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Eagles will rely on Moore, defense to repeat
The Eagles had the best basketball team in the county last season, proving it by winning the county tournament, finishing with 12 wins and reaching the sectional finals for the second straight year.
South Putnam is having to regroup this year, replacing several key starters and beginning practice at a later date than the rest of the county, but the goals remain constant. The Eagles want to win the county and win their sectional.
Getting to that point will mean relying on senior forward Trey Moore more than ever before.
Moore led the team in scoring and rebounds last season, finished second in assists and tied for second in steals. That won't be enough this year.
"Everything we do offensively is going to have to go through Trey," SPHS coach Troy Burgess said. "I think I'd be stupid not to run everything through Trey."
Moore has improved dramatically since last year. He's come back from the offseason bigger, taller, stronger and with an added element to his game: a left hand.
Everything was to the right last year, Burgess said, and now Moore is able to drive and finish around the basket with either hand. That will be important as he picks up an even bigger load as a distributor and play-maker.
Moore is the only returning player among the Eagles top six scorers last season who will begin the year at full strength. Senior Sawyer Arnold, who injured his knee during football season, was second on the team in points last year and he is delaying surgery to help the team this year.
His role, Burgess said, will be very limited, both in time on the court and in which sets he's involved in.
Several new players are now poised to enter the mix as the Eagles hope to continue the versatile attack that helped them get to an above .500 record last year.
The team will have plenty of depth in the front court, Burgess said, with sophomores Trevor Long and Joe Masters picking up bigger roles. Long got minutes last season as a reserve, but his introduction to the starting lineup will be important for the Eagles this year.
With Arnold's minutes limited, the backcourt depth will be tested and it may take the Eagles some time to jell as they try to pick up the pace as they did midway through last season.
The key, Burgess said, is versatility.
"We've got to be able to play in the half court. We've got to be able to defend and we've got to be able to pick up the tempo," he said.
Being able to play in the half court, defending and rebound, is not unlike philosophy that got the Eagles to the football regional strategy, "You've got to be able to run and you've got to stop the run."
To advance in the basketball postseason, Burgess said, you've got to be able to score in the half court and you've got to be able to stop teams from scoring.
The success of the football team had the team off to a late start to practice, "a good thing," Burgess said, though it may set the team back in the early going. While most teams started practice last week, the Eagles only had their first full-squad practice Tuesday.
They're a week late in making cuts, installing sets and developing lineups, but they're also a team full of athletes who are coming off a taste of postseason success and disappointment.
Starting slow isn't a worry, Burgess said, it's about how the team finishes, and starting late shouldn't affect how the team plays in March when it hopes for a rematch with Speedway in the sectional tournament.
The Sparkplugs have knocked the Eagles out of the playoffs each of the past two seasons, but if they can repeat the late success of last year, playing their best basketball at the end, Burgess said he is optimistic about this year.
"If we can get to that point again this year we'll take our chances," he said.