Early 2011-2012 Outlook

[AB™]

Just curious as to what everyone is returning and what to expect from teams around the state.  I know it's early but we kicked off summer practices this week and it's got me excited about the upcoming season.

I have a good idea about the 2A-4 East and West, but am clueless when it comes to the rest of the state.  I won't go into detail right now, but I like what Mountainburg might be putting on the floor this season.  Not sure they will be better than last year, but the potential to be better is certainly there.

[dragon67]

Strong has their inside game back.  They have a couple of guards who came off the bench.  Their ninth grade class had a good team and are almost entirely guards.  They should be a
factor by the end of the season, and make Strong a major contender again. 
Parker's Chapel went to the finals.  I don't know how many they have back, but their 11th grade class was good in junior high.  Also, never underestimate a Clancy Laymon team.
Junction City's coach is in his third season.  They had a very good junior high team last year.
They should be a factor also in 7-AA East.

[Pick_DA_EAGLES]

des arc will be in the title chase this year. we have 2 kids transfer in 6'5 and 6'2 add that to our returners of 6'6 and 6'3 and a 6', and 1 of those was all-state last season.

[RATTLER43]

Transfers? Anybody we have heard of? From where?

[Pick_DA_EAGLES]

they are air force kids. been living and goin to school in germany i believe, they have family in des arc. word has it they are both athletes.

[RATTLER43]

Lucky!!!

[AB™]

RATTLER, who all exactly does Magazine return?  I know the twins are back and they had a real athletic PG that was just a sophomore or junior.  Was that big kid a senior?

Mountainburg has a new addition that I think will end up potentially making them just as good as they were last year.  But I'm not going into a lot of detail right now because I've only been able to see him in a few practices.  It's too early to see what kind of impact he'll have in an actual game setting.  They've also got two of football players that didn't play last year that are playing this year, and they should help too.  One is the quarterback and, at the very least, he's in the 6'0" or 6'1" range and is a very good athlete. 

We lost three starters and five of our eight man rotation, but are adding three new players (two juniors and a senior) that have the potential and ability to more or less cancel three of those players out.  I don't think we'll get off to a 19-1 start like we did last year (our top six didn't play football a year ago) but I think we can be pretty good later in the season.  It's still way to early to tell if we can be as good as last year, though, and last year we were pretty good, so it won't be easy to match that.  We will be a different looking team, too (more size); we won't be nearly as guard/three-point oriented.

[RATTLER43]

RATTLER, who all exactly does Magazine return?  I know the twins are back and they had a real athletic PG that was just a sophomore or junior.  Was that big kid a senior?

Mountainburg has a new addition that I think will end up potentially making them just as good as they were last year.  But I'm not going into a lot of detail right now because I've only been able to see him in a few practices.  It's too early to see what kind of impact he'll have in an actual game setting.  They've also got two of football players that didn't play last year that are playing this year, and they should help too.  One is the quarterback and, at the very least, he's in the 6'0" or 6'1" range and is a very good athlete. 

We lost three starters and five of our eight man rotation, but are adding three new players (two juniors and a senior) that have the potential and ability to more or less cancel three of those players out.  I don't think we'll get off to a 19-1 start like we did last year (our top six didn't play football a year ago) but I think we can be pretty good later in the season.  It's still way to early to tell if we can be as good as last year, though, and last year we were pretty good, so it won't be easy to match that.  We will be a different looking team, too (more size); we won't be nearly as guard/three-point oriented.

We return:
PG Jack Scott Jr.  5'10" 152
SG Cory Chambers Sr. 6' 163
SF Ryan Chambers Sr. 6' 168
C  Skyler McElroy Sr.  6'5" 282 (he is the big you were asking about; broken hand for regionals last season)
Ethan Williams Sr. 6th man 5'11" 162

Darrell Day Sr. PF 6'2" 235  is playing this year. Should help our frontline immensely.

We should be much better this year than last; but that is projection. Every kid has really worked hard in weightroom. We played at Paris last week and looked great. Missed Cedarville Wednesday due to 7 on 7; at Lavaca for Basketball tonight. Will try to let you know how it went.

[herws]

Augusta will be pretty tough next year.

[AB™]

Augusta will be pretty tough next year.

