Now it’s for real.
The Fayetteville State Broncos will open their 2010-11 season on Friday night at 7:30 against visiting Barber-Scotia at Felton J. Capel Arena. It will be the second season under coach Alphonza Kee, a 1998 graduate of Fayetteville State, who is upbeat about the program’s progression following last year’s 8-19 campaign.
“Last year we had obstacles that we just had to deal with, and there was discombobulation,” says Kee. “But this year I like our consistency. We know who we are, and now we can grow. It’s hard to grow as fast as you’d like when you don’t know who you are. I’m very excited to see where we are with our program in this Phase 2.”
Phase 2 of the rebuilding effort includes the welcoming back of key players Ariel Robinson (Sr., Coral Springs, FL), who averaged 10.2 points per game last season and shot 34 percent from the 3-point line. He will be joined by fellow senior Jarrick Jones (Ridgeway, SC), who averaged nearly 6 points per game in 26 appearances while junior Jarmel Baxter (Davidson, NC) returns after scoring 8.2 points per game in 2009-10.
“I’ve seen a carry-over from last year – our players, our principles and guys playing together and playing real hard,” says Kee. “We’ve been aggressive and doing a good job of pressuring the ball. It’s a carry-over of the foundation we were setting down last year.”
But while that guard trio provides a starting point for the Broncos, both from the offseason and through this preseason, the returning players will be complemented by another trio -- one of junior college transfers. Six-foot-7 forward Sidney Evans (Jr., Durham, NC), 6-7 center/forward John Herrington (Jr., Jacksonville, FL) and 6-2 guard Tim Plummer (Jr., Apex, NC) bring depth and valuable experience to the Broncos.
“Jarrick Jones and Ariel are seniors that I inherited and they’ll be leaders,” says Kee. “And our junior college players come in with playing experience, and they can lead by example.”
Despite the varied backgrounds, Kee says the team has come together quickly during the preseason. Because of that, Kee and his coaching staff can pinpoint their focus on the finer points of the game of basketball.
“We can implement more, we can pressure the basketball and we can execute on offense better,” says Kee. “It’s more about a belief than a style of play. Belief takes time and trust to build. Last year we were dealing with a lot of inconsistency, and we were trying to almost survive from game to game and be successful in the situation. This year, it’ll be about Fayetteville State Bronco Basketball. It’ll be the same system. We’ve got a belief now.”
The Broncos will get their first chance to showcase their new brand when they welcome in the Barber-Scotia Sabers, who have been playing games since mid-October. Fayetteville State last played Barber-Scotia in 2000, a game in which the Broncos won 87-81, but the Sabers have experienced ups and downs keeping their program alive in the time since.
Six-foot-7, 275-pound John Strickland comes into the game leading the Sabers at 15 ppg and 7 rpg while guard Demarcus Ervin is averaging 13 ppg to go with five rebounds. Mike Hinton (11 ppg, 4 apg) is also averaging double-digits in scoring while Anthony Lopez leads the team with 6 assists per game.
“Historically, they’ve been very, very competitive, and they’re trying to get the program going again under a new coach,” Kee says.
While Barber-Scotia is the primary focus on opening night, there’s no denying the true interest comes in seeing how far the Broncos have come as a basketball team.
“We pinpointed certain kids to come in here – chemistry kids, character kids, kids who are good athletes,” says Kee. “We still have a long way to go, but we play unselfishly and we play hard.”
“Now we get a chance to play a game that really counts,” Kee adds. “I think they’re ready.”
No comments:
Post a Comment