Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 5B
December 12, 2012
Exporter
Rec b-ball sign-up ends Wednesday
Wednesday is the deadline
for registration for basket
ball at the Monroe County
Recreation Department.
If signed up after
Wednesday, players will be
placed on a waiting list with
no guarantee for placement.
The fee is $30, which
includes the cost of a game
jersey and shorts. All first
time participants will need
to bring a birth certificate.
The basketball draft will
be held for all ages on
Saturday, Dec. 15. The draft
for Boys 7-8 will be at 10
a.m. Boys 9-10 will be at 11
a.m. Boys 11-12 will be at
noon. Girls 7-9 will be a 1
p.m. Girls 10-12 will be at
1:30 p.m.
Sports director Desi
Hansford the department is
pushing for as many girls to
play as possible this year.
There were no separate
girls' leagues last year.
A coaches' only players
placement draft will be held
at 2 p.m. for Co-Ed 5-6. The
5-6 year-old league will
have lowered goals,
Hansford said.
Boys and Girls 13-14 will
take sign-ups to see if there
will be enough for teams.
For more information, call
the Monroe County Youth
Center at 994-7794.
MP football awards
banquet Dec. 20
The 2012 Mary Persons football
awards ceremony will be held at
7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20 in
the Monroe County Board of
Education auditorium.
A meal will be served for play
ers only prior to the ceremony at
6 p.m.
Lady Dogs beat Perry in home opener, start 3-0
BY RICHARD DUMAS
The Mary Persons girls basket
ball team picked up right where
it ended last season with three
dominating wins to open the
season.
The Lady Dogs set the tone for
2012-13 by thumping Westside,
59-34, in its season opener in
Macon on Wednesday. The Lady
Seminoles dealt MP its only two
regular season losses in 2011-12,
but the Lady Dogs got revenge
Wednesday.
MP jumped out to a 36-8 half
time lead and never looked back.
The Lady Dogs were led by sen
ior guard Kendria Buckner who
scored 19 points, 15 of which
came in the first half. KeKe
Calloway and Aleah Holden
were the other Lady Dogs in
double figures with 14 and 10,
respectively. The Lady Noles
were led by Visha Terry, who
scored 16 points.
MP was just as dominant in its
home opener Friday against
Perry. The Lady Dogs beat the
Lady Panthers 65-45 after dart
ing out to a 15-point halftime
lead. MP broke open a 6-6 tie
with a 5-0 run, which included a
pair of pair of free throws and a
three-point play by Holden.
Despite starting center Maya
Stewart getting in early foul
trouble, MP took a 14-8 lead
after the first quarter.
The Lady Dogs led by eight at
22-14 midway through the sec
ond quarter when Calloway
banked in a three-pointer.
Calloway's bucket was the first
in a 15-2 MP run to take a 37-16
lead. Perry's Aaliyah Cheatham
answered the run with a pair of
three-pointers to close out the
first half. However, MP still led
37-22 at halftime, led by Holden
who had 18 first-half points.
Holden was almost as effective
in the second half, scoring 12
more points to lead MP to the
comfortable win. Holden, who
ended with a game-high 30
points, was the only Lady Dog in
double figures. Cheatham was
the only Lady Panther in double
figures with 26 points.
MP head coach Kurt Greene
said his team played well at
times against Perry.
"What we need to do is put
those spurts closer together,"
Greene said. "We'd rattle off six
or eight points, then all of a sud
den we'd give up six or eight
points and then we'd rattle off
six or eight points more. . .
We've just got to develop some
consistency. But it's early. It's
only our second game. I was
pleased with the fact that Aleah
played really hard tonight. Her
shooting percentage probably
wasn't very good. But she'd
shoot it and go get it. I thought
we made some good passes.
Kendria made a lot of great
passes into the post. And those
are things that we've got to do."
MP went right back to work
the following night at Lamar
County and easily dispatched
the Lady Trojans 62-41 after
sprinting out to an 11-point half
time lead.
Calloway was MP's third dif
ferent leading scorer in three
games with 20 points. Holden
was the other Lady Dog in dou
ble figures with 17. Kengi
Sullivan led Lamar County with
13 points.
MP was scheduled to play at
home
against
region
foe
Rutland
at 6 p.m.
2012-13 MP Jr. Varsity
Basketball Schedule
on
Tuesday.
DATE
OPPONENT
PLACE
TIME
It is the
Dec. 11
Rutland
Home
Boys 4:00 p.m.
Bulldogs'
Dec. 14
Howard
Away
Boys 4:00 p.m.
final
Dec. 15
Upson-Lee
Away
G/B 3:00 p.m.
sched-
Jan. 5
Jackson
Away
G/B 3:00 p.m.
uled
Jan. 8
Baldwin
Home
Girls 4:00 p.m.
home
Jan.11
Veterans
Away
G/B 4:00 p.m.
game
Jan. 15
West Laurens
Away
G/B 4:00 p.m.
until
Jan. 18
Westside
Home
Boys 4:00 p.m.