They were pretty tough last year.  Are they returning a lot?  They were a top 3-5 team last year, so if they return everyone they should be one of the favorites to win state this year. 

[Pick_DA_EAGLES]

the 6-2a will be tough as always.

[sixthman21]

Better watch out for Poyen Boys they are returning 4 starters! Kaleb and Cameron Collins are going to be juniors this year. They are solid players never turning the ball over and they can shoot lights out. There 4 man(Parker Shields) grabs every rebound in the game and can step behind the line and hit the 3.  Their last returning starter is going to be a senior(Kody Bryant) who is a solid shooter. And they will probably start a 6'6 soph at 5 this season.

[keohog]

England Girls will have there entire team come back from last years State Championship team. The Boys lost only two but they were two very good ones.

[macgruber23]

they are air force kids. been living and goin to school in germany i believe, they have family in des arc. word has it they are both athletes.

Theyhired a football coach that is going to coach basketball in the winter.  DA is a football and track school

[macgruber23]

Cedar Ridge returns all 5 starters from their team and 3 starters from their undefeated jr boys team that will play significant minutes and may start.  Should be a good year for them.

[Pick_DA_EAGLES]

they are air force kids. been living and goin to school in germany i believe, they have family in des arc. word has it they are both athletes.

Theyhired a football coach that is going to coach basketball in the winter.  DA is a football and track school

This year des arc is going to be a BASKETBALL SCHOOL. Watch what im telling you. we have what will be 2 D-1 hoop players on this team. matter of fact i will bet you the b-ball team goes further than the f-ball team this year.

[AYJ]

Des arc will be pretty good and I havent seen Poyen play. Augusta will have 2 good players coming back and defending champions EPC will have their best post player back and they return their PG. One of their shooters moved to Manila but, they'll have still have some shooters returning.

[wonderboys]

AB, what are your projections for the 4aa East and West?

I don't know everything about either side, but I'd probably pick both sides to finish the same 3 on top (maybe just in different order)

Last Years top 3

East: Danville, Magazine, Two Rivers::::::: JC Westside could make a big jump from 7th last year to possibly contend for a top 3 spot:::::::

West: County Line, Moutainburg, Eureka Springs <-- Not Sure what Eureka is returning though

[AB™]

AB, what are your projections for the 4aa East and West?

I don't know everything about either side, but I'd probably pick both sides to finish the same 3 on top (maybe just in different order)

Last Years top 3

East: Danville, Magazine, Two Rivers::::::: JC Westside could make a big jump from 7th last year to possibly contend for a top 3 spot:::::::

West: County Line, Moutainburg, Eureka Springs <-- Not Sure what Eureka is returning though

I just expect it to be Magazine-Danville and everyone else in the East.  As for our side, I expect about the same as last year with a few wrinkles.


Sorting out the "Big 3"

County Line:  They lost their only big man, who also was the only player they had over 6'0" tall.  I didn't get to see their junior high play last year but was told they didn't have any size, either, so they aren't bringing in any 10th graders with size.  Now, that doesn't mean they won't have size because they could have a move in or some kid who already went to school there that didn't play basketball last year may decide to play this year.  But, if their roster holds to form as is, then they should be severely lacking in the height department unless some kids hit some big growth spurts - which is entirely possible. 

But, they still have Gattis (probably the best or second best player in the conference) and some other very solid guards.  I'm pretty sure Gattis' little brother is on the team this year, too, and I was told he's a player.   I expect them to still be unbeatable at home and contend for the conference championship.  Now, if they don't have any size and all of their players are in the 5'8"-6'0" range, then things will be tougher. 

Eureka Springs: They started a couple of bigs (6'4" and 6'5") who graduated and brought another one off the bench that was about 6'4" who also graduated.  They do have Bauer (#23) back who I consider the most unguardable player in the conference.  He's a 6'3" perimeter player who can score from all three levels on the floor.  Not sure he's as good of a team player as Gattis from County Line but he's a heck of a player.  They also have their little point guard back who was their second best player and one of the 8-10 best players in the conference last year.  They had a freshman playing up in the district and regional tournaments last year who you could tell was going to be a very good player but I was told he moved to Bentonville.  Not sure if that's true or not, though. 

