Volunteer season preview

Hopeful Vols Aim Higher

Expectations are much higher for the Starkville Academy girls’ basketball team than they are for the boys’ team this season. Understandably so, as the talent-laden Lady Vols return all five starters.

“I certainly get that . . . I’ll be pulling hard for (girls) to win every game,” SA boys coach Mark Alexander said. “It was like that when I was here the first time. Coach (Glenn) Schmidt led her team to back-to-back Overall titles and went 43-0 one of those years. Most of the fans would come watch their games then leave. I’m hoping we can surprise some folks this year, play an entertaining style of basketball, and give our people a reason to stick around and watch us play, too.”

Alexander was previously at SA from 2012-’14. After 10 years being away following stops at MRA, Hartfield and most recently Heritage, he is in position to run it back with the Vols again. Alexander inherits a team that finished 9-16 overall, 1-9 in District 1-5A a year ago and didn’t qualify for postseason play. The Vols started the season 7-1 then lost 15 of their last 17 games. Most of those losses were of the double-digit variety.

So why the optimism from the new head coach?

“You have to believe you can win, otherwise you have no chance,” Alexander said. “That’s one thing I’ve really tried to get across to this team. My take from being around them since this summer is they truly don’t think they’re capable of competing and winning because they’ve been stuck in that losing mode. That’s been a main focus of mine, unifying and believing they’re capable of more - along with trying to get them to take the game more seriously, pay more attention to detail and executing better on both ends.

“It was the same way when I was here the first time,” Alexander continued. “And we were able to have some moderate success. Hopefully, we can do the same this time. It has been a big learning curve for them as they’ve had to adjust to and learn an entirely new system. They’ve made a lot of progress in practice, though. Now we just have to be able to carry that over into the games. It’s a good group of guys, I’d like nothing more than seeing them have some success.”

In Alexander’s first season at SA, the Vols were ranked inside the top five in the state early on after defeating MRA, ending the Patriots’ 77-game MAIS winning streak. However, his top three players all went down with injuries – two to season-ending injuries early in the season – and SA finished with a losing record. In Year 2, the Vols won 17 games – the most the program had won in five years – and enjoyed their deepest postseason run in nine years.

“Coach A has been very open on what he needs from us to execute this season,” senior guard/forward Alex Hunley said. “He’s emphasized multiple times the need to think on the court, and the importance of knowing our hefty amount of plays. The preseason has been fun. We have been in the weight room consistently and practicing regularly since the beginning of the year. We have a lot of players this year which means a lot of depth. I speak for everyone on the team when I say that we are excited for the season.”

Numbers certainly won’t be a problem in Year 1 of the sequel. Or lack thereof, at least. SA has 21 players on this year’s roster. “I’ve never had that many on a varsity team,” Alexander said. “I only had six players one of the years I was here the first time. It’s not realistic to even begin to think that I can play all 21 every game. We’ll see how it plays out. It has led to some very competitive practices – even more so now that the football players are with is - which is a good thing. And depth shouldn’t be a problem.”

Luke McKenzie headlines the list of returnees. The 6-5 senior forward averaged 21 points per game a year ago as a junior. He scored in double digits in every game except one, and that was in his first game back on the court after football season concluded. He scored 20 or more points in 11 games, including a season-high 39 against Smithville and 37 against Columbus Christian.

“Luke is one of the best players in our league,” Alexander said. “I’m certainly glad he’s on our side. It’s much more enjoyable coaching him than preparing to try to stop him. He’s a very versatile player. He can shoot from the perimeter and can also score inside. That’s what makes him so difficult to defend. Luke’s certainly going to be a big part of what we do this season. I’m expecting him to have a big senior year.”

McKenzie, who starts at quarterback on the football team, joined the basketball team on Monday, minutes after the season-ending team meeting. The same holds true for senior forward Chandler Wax, senior post Kaleb Prather, junior forward Bristo Santucci, sophomore guards Joseph Portera and Karson Hughes. Wax and Prather were part-time starters a year ago.

The SA boys are slated to open the season Thursday at East Rankin.

“I’ve been looking forward to having those guys join us,” Alexander said. “They have some catching up to do, though, because the other 15 guys have been in the gym since August. It’s going to take some time for them to learn everything and get in basketball shape. That process began Monday for all of them.

“We ran sprints as soon as they walked in the door,” Alexander added.

“It wasn’t very good timing on our part,” Prather said, with a laugh.

Hunley is the only other returning starter. He averaged 5.6 points per game a year ago as a junior. Ben Smith (5.6 ppg.) and Quan Jefferson (10 ppg.), mainstays in the starting lineup last season, both graduated.

“Alex is a guy who impacts the game beyond his scoring,” Alexander said. “He will play multiple positions for us. He defends, he rebounds, he makes hustle plays. . . I would expect him to get heavy minutes this year also.”

Nolan Spurrier, who has returned to SA for his senior year, is also another player capable of playing in the frontcourt and backcourt. Same goes for senior Bryce Batcher, sophomore Christian Riekhof, Wax and Hughes.

Senior Brayden Frazier should figure prominently in the frontcourt along with Prather. “Brayden is a guy who only knows one speed,” Alexander said. “He plays hard, and goes all out all the time.”

Sophomore Brennan Frazier will likely start at the all-important point guard position. He will be joined in the backcourt by junior D.J. Spencer, who returns after suffering a torn ACL early last season. Spencer had 17 points in a season-opening win over Oak Hill a year ago.

“D.J. can really shoot it, he’s arguably the best 3-point shooter we have,” Alexander said. “He’s still trying to work his way back from that injury, so it may take some time for him to really work his way back into shape. That would be a big plus for us if he can do that and shoot the 3 at a high clip. As for Brennan, he’s a young guy who we’re going to throw into the fire. There probably will be some growing pains for him. We don’t need him to try to do too much, we just need him to play within himself and get us into our offense.”

Seniors Art Meek, Zain Schilling and Marco Zavaleta, juniors Nic Hallberg and Gibson Nickels and sophomores Ty Marconi, Ryan Howard and Carter Basel will add depth in the backcourt. “Ty and Art are both really good shooters, and Gibson is a guy who has done some good things in practice.”

Five of SA’s first six games are on the road. The Vols’ schedule includes a total of 15 road games.

“We’re going to be spending a lot of time on busses,” Alexander said. “But that’s okay. I don’t care where we play, and I don’t think my guys care either, as long as we get to play somewhere. We all love the game. If anything, it should make us mentally and physically tougher by the end of the season.”