Jan. 8
Jan. 19
Upson-Lee
Home
G/B 3:00 p.m.
though a
Jan. 22
Perry
Away
Boys 4:15 p.m.
makeup
Jan. 25
Rutland
Away
G/B 3:00 p.m.
home
Jan. 26
Houston County
Home
G/B 3:00 p.m.
contest
Jan. 29
Howard
Home
Girls 4:00 p.m.
with
Feb. 1
Baldwin
Away
G/B 4:00 p.m.
Jackson
could be
Feb. 5
Veterans
Home
Boys 4:00 p.m.
resched
uled for
some-
* If the JV girls game is canceled, the JV boys game will be
played at the time designated for the JV girls game.
time
before then.
MP will then travel to Howard
at 6 p.m. on Friday for its final
region contest before Christmas
break. The Bulldogs will head
back on the road at 6 p.m. on
Saturday for a non-region con
test with Upson-Lee.
MPBoys
continued from page 3B
navigate this season, it is
in position to have the
number of students partici
pating from each grade
level that he is seeking.
Nix said he wants to play
an up-tempo, fast-breaking
style that complements his
players' athleticism. MP's
five starters, Zellner,
Taylor, sophomore center
Quen Head, sophomore for
ward Demarcus Davis and
junior forward Akebren
Ralls, as well as junior
sixth man Tre Davis, were
all starters on MP's foot
ball team, and Nix said
pressing and pushing the
ball up the floor suits them
best.
"I want to full-court press
and fast break," Nix said.
"Well right now our pace
has got to be fast because
that's the kind of kids we
have. It needs to be fast,
and here early we're trying
to get in shape anyway.
We're not working on play
ing another team. We're
working on us."
Nix said
although Taylor
and Demarcus
Davis are excel
lent outside shoot
ers, shooting and
rebounding, in particular,
are areas of concern for
this year's squad.
"Rebounding right now is
a weakness," Nix said.
"And it doesn't have any
thing to do with size. It's
got to do with know-how.
As a coach, I like talking
about rebounding more
than I like working on it.
So I'm going to have to dis
cipline myself to make us
work on it so that we'll get
better at it. Because I'd
rather work on dribbling,
passing and shooting
because to me, rebound-
ing's about effort. I want
that all the time."
Nix said one thing his
young team has going for it
is that the players like one
another and communicate
well with each other.
"I think that was part of
their success in football,
their team chemistry," Nix
said. "They enjoyed each
other. And they're bringing
that to basketball too."
Nix said all of his top six
guys are potential leaders
because they are all willing
to speak up when needed.
He lauded Ralls and the
other football players' com
mitment to come to basket
ball practice just two days
after their football season
ended.
"I gave all of them an
option," said Nix. "I said,
'I'm going to practice
Sunday, but if y'all want to
wait and come Wednesday,
I'm okay with that.' Ralls
asked, 'Isn't the first game
Tuesday?' I said, 'Yeah.' He
said, 'I'll be there Sunday.'
He's the one that Saturday
about 12:30, he texted me
and said, 'When do we
practice?'
Nix said the other play
ers immediately followed
Ralls' lead.
"I think that kind of
speaks to their character,"
Nix said. "They were proud
of their success on the foot
ball field, and now they
know it's time for basket
ball and here they are. I'm
pleased about their atti
tude and their effort and
their willingness to come
on."
Nix said even if it takes
time for his MP team to
win, he thinks his press
ing, fast-break style will be
an exciting brand of bas
ketball for fans to watch.
"Forsyth loves basket
ball," Nix said. "They do. I
went to the Middle School
game Wednesday. Both
sides were packed. When I
was at Veterans, we'd come
here once a year. The two
times we came over here,
whether it was on a
Tuesday night or on a
Friday night, they were
good crowds. And of course
that team was good. And
so people come out and see
a pretty good team. I think
people in Forsyth will come
watch us play because
we're going to get after it
and it's going to be exciting
and it's going to be worth
their money. And we're
going to have the best con
cession stand in Middle
Georgia."
Nix said he believes
Westside and Rutland will
be the top two teams in
Region 2-AAAA followed
closely by his old Veterans
team, as well as Perry and
Baldwin. Nix admitted
that coaching against his
former players will be
unusual. He said he has
never been in a situation
where he had to coach
against his former team
the year after he left.
"I loved them, and I felt
like they had a lot of
respect for me and what
we did," Nix said. "But
whenever we get going, I'm
just going to see another
team over there. Before
and after that's when it's
going to be different, but
once the game gets started,
I feel like I'm just going to
see another team over
there."
Nix, who is the Bulldogs'
fourth boys varsity coach
in five seasons, said he
hopes to stay at Mary
Persons for many years to
come.
"I want to," Nix said.
"That's my goal. If people
will stand me for that long,
I'd like to finish it up here,
which is about 15 more
years. I'd like to do that.
Well I'm tired of moving
around. I like going in and
turning things around.
That's always been my
thing."
Nix said he was sold on
MP's commitment to bas
ketball excellence when he
interviewed for the job.
