Optimism Abounds SPORTS

Optimism Abounds SPORTS

Moore Area Basketball Preview by Steve Marshall

The Moore area high school basketball season is already underway, and there are a lot of reasons for excitement about Southmoore, Westmoore and Moore. New coaches on board and a Sabercat boys’ team that reached the semifinals leave plenty of reason for optimism. The following is a summary of each team as they start the 2019-20 season.

WESTMOORE GIRLS

Despite losing three of their guards and two of their leading scorers, the Westmoore Lady Jaguars are looking at last season’s 12-11 finish and are excited as this season gets underway.

“We really like what we have back,” says second-year head coach Matt Thornton. “We’re going to move 5’11 senior Madison Hays to the point guard position where I feel like she has a chance to be one of the best point guards I’ve had in my 21 years of coaching.”

The Lady Jags have some good size upfront, and they should cause match-up problems for a lot of their opponents. In the middle are seniors Shelby Kraus, 6’2, who Thornton feels has next level talent, and Torie Simon, a 5’11 forward, who is a move-in from Southmoore and averaged more than 7 points per game.

“Size, rebounding and our length should be the strength of our team this year,” Thornton said. We feel like we will surprise some people this year.”

Other contributors will be senior Tahtyana Jackson, juniors Brittany Romines and Shelby Tate, along with sophomores Jaiden Smith and Ryan Franklin.

WESTMOORE BOYS

Todd Millwee takes over as Westmoore’s head basketball coach.

A native of Lawton, Millwee played and coached at Lawton Eisnehower and was an assistant for seven years before becoming the head coach for the Eagles from 2015-2019, taking the Eagles to the state tournament each year.

Millwee feels they have a good mix of experience and youth. Seniors Reece Fuller, 6’2, and Quinten Harrison, 6’1, return as some of the leaders for the Jags, while Millwee expects juniors David Owusu, 6’2, Zane Miller, 6’0, and Tyshon Covington, 6’2, to also be contributors.

Owusu really improved his game this past summer, Millwee said. He’s a very explosive player, he can get to the rim and finish and shoot the three.

The team will have three freshmen, Evan Barber, 5’11, Conner Boydstun, 5’9, and Zach Hays, 6’3, playing varsity minutes, so most everybody other than Fuller and Harrison will be new.

They’re also counting on sophomore Zion Ajibola, 6’5, who has shown significant improvement and should be strong on the boards. “I think we have a good young team with a good chemistry and a high basketball IQ,”said Millwee.

SOUTHMOORE GIRLS

The Southmoore Sabercat girls finished 8-15 last year, lost three of their starters, 75 percent of their offense and some size, but head coach Shawn Clark is optimistic.

Clark begins his third season as the head coach for the Southmoore girls and will build around two returning starters, sophomores Madison Crandall, 5’10, who averaged 10 points per game and Brooklyn Haywood, 5’8, who averaged 7 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Seniors Morgan Ashton 6’1, and Jordan Pennon 5’8 should also be in the starting lineup along with top defender, 5’10 sophomore Kayla Neely.

Clark says the team’s strength is their ability to defend, and if the team’s chemistry can come together, they could surprise some teams this year.

SOUTHMOORE BOYS

The Southmoore boys are looking forward to a big season after a 20-9 finish last year, with some top players returning and some hopeful newcomers.

The ‘Cats are a senior-laden team with returning starters Jordan Thompson, Sam Godwin, Steve Jackson, Darrin Ryan and Damian Kline. Southmoore will have great size along with strong guard play that will give some teams match up issues.

New additions include Jaylin Counters, Brody Urquhart, Joe Roane and Jamarion Butler that should give the SaberCats more depth than last season. Preseason focus has been on the defensive end of the court, concentrating on rebounding and chemistry.

MOORE GIRLS

Expectations are high for the Moore Lady Lions this year after finishing 19-7 last year and they are returning some of the top players in the state, including Aaliyah Moore and Raychael Harjo.

Moore averaged 16.5 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game last year, and she has offers from several D-1 schools, including the University of Oklahoma. Harjo is another top performer with high expectations.

“Our defense needs to be better, and we have to rebound better as a team and not rely on one or two players to get all rebounds for us,” said coach BrentHodges.

“On offense, we need to be better in our shot selection and getting it to the hot hand every night. We have a lot of kids who can score, we just need to find the hot hand consistently and play the game inside out.”

MOORE BOYS

This year’s Moore Lions will have a different outlook than in previous years. Coach Greg Hardin’s team is young, but they’re talented and work hard on both ends of the floor. A strong group of juniors will lead the team. Jawan Mukes, 5’9, is a crafty point guard who can slash and shoot the 3-ball. Dylan McDougalis a 6’3 swing man who can create his own shot off the bounce and shoot 3s. Justin Martin is a 6’1 guard who can score and defend, and Greg Lewis is a 6’0 guard who creates a lot of steals and assists.

Senior leadership will come from Kason Landrum, 6’0, who is a shooter and D’Shanti Fancher, a 6’5 post player who can alter shots, rebound and score inside. Bryce Scudder, 6’2, is a forward that provides stability on both ends of the floor. Finally, there will be several sophomores that will impact Moore on both endsofthefloor. – 19SM