Newspaper Page Text
December 12, 2012
PAGE 3B
^Reporter
With new coach, boys to play up-tempo style
BY RICHARD DUMAS
A young Mary Persons
boys basketball team is
starting from scratch
with new players and a
new head coach in 2012-
13.
After a memorable two-
year stretch, which
included 35 victories and
a 2011 2-AAA region
championship, the Mary
Persons Bulldogs will
begin embarking on a
new era this season.
Leading this new era
will be first-year head
coach Greg Nix, a proven
winner at Houston
County and Veterans.
Nix, whose last Veterans
team ended MP's region
championship repeat
hopes back in February, is
now the man in charge of
MP basketball.
Unfortunately for Nix,
the cupboard is bare as
far as experience goes.
Only two returning
players, junior shooting
guard Tra Taylor and sen
ior point guard Macey
Zellner, have ever suited
up for the MP varsity
before.
MP lost eight seniors to
graduation, and then dur
ing the off-season, rising
senior forward Brannen
Greene, the top high
school player in Georgia
according to many
recruiting sites, trans
ferred to Tift County for
his final season. Greene's
departure was not really
a surprise after MP part
ed ways with former
coach Virgil Amey.
Now, Nix enters 2012-13
with another significant
challenge. Not only is he
a new coach coaching
inexperienced players, he
has had very little time
with his players because
football season ran all the
way to the end of
November. Nix said eight
of MP's 13 varsity players
are also football players.
Other than 18 practices
and eight exhibition
games the team played at
Mercer camp over the
summer, Nix had only
been able to hold two
practices before MP's 57-
45 season-opening loss at
Westside on Wednesday.
Considering the
Seminoles, one of the
region's favorites, had
been practicing for sever
al weeks and MP had
only practiced twice, Nix
said he was not dissatis
fied with the effort.
"We played extremely
hard and we competed
like crazy," Nix said. "I
was extremely pleased
with that."
Nix said even though
most of his players are in
football shape, it's not the
same as being in basket
ball shape.
"Basketball practice is
high-tempo, high move
ment all the time," Nix
said. "And they'll practice
hard obviously in football,
but it's just a different
speed."
Because his team is in a
transition period, Nix
said in the early part of
the season he is focused
on playing hard and get
ting in a position to peak
by the time the region
tournament rolls around
in mid-February.
"So right now what
we're trying to do, what
I'm really stressing, is
playing hard," Nix said.
"Playing tough and trying
to find ways to win with
our defense as we catch
up with our conditioning
and with our offensive
system."
Nix said by January he
expects to know what
kind of team he has. In
fact, Nix said he typically
comes up with a goal for
how many wins he hopes
to accomplish, but he
said it is really difficult
to evaluate with so few
preseason practices.
Nix said, "The first year
in my experience is about
building a foundation on
how we're going to play,
what our discipline's
going to be like and learn
ing how we're going to
play. And along the way
we want to find a way to
win and then be the best
we can be by mid-
February when the region
tournament starts."
Nix likened his current
situation to his 2010-11
Veterans team that did
not have any seniors
because it was a new
school.
"We won 12 and lost 15
and won a region tourna
ment game," Nix said. "In
my mind, that was suc
cess. If we can do some
thing close to that, which
I believe we can, then
next year we can really
make a bit of a move I
think."
Nix, who took Houston
County to the state play
offs four times between
2003 and 2007, said he is
squarely focused on build
ing an overall program
that can have lasting suc
cess. Nix said if MP can
See MP BOYS page 5B
Mary Persons football star Akebren Ralls, pictured driving to the
hoop in a 55-49 home loss to Perry Friday, is one of eight MP
football players who are taking their athletic talents to the hard-
court now that football season is complete. (Photo/Kim Holder-
field)
MP Senior Boys Basketball Players
Macey
Zellner
Number: 10
Position: Point guard
Parents' names: Macey
and Tabitha Zellner
Favorite basketball memo
ry: Won Barnesville basket
ball tournament
Toughest part about prac
tice: There is no tough part.
Who's your hero? My dad
Favorite college/pro team?
Atlanta Hawks
What do you do when
you're not playing basket
ball? Hanging with friends
Favorite food? Hamburgers
Favorite subject in school?
Math
What do you plan to do af
ter high school? Go off to
college and major in pre-
med.
DeRon
Brown
Number: 22
Position: Point guard/shoot
ing guard
Parents' names: James and
Carolyn Brown
Favorite basketball memory:
Making my first three-pointer
in a varsity game
Toughest part about prac
tice: Running
Who's your hero? My dad
Favorite college/pro team?
Pittsburgh Steelers, Florida
State
What do you do when you're
not playing basketball?
Hang out, chill and text
Favorite food? Pizza
Favorite subject in school?
Math
What do you plan to do after
high school? Going off to col
lege.
Trae
Stand ifer
Number: 32
Position: Power forward
Parents' names: Eddie
and Lyn Standifer
Favorite basketball mem
ory: Making my first varsity
point against Westside
Toughest part about prac
tice: The running
Who's your hero? My
mom
Favorite college/pro
team? Atlanta Hawks
What do you do when
you're not playing basket
ball? Sleeping and listening
to music
Favorite food? Hot wings
Favorite subject in school?
Language
What do you plan to do af
ter high school? I plan on
going to Middle Georgia Col
lege and take up physical
education.
MP Varsity Boys Basketball Players
Tra Taylor #1
Keri Brown #2
Akebren Ralls #4 Quen Head #12
Tre Davis #15
Trey Weaver #35
Craishun Hart #34
Tyler Adams #30
Demarcus Davis #23 Que Perkins #24