Basically, they've got two of the five best players in the conference this year, so even if they don't have a lot to go alongside them, they should still be one of the two or three best teams in the conference.  I'm not real sure what they're bringing up from last year's junior high team.

Mountainburg  We're getting two starters back including our second best player from last year's team.  I'd put him in the Gattis-Bauer class and in the discussion for best player in the conference when he plays up to his potential.  He had to share a lot of shots with Wolfgram last year but this year he will be the primary scorer.  The other starter we have coming back wasn't a full-time starter last year but he started a lot of games.  He's only about 5'6" but he's a very solid PG.  He's definitely a pass-first, pass-second, shoot-third type PG and has a ton of heart. 

Two of the remaining three starting roles will be filled by Nathan Jones (quarterback on the football team) who is about 6'1" and is a very good athlete.  I call him a Magazine or Danville type athlete, meaning he's in that same class athletically as some of the kids at those two schools.  He didn't play last year, but if he had played he definitely would have been in the rotation.  He's not much of a shooter but he can sore facing-up off the bounce or with his back to the basket.  He can get up off the bounce and finish around the rim. 

The other spot will be filled by 6'5" Marcus Romero.  He's a "move-back".  Meaning he used to go to Mountainburg, moved to Roland, OK for a couple of years, and now he's back at Mountainburg.  I haven't seen enough of him to determine how good he can be, but I have seen enough to be very excited about his potential.  If he develops a mean streak then there won't be a player in the region that can keep him from scoring.  I think we'll struggle out of the gate some this year (no 19-1 start like last year) because we have so many in football (last year our top 6 in the rotation didn't play football) but the talent and potential is there for us to be as good as we were a year ago.  We should be about eight deep again, too, which can go a long way against County Line and Eureka when they're only playing 5-6 kids every night.   


Sleeper 
Hartford: Lost their PG who was perfect for their team last year because he was great at penetrating the defense, and Hartford's two best players were great shooters, and that gave them open looks from deep.  Hartford returns their two best players and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they sneak into one of the top 3 spots. 

Remember, last year Hartford at one time or another gave the "Big 3" (Mburg, Line, Eureka) all they could handle and then some.  They did go like a combined 0-8 or 0-9 against them but three or four of those games were close.  I know at Mountainburg we had them down about 10-15 a lot of the game, but they got hot from three in the 4th quarter and had it down to four at one point before we pushed the lead back out and winning by about 15.  They played at County Line in one of the first conference games of the season and were only down by 5 or 6 in the 4th quarter before County Line hit some free throws late to win by 12.  They did the same thing to Eureka in the regular season, and I believe they gave County Line a big scare in the first round of the district tournament. 

I just remember looking down their roster sheet last year and seeing a bunch of "11"s in the grade column. 


Rest of the conference will be pretty much the same as last year.  Hackett was very scrappy last year and I think they have a lot of their team back, so they could maybe flirt with the 4th spot, but I'm not expecting it.

[RATTLER43]

If we are healthy we will be tough come tournament time.

[AB™]

If we are healthy we will be tough come tournament time.

If you have practically the same team then definitely.  Magazine should be better this year than they were last year, and I think County Line, Eureka and Mountainburg might be a little worse than they were a year ago. 

How did they look at Lavaca?  Mountainburg I know beat Hartford and lost two close games to both Lavaca teams but we were playing without a few starters/key players. 

[RATTLER43]

We did not take "A" team. They did so much 7 on 7 this summer that they only got in a handful of basketball games. Yes, we should be really tough depending upon remaining healthy. We have little depth. Ryan Chambers missed all but a few games of sophomore year with broken collar bone from football; McElroy missed regionals with broken hand last year. Our starting five can match up with anyone in our area but we cannot handle foul trouble or injury.

[AB™]

We did not take "A" team. They did so much 7 on 7 this summer that they only got in a handful of basketball games. Yes, we should be really tough depending upon remaining healthy. We have little depth. Ryan Chambers missed all but a few games of sophomore year with broken collar bone from football; McElroy missed regionals with broken hand last year. Our starting five can match up with anyone in our area but we cannot handle foul trouble or injury.

