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Rebuilding begins at Social Circle
Published November 29, 2009
Mapp Ivey lost four starters and 80 percent of his scoring and rebounding off last year’s Social Circle girls basketball team that went 21-6 and made it all the way to the Class A Elite Eight.
Sounds like a rebuilding year on the horizon. Not so fast, says the second year Lady Redskins coach.
“We’ve built a strong tradition around here over the past several years,” Ivey said. “We’ve reached the point where we don’t rebuild as much as we reload.”
But Ivey will have to refill a few more rounds than usual this season after his team was decimated by graduation. Gone are Jalessa Williams, Reyanna Williams, Maritza Heard and Andrea Graves.
Heard led the team in scoring at 14 points a game, and she and Reyanna Williams each averaged 10 rebounds a game.
“We’re definitely going to miss their experience and leadership,” Ivey said of the departed quartet.
The lone returning full-time starter is senior Jessica Hester, who plays on the wing. Junior Shemeika Harris saw lots of floor time at point guard last year.
Ivey calls Hester a “fireball” who is anxious to establish herself as a leader. Harris, on the other hand, is an outstanding athlete who needs to become more assertive.
“She’s such a team player who wants to get the other players involved,” Ivey said. “She doesn’t want to be selfish, but I’ve told her she needs to be selfish. We’re counting on her to give us some points.”
Filling in the other missing spots will likely be senior Destiny Ball on a wing and seniors Laquisha Still and Chastity Ivey in the front court.
As usual, the Lady Redskins won’t overwhelm anyone with their size. Instead, they’ll plan on turning their basketball games into track meets.
“We might not have as much experience this year, but I think we’ll be a lot quicker,” Ivey said. “We’ll try to use that to our advantage to create turnovers and get points.”
Meanwhile, the boys return two key starters off a team that went 8-12 and just missed the state playoffs by losing a play-in game to Commerce.
Chris Burns returns at small forward and Aaron Gaither is back at point guard.
After that, head coach Pat Meadows isn’t sure what to expect.
“We’ve gotten off to a late start because most of my team is also on the football team,” Meadows said. “It’s going to take us a few weeks and a few games to get in basketball shape.”
Both the boys and girls will start the season at Morgan County this weekend followed by the annual showdown with cross-county rival Monroe Area next Saturday.
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