The Bryant High School basketball teams will get their first taste of competition Saturday when they host Arkansas Athletics Association benefit scrimmages at the Hornets Nest.
The Lady Hornets will take on North Little Rock at 11 a.m. That will be followed by a jamboree featuring the Hornets, Jonesboro Hurricanes and Pine Bluff Zebras. Bryant and Jonesboro will play a half then Jonesboro will take on Pine Bluff for a half before the Hornets come back and scrimmage against the Zebras for a half.
The Lady Hornets return starters Raija Todd, a sophomore, and seniors Rachael Miller and Emily Ridgell as well as juniors Destiny Martin and Kendal Rodgers who were among the first off the bench last year when the team finished 15-13 overall and won a first-round game at the Class 7A State Tournament.
“We’re going to scrimmage North Little Rock and boy, they’re probably the favorite to win the 7A,” noted Bryant coach Brad Matthews. “They have college players scattered up and down their roster.
“I love playing teams like that early because they’re definitely going to show us what we need to work on,” he related. “And that’s what this is. It’s about getting the season started, playing against somebody different and that somebody different is really, really talented. We look forward to seeing where we are with them.”
Along with Ridgell and Miller, the seniors for the Lady Hornets include Carolyn reeves, Taylor Hill, Anna Turpin and Annie Patton. Along with Martin and Rogers, the juniors are Deja Rayford, Lania Ratliff, Sarah Palmer, Riley Hill and Morgan Walters. Sophomores joining the team this season are Raven Loveless, Raelae Benton, Kelly Williams, Jalen Sparks and Paige Adams.
“We’re ready,” Matthews said. “We’ve been practicing going on two or three months. We lost a lot to graduation last year. Early on, it’s going to be a matter of those kids coming off the bench last year to develop in their new roles, be more comfortable and understand what we’re asking them to do then be able to excel at it as the season goes on.
“We’ve got some sophomores and juniors that we’re going to ask to be role players and step up and contribute in varsity minutes,” he added.
As for the Hornets, they return all but one player from a team that went 14-13 and reached the State tourney where they were edged 52-48 by Rogers Heritage in the first round. Senior swingman Kevin Hunt leads the group. Junior guards Calvin Allen and Romen Martin will be starting their third year with the varsity and returning as starters. Forward Lowell Washington saw a lot of playing time as a sophomore last season as did forward Kaleb Turner. Head coach Mike Abrahamson says that junior Braylon Steen has worked his way into the primary rotation as well at forward.
Along with Hunt, seniors on the team are Detavious Moore, Rickie Allen, Jordan Walker and, after the football season concludes, Dagin Carden. Along with Allen, Martin, Steen, Turner and Washington, the juniors include Caylin Allen, Chris Adams, Kyle Sahr and Tyler Kelly along with Marvin Moody following the football season. Sophomores are Sam Chumley, Tristan Calhoun, Deron Canada, Malcolm Moody and Brandon Shirlee.
“For a change, this year, we’ve got a little experience,” Abrahamson said. “We played a lot of young kids last year, a lot of sophomores and some juniors. Now all those kids are juniors and we’ve got a few seniors. That’s a change. Everything so far this year has not been new to these kids. It’s been the second time around, which is valuable. The more times they can hear the messages we’re trying to send, the better.
“The kids have been working hard,” he noted. “I really, really like our team. They’ve got great character and that’s kind of the root of everything we’re going to do. I’m proud of them.”
As for the goals in the scrimmages, Abrahamson said, “We’ve got some guys like Braylon Steen that don’t have a ton of varsity experience. Hopefully that doesn’t matter. I want him to get out there and get acclimated, get some time. The kids have put in a lot of work and this is the beginning of seeing just how much that work will pay off.
“I want see how we guard,” he continued. “Can we stay out of foul trouble and still guard aggressively? That’s going to be tough because I know they’re going to call it tight but we kind of have to establish how we want to do things this year.
“And I’m really interested to see what we might get out of some of our reserves because we have a nice group of kids but some of them need to separate themselves to become consistent contributors,” the coach added. “Right now, we’ve got five or six kids that are going to be in a reserve roll and it seems like it’s somebody new everyday that’s playing well. So we’re just looking for some consistency there.”
Both Matthews and Abrahamson have new assistants. Joanna Curtis joins the Lady Hornets’ staff after serving as a graduate assistant last year. Dominic Lincoln, who coached at Bethel Middle School last season, joins the Hornets’ staff.
Bryant officially opens the season on Thursday, Nov. 19, at Benton.