That's where Danville and Mountainburg got everyone else in the district and region last year.  We went eight deep at Mountainburg and I know Danville went eight or nine deep.  We're waiting to see if one kid will play or not.  He sounds kind of like your big kid that didn't play last year.  He's a football player who's a senior but didn't play last year, goes about 6'2" or 6'3" and in the 225-230 pound range.  Even without him Mountainburg should still be able to go seven or eight deep, and with him eight or nine deep.

[RATTLER43]

Agreed. We would play Danville well for about 90 percent of the game. I really thought thet beat us with depth especially in District finals. We play 6 kids.

[AB™]

Any idea who Danville returns and lost?  I could be wrong, but they started a couple of seniors, one of which was probably their best or second best player.  But they've always got athletes so I expect them to be pretty good again.

This is the last year with Danville and County Line in the region.  Danville will be moving up to 3A next year and County Line down to 1A.

[RATTLER43]

They lost their two best players and will still be loaded.

[wonderboys]

In my opinion, Danville only started 3 of their top 5 or 6 players last year. I guess that is part of Coach Wright genius. Those top 3 were very good, so they were able to kick people in the mouth. And just when teams were excited that they were bringing in "bench players" they got kicked in the mouth again AND an atomic wedgie (painful, believe me). So, Danville graduated 5 (I believe) key players, but still have a very good starter, two studs that came off the bench a lot last year, maybe their best athlete who got limited PT last year, and about 4 "unknowns" that will still manage to scare people.

Magazine, as already stated, has their Big 4 that basically did all the winning for them. Stop them from shooting the 3 and they will kill you inside. Pack the paint and you will be watching the scoreboard changing more than Beyonce at an awards ceremony. But, get em in foul trouble and you MIGHT have a chance.

Two Rivers was in a bit of shambles last year from bringing 3 schools together into one. I think their coach is good, but I think the extra crap that the kids had to fight through all year jumped on their back and aided in them losing 5 or 6 in a row to finish the season. If all the turmoil has settled, viewer beware. They will definitely scare, if not beat, anyone they play this year.

JC Westside showed what they were capable at the most important time last year. Making it to Regionals as a 7 seed, then giving County Line a scare with their second half performance, should definitely open peoples eyes. They return most of their key players from last year, and added a 10th grader that really filled it up last year as a Freshman.

Hector is probably 5th. However, this will be the first year that they have not had a true dominant presence on the floor in the last few years.

Bigelow and WYC both lost their most important pieces from last year. Could be a tough year for both.

[b-ball fan]

Should be an interesting conference. I highly doubt anyone will go 12-0 in conference play this year, but I would have said the same thing last year.

Magazine has all the pieces to be the favorite at this point. Depth could be a big issue for them. They have 4 very solid guys, but will have to put guys around them to give them a chance. A deep run in football (as with the Little Johns) could put them behind the 8 ball to start the year, but I expect them to be strong late.

Not sure how Danville loses as much talent as they did and can still be a favorite, but I hope that they can build on the great season that they had a year ago. They may struggle early learning to play without those 2 great guards, but they could be a very dangerous late in the year.

Two Rivers may have had top 2 or 3 talent a year ago, but managed to stumble late and miss the Regional. I look for them to be very dangerous. They are talented and experienced. Their Jr High was great last year too, and that could help. The biggest question with them is chemistry. I think it killed them last year and when you add in very talented younger kids, it could cause problems again.

Westside proved it has the talent to compete late last year, and they played Magazine close every time last year. They are a dark horse, but if they play consistant all year, they are dangerous

As for Bigelow, Hector, and WYC only time will tell.

Bigelow still has the very good point guard who could cause folks trouble.

Hector has some talent, but people didn't realize how much because of Pruitts ability and the way they used him.

WYC is rebuilding after a great season a year ago. They have a good point guard and some hard workers, but I'm not sure if that translates to victories. Coach Creamer will get them to play hard, but it will be an uphill battle for this group.

[RATTLER43]

I like your assessment.

[HorseFeathers]

Hector has some talent, but people didn't realize how much because of Pruitts ability and the way they used him.

Hector has the talent to be competetive, this season...but the question will be will  their coach actually use it, or will it be the run in the circles offense that he used when he actually had a center...or the lack of an offense he ran in the few games I watched them play last year...