"Mr. (MP principal Jim)
Finch convinced me with
out a doubt that there was
a commitment to basket
ball," Nix said. "Coach
(Brian) Nelson's a good
athletic director to work
with, and Coach (Kurt)
Greene's a good girls bas
ketball coach to work with
too. And I felt like the facil
ities here are better than
anything I ever had at
Houston County. Better
even than Veterans.
Because you've got that
one gym. That's it. They
spent all that money for
that one big palace of a
gym."
Nix said MP has the tal
ent base in place to win
consistently at the state
level.
"I really don't have any
doubts about that," Nix
said. "Because of the work
ethic that the kids have. I
think that the kids here
are competitors. They're
real competitors. And to a
coach, that's good, but
sometimes it's a little diffi
cult. But I'd rather temper
the competitor than have
to continuously stoke
somebody that's not a com
petitor."
Lady Dogs
continued from page 3B
is she's very competitive
defensively sometimes, but
it takes you having to
challenge her to get her to
play."
Greene said his biggest
concern with this year's
team is its depth. Three
key reserves from last
year's team have departed.
Forward Kaylan Sims and
guard Taylor Penn gradu
ated, but the biggest loss
might be sophomore wing
Brecklyn Greene, who
transferred to Tift County
during the off-season. Kurt
Greene said Brecklyn
Greene was capable of
scoring six to eight points
off the bench as soon as
she entered the game and
was getting better over the
course of last season.
Kurt Greene said, "It
was just a matter of time
with Brecklyn before she
figured it out as
far as what we
were trying to
do. And then
once she figured
that part out,
then her athleticism was
going to take over. And so
right now, we don't have
that replacement, and
that's what we're looking
for."
Greene said there are
four primary candidates
for playing time coming off
the bench. Junior Naisha
Smith, who banged in a
buzzer-beater three at the
end of the win over
Westside and freshman
Jakira Zellner will be top
reserves at guard.
Sophomore Sardae Harvey
will be the top reserve on
the wing, and senior cen
ter Tina Lewis will be the
top backup in the post.
MP will be competing in
Region 2-AAAA against
the same schools it defeat
ed last in the Region 2-
AAA tournament last year.
However, Greene said
going 19-2 in region play
like last season will be
tough to repeat. Greene
said Howard, Rutland,
Veterans and West
Laurens will be top con
tenders to dethrone MP.
"I think there are some
teams that are capable,
and the scary part is that
most of those teams have
more depth than we do,"
Greene said. "I think if we
can keep our five on the
floor, we can beat any
body."
However, repeating as
region champion is not
Greene's primary goal for
the season. Instead,
Greene said he's much
more concerned with
advancing deeper in the
AAAA state playoffs after
the Lady Dogs suffered a
disappointing 51-49 over
time loss to Dougherty in
the first round of the AAA
state tourney a year ago.
"I'm not going to sit here
and say we've got to win a
region championship to be
successful because that
doesn't necessarily mean
that much," he said. "It's
nice to have. But I think
for this team, they’ve gotta
go two or three rounds into
the state playoffs with the
possibility of maybe four.
That's when they've got to
really prove themselves.
And if we lose five or six
ballgames in the process
and do that, then we've
been successful. But if we
lose five or six and then
get beat in the first round
again, then we haven't had
a good year."
Greene said he hopes his
players are as interested
as he is in winning games
in March.
He said, "Sometimes I
don't know if these girls
set a goal as to what they
want to accomplish.
Sometimes all I think they
want to do is play the next
game. They don't look
down the road and say
'Listen, we want to go
three or four rounds into
the state playoffs.' They
just say 'Who do we play
next?’"
Greene said one of the
biggest things that will
indicate whether MP has
matured as much as he
hopes is not playing to the
level of its competition.
Greene said his team did
everything it wanted to
accomplish in jumping out
to a nearly 30-point first-
half lead against Westside
but then scuffled through
the second half as it tried
to protect that lead.
Greene said, "I tell them,
'Good teams don't look at
the scoreboard. Good
teams play the game and
the scoreboard takes care
of itself.' And that's what
I've got to get us to try to
do. Go do it right and let
me take care of the score-
board. . . You want them to
play at an even keel every
night because that's when
you get to be a good bas
ketball team. Hopefully I
can get that done this year
if they'll let me."
Greene has a new assis
tant coach in 2012-13 in
former Dublin Middle
School coach Crystal
Williams. However,
Williams will soon take
maternity leave and could
miss most of the season.
Greene said Williams has
already done a tremendous
job and will be missed.
Greene said of Williams:
"She's been a head basket
ball coach before, so she
knows what it takes. She
knew what it took as a
player, and she knows
what it takes as a coach.
We're gonna miss her in
the time that she's going
to be gone. I told her the
other day, 'Hurry up and
have that little man,' so
she can get back to the
game."
Recent college graduate
Rachel Adams will substi
tute for Williams in her
absence. Adams is the
daughter of Scott Adams,
the regional director of
Middle Georgia Fellowship
of Christian Athletes
(FCA).