally, as a coach, I like it. It challenges the players to do better.”
Kursh said she thinks it’s realistic for her team to make it into postseason play.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” she said. “We’re in some pretty good tournaments this year. That should really help us out. It will teach us a lot of lessons.
“You know how it is when you start off a sea- son. You’ve got a lot to learn. You’ve got to learn your team and how they operate.”
Jacksonville will open the season Nov. 15 in the first round of the Wampus Cats Invitational against host Conway.
JACKSONVILLE LIGHTHOUSE WOLVES
Lighthouse to rely on speed, athleticism
BY SAM PIERCE
STAFF WRITER
The Jacksonville Lighthouse Wolves ex-
pect big things from the senior class for the 2018 season.
“We have nine seniors, three juniors and three sophomores,” third-year head coach Kelvin Parker said. “Our team is built on playing tough defense and playing fast on offense.”
Braylan Jones is a 6-4 senior guard with a 6-7 wing span. The coach said he can “jump out the gym and loves to crash the offensive glass.”
“He will be an exciting player to watch this season,” Parker said.
Junior Jason Bobo is the only returning starter from last year’s team that finished 20-17. Bobo started every game last season as a soph- omore. The coach said he returns this year with a lot of confidence, a better shot and a 6-2, 220-pound frame.
JACKSONVILLE LIGHTHOUSE WOLVES
got a lot of playing time during the state tour- nament,” Parker said.
He said the team’s biggest strengths this year will be its speed and athleticism.
“We don’t have a lot of size; we pretty much have five guards,” Parker said. “So we are mostly guard-oriented, and they play quick.
“That has been our MO for the past three or four years. We play fast, and we play uptempo.” The coach said the Wolves lack a lot of experience, but he said their nonconference schedule should help them prepare for the 3A-5 Conference. Jacksonville Lighthouse will host
eStem on Nov. 6.
“EStem matches up with our speed, and every
year, our game is very entertaining,” Parker said. The Wolves will play the Benton Panthers, a 6A team, on Nov. 30. The coach said the Pan- thers had a pretty good team last year, and he
said some of the guys have Division I talent. “They also have a lot of youth,” Parker said. “That will be our toughest opponent, on paper,
at least.”
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utes, but now it’s their chance to shine.” Cooperwood is expected to start this season. “He knows the system pretty well, and he
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hole,” Parker said. “Bobo is a big guard with a high basketball IQ and great defense.”
The coach said Daylon Cooperwood was the sixth man last season and played major minutes in the state tournament.
“He rebounds well for a 6-foot forward,”
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..................................... COUCH, MO. ..................................... @RIVERSIDE *DENOTES CONFERENCE GAMES Parker said. “As a team, we have plenty of guys who will get their chance to play. They have been coming off the bench, getting spot min-
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“He plays physical and loves to drive to the