BTW I really do not like Simmons coaching style...IMO he wastes talent, and I don't understand why people around Hector(and some in this conference) act like he's the best thing to happen to Hector basketball, well at least since Walt Davis was walking the sidelines...

[ballislife24]

Rest of the conference will be pretty much the same as last year.  Hackett was very scrappy last year and I think they have a lot of their team back, so they could maybe flirt with the 4th spot, but I'm not expecting it.
[/quote] Hackett from what i seen during the summer camps they participated at, looked pretty dang good. They lost most of their starters but are being replaced with a good chemistry based group of guys. Tristan Wollschlager - 5'9 PG
                                                  CJ Clem - 5"8 SG
                                                  Trevor Thompson - 6'1 SF
                                                  Logan Bennett - 6'2 PF
                                                  Dexter Holcombe - 6'3 C
Starting lineup.
                                               

[AB™]

Considering the drastic drop-off in talent at Hackett (from the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons to last season) I was impressed with how much Hackett improved over the course of the year last year.  The second time they played Mountainburg late in the season (at Hackett) they actually hung around in the first half before Mountainburg opened up to about a 30 point lead in the 4th quarter.  Still, they put a pretty good fight in the first half of that game.   

For some reason, though, I thought everyone on the team (for the most part) was sophomores and juniors.  I didn't realize they lost most of their starters but they brought some decent players off the bench.  It seemed like they played about 8-10 guys so they had depth.  Like I said, though, I wouldn't be surprised if they challenged for the fourth spot in conference. 

[AYJ]

Any word about Hughes?

[Pick_DA_EAGLES]

Any word about Hughes?

havnt heard a word, if i remember correctly they had several sr.s but played alot of the bench players last season so they will be good as always. it wont hurt that they are prolly already practicing b-ball, since they have no f-ball team.

[AYJ]

Well they play bay the first week of the season so I wanted to know what they had

[Pick_DA_EAGLES]

Well they play bay the first week of the season so I wanted to know what they had

where?

[AYJ]

BIC's gym October 21st in monette

[herws]

Any word about Hughes?

They will have two post players returning that are very good. They will be weak at guard  this year.

[AYJ]

How big are the posts? I know they had a Good post and shooter in I think #22 and #23 was a good player. Last year they're guards did a lot for them so I wonder how they'll be being less guard oriented.

[herws]

All their inside guys are back from last year. Montgomery and White are the two that will be tough to handle.

[Pick_DA_EAGLES]

the 6-2A will be very competitive this season.

[rammer]

I would not be surprised to see 4 teams from the 2A-6 back in the state tournament. The 2A-5 North will not be able to compete with these teams come regionals. Conway St. Joseph may be able to get a win and make it to state. I think Clarendon, Augusta, and Des Arc all should make it to state this year.

[luvsbball]

Depends on if Clarendon has a healthy Jackson come tourney time.  I hear he keeps getting banged up in football.  Augusta may not be as deep this year.  Lost some Srs & a pretty good Jr. moved out of state, I think.  Still have Brown & Gant, that may be all they need. 
I understand Poyen boys will be pretty good, don't know about Magnet Cove or Conway Christian, but ALS is down.  I think England has quite a few back.

[Rocker23]

What about carlisle i think they lost the Murray boys they were the team last year,scored alot. and England lost there big guys.

[bignasty]

St. Joseph should be tough again this year. A disappointing year last year not making the state tournament. They will be young this year with only 2 seniors. The juniors on this team are strong but need some experience look for them late in the season playing there best ball. Plus, they still got their point guard from last year. This year should be a good one. Good luck to all!

[BigLion10]

What about carlisle i think they lost the Murray boys they were the team last year,scored alot. and England lost there big guys.

The two big men from England tHey lost basically was the team

[Rocker23]

yea they really did and what about carlisle boys, heard carlisle girls are pretty good...

[luvsbball]

Carlisle girls & Augusta girls should be tops in 6 2A.  Would love to see those games, 2 different styles, but schedule doesn't allow.  Have coached several girls off each of those teams in summer ball, and they both should reach state this year.

[b-ball fan]

Getting really close to games for schools without football. I can't wait!!

[violent_g]

Hughes always will have a shot and EPC will be good again their Jr team went undefeated