|
|
|
|
|
|
The defending Class 5A state champion North Crowley Panthers reloaded in the offseason and are poised to defend their title.
North Crowley lost seven players to graduation including three who are now playing at the collegiate level.
Willie Warren was a McDonald’s All-American last year and he’s now playing at Oklahoma. P.J. Colley is playing at Texas A&M University at Commerce and T.J. Franklin is a walk on with the Sooners.
Panther head coach Tommy Brakel who took home the 5A state Coach of the Year award said North Crowley is brimming with confidence about the chances of repeating as state champions.
“There’s extreme confidence,” Brakel said. “The players know it can happen because they watched it happen last year. They’ve always been ranked and they know we have the biggest bulls eye on our backs. We’re everybody’s Super Bowl.”
Brakel pinpointed two players whom he said can be leaders on the court.
“We’re trying to teach them how to lead,” Brakel said. “Leading isn’t 100 percent natural. You can’t make a leader out of someone who’s not.
“Our top leader is going to be Dontee Kinney, who was a member of the all-tournament team. To be a good leader, you have to have that respect of the kids. You can’t lead verbally only. You have to lead by example and he’s one of the best and hardest workers in the program.
“Nathan Tigner is also doing an excellent job and developing into a leader.”
Brakel said he is looking for some of the players who succeeded last year to continue to improve this season.
“Tony McGilveary was a starter last year and was first team all-district, all-region and one of the top 30 players in the state,” Brakel said. “I look for his stats to really improve. He averaged about 13 points and eight rebounds a game last year and I’m looking for those points to jump to about 16 to 18.
“His role is going to be a little different this year. Also, Justin Wesley is in his fourth year as a letterman. He was a three-year letterman at Klein Collins.”
On the offensive and defensive ends, Brakel said the Panthers will continue to do the things it did last year and keep the pace up.
“We’ll be using the dribble-drive motion offense,” Brakel said. “And on defense we’ll be up-tempo and pressure the length of the floor. We’ll use to man to man and a zone press at times and use pressure.”
Brakel said the goals for this year’s team are the same as previous years.
“Our goals are the same as they have been for the last 11 years,” Brakel said. “We view success as to how close we come to getting each team to their potential and not necessarily with wins and losses. We want to win district, regional and state championships.
“If you play for anything less than the ultimate goal, then what are you playing for?”
Brakel said that the Panthers have a buy-in mentality to the system that will help them during the season.
“They believe in themselves, the coaches and their teammates,” Brakel said. “They believe it can happen. They have to also understand that the past is the past. They need to be mature enough to understand that every team is going to have weaknesses.
“Our only loss last year was in the fifth game of the year. We haven’t lost in a while and the kids can handle that differently. It can take getting beat to expose your weaknesses. A really mature team can handle that without getting beat.”
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2005 Burleson-Crowley Connection. All
rights reserved.
Content on this site may not be archived, retransmitted, saved
in a database, or used for any
commercial purpose without the express written
permission of the Burleson-Crowley Connection.
Send questions or comments to
editor@burlesoncrowley.com
Powered by Sagentic
