Bryant wants to finish | The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

As good as the Bryant boys basketball team was during the 2023-2024 season, there was one particular word that several of the standout players continually talked about during Wednesday’s Big Miller High School Basketball Media Days at First Security Bank in Little Rock.

Finish.

The Hornets went 29-4 before falling short against Little Rock Central in the Class 6A state final. But everything Bryant did between the opening game and the championship game was memorable, including the 26 straight games he won after dropping the first two. Still, it’s what the Hornets didn’t do at the end that has apparently eaten them all offseason.

“Just finish it,” said junior guard Camarion Bead, who is one of four starters for Bryant. “That’s been the most important thing in practice. Just finishing drills, finishing plays, finishing offensive rebounds, finishing everything we do in practice. I think the biggest thing we didn’t do in the state championship game was finish.”

“We separated a little bit when we should have been together, there for each other during the hard times when we were 10, 15 behind. I think finishing was the most important thing.”

Bryant has placed an emphasis on trying to make sure finishing is not an issue at any point this year. The Hornets’ top four players have returned, including All-Arkansas Preps guard Kellen Robinson, and they have a talented collection of reserves that will surely have them at the top of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s preseason rankings when they next be released once. month.

According to Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson, the goal is for the team to play its best basketball during the latter part of the season, regardless of whether a long winning streak is in store or not.

“These guys have been through it,” he said. “When you come away from that (title game) and you lose that game, it’s tough. But when you start thinking about the next season, you’re like, ‘Man, you gotta start all over again.’ It’s so hard to get there.

“But we embraced that.”

CONWAY GIRLS

Come on

It’s a pretty safe bet that perennial state power Conway will be one of the odds for favorites to capture another Class 6A girls title by the time postseason play begins.

However, this season may be a little more difficult than last year.

The Lady Wampus Cats, who won a championship in 2023 and finished second last season, have a solid core in tow, led by Emerie Bohannn and Alivia Cox of University of Central Arkansas. But there is another UCA promise who will not speak at all.

Senior forward Alexis Cox, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder a year ago, is still recovering after a season-ending leg injury in the summer. As big as that loss was for the Lady Wampus Cats, they have faced adversity before.

“If you look at our 2023 season, we lost four seniors last year, and we only had one starter back,” Conway coach Ashley Hutchcraft said. “I think most people expected us to be down and not the same. If you look at where we are now compared to where we were this time last year, I think we’re a much better basketball team.

“I know this sounds a little crazy because we lost our leading scorer, our best rebounder, but when you lose players like Chloe Clardy and Savannah Scott and Kaidyn Beckwith and Kamille Brown, that was 95% of our scoring. … But we do have a lot of seniors, and we also have a lot of young pieces.”

Conway managed to reach the final a year after Clardy and Co. led the team to a title 19 months ago. Bohanon and her teammates will look to do the same, even without their top player on the floor.

“I think this year, with the loss of Lex and still being a leader on and off the floor, brings the team together,” Bohanon said when speaking about her role. “I think losing Lex took away a big part of our scoring by giving my teammates more opportunities. So now I have to make sure everyone else gets the same opportunity to showcase their talent.”

ESTEM BOYS

Show love

EStem Coach Monty Patel spoke at length about what he expects his team to be able to do this season at the Big Miller High School Basketball Media Days, but he first took a moment to acknowledge the impact that the event’s namesake has not only had on him had, but also on the rest. also from the state.

The event is named in honor of Kevin Miller, who founded the BM Sports Report and used various platforms to promote student athletes in Arkansas. Miller died in late February after suffering a heart attack.

“Kevin was a great friend, and I don’t think the guys in the room, the kids here and the people over the summer realize how many things he did for our state,” Patel said. “We have so much beef in the state, so many kids arguing, so many coaches, everyone just has so much beef. And I learned from Kevin, for three years in the summer, how we don’t have an agenda.

“Our agenda should be the kids, no matter what school they go to. If there’s one person we can say never had an agenda, it was Kevin.”

Miller, a native of Helena-West Helena, was 43 when he died Feb. 27.

LAKE HAMILTON BOYS

No debate

Lake Hamilton coach Scotty Pennington has instilled a winning mentality during his 13-year stint, but he had no problem admitting his group didn’t always look good beforehand.

“We’re more like a debate team than a basketball team,” Pennington said. “We don’t always pass the eye test, but our kids know how to play the game. They play extremely hard and believe, they really believe that they are going to win every game.”

Lake Hamilton has gained a lot lately.

The Wolves, who reached the Class 5A state semifinals in four of the past six seasons, have won at least 22 games in each of the past three seasons. They were seconds away from reaching a second straight finals last season and are expected to start five guards, led by senior Zane Pennington.

“It took a few years for Lake Hamilton to get to this point,” Scotty Pennington said. “Our kids believe they have to win. That’s a big thing in coaching, getting your kids to believe.

CABOT BOYS/MARION BOYS

First-year introductions

Of the 80 boys or girls teams that will ultimately be represented at the Big Miller High School Basketball Media Days, many of them have coaches who are in their first year at the school.

Count Troy Campbell and Sammie Lewis among that bunch.

“This is my 16th year as coach, but it is my first year at Cabot High School,” said Campbell, who served as head coach at Vilonia for three years until he was hired in April to replace Logan Bailey. “We’re excited about this year, we’re excited about bringing in almost a new team, a new production. We won’t have a lot of experience last year, but I do love our team, I love our team.

“We’re hungry and we’re excited.”

Lewis shared that same excitement.

He was an assistant coach at Jonesboro, but takes over a team that actually had two coaches last year. David Clark, who is now an assistant coach at Bartlett, Tenn., resigned just before the season started and was replaced by Emmanuel Wade, who led the Patriots to a 19-5 mark but left to take over at Magnolia .

“Super excited to be a Marion Patriot,” said Lewis. “It’s one of those jobs that when I was at Jonesboro, I had it on my list that if it ever opened up, I would be more than excited if I had the opportunity to be the head coach there.”

Ironically, Cabot and Marion will play each other in December.

TIP INS

Continuing a recurring theme throughout the event, Ben Lindsey of Conway, Kyle Pennington of Bentonville, Eric Lewis of Guy-Perkins and Josh Hayes of Hot Springs will be coaching at their respective schools for the first time. Also on the girls side, Harrison Doshier and Guy-Perkins’ Jeremy Carson will be in their debut seasons with new programs. All six were present to speak on Wednesday. … Bryant girls coach Eric Teague begins his second year at Saline County. He led the Lady Hornets to a 16-16 mark last season after leading Melbourne to four state championships in eight successful years at the helm. …Marion’s girls went 18-11 last season, but missed out on a bid to the state tournament after finishing tied for fourth in the 5A-East Conference. However, the Lady Patriots will be tested before the competition even starts this year. During the non-conference portion of the schedule, Marion will compete against teams such as Little Rock Central, Vilonia, Conway, Rossville (Tenn.) Christian and Link (Mo.) Academy and compete in events in Hot Springs, Texas and Kentucky. …Russellville basketball has some stability with boys coach Greg Chenault and girls coach LaShanta Johnson. Each team experienced significant coaching turnover over the past five years before Chenault and Johnson arrived in 2023. … Mills boys Coach Raymond Cooper was absent, but first-year assistant coach Erin Campbell stepped in. She spent some time on staff. in Conway, Arkansas State and Tulsa. … Harrison Boys Coach David Stahler is in his 23rd season. … After a long stay in Class 2A, Earle will play in Class 1A for at least the next two seasons.