2022•2023 Basketball Preview

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Contributers:

General Manager: Delaney Scalf • Writers: Ivan Sanders

• Allen LaMountain - Photography: Ivan Sanders & Larry N. Souders &• Layout/Cover Design: Robin Johnson

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Elizabethton Cyclones

Cyclones looking to be a sleeper in Upper Lakes

BY IVAN SANDERS STAR CORRESPONDENT

The Elizabethton Cyclones don’t mind if the other teams in the Upper Lakes are not counting on much from the boys from ‘Betsy this season on the hardwood and that is perfectly fine with the Cyclones because its not always the level of talent that a team has that is important but what a team does with the talent it has.

Cyclone head coach Lucas Honeycutt likes playing from the underdog role even though he believes he has the pieces to catch a lot of teams off guard this season while taking some road wins in the process.

“We have three kids that return in Dalton Mitchell, Nate Stephens, and Mason Ball,” said Honeycutt. “They are twosport athletes who all got minutes during the season last year. We had games where at least two of the three started so that gives us a little bit of resemblance of knowing what is going on.”

HEAD COACH: Lucas Honeycutt Assistant Coaches: Gary Harrison, Tee Blevins, and Matt Clemson.

And while the Cyclones graduated players like Jake Roberts, Bryson Rollins, Seth Carter, and Nicholas Wilson, the Cyclones have some players that have seen a ton of time on the court both in varsity and junior varsity play.

“Luke Whaley and Eli Blevins and some younger guys that are playing as well that we are excited about,” said Hon-

eycutt. “We are a heavy junior class. Will Churchill and Mac Paulson - we are expecting a lot out of those two who have played for us in the past. Andrew Barnett, who is a sophomore, will step in and handle the point some for us and he shoots the ball really well.

“Jackson Hobbs is a guy that transferred in and has some size that we were lacking. We can get big at times as Hudson Smith is a 6’6 sophomore who is playing his second year while Zach Bates who probably is one of our best shooters - it won’t take long for people to find that out. We have a lot of kids that are equal while not standing out so to speak.”

Honeycutt is happy that from an effort standpoint the Cyclones have been able to play a lot of guys and from a coaching perspective there is not much more a coach can expect than his team getting better each and every day.

The Cyclone skipper is also excited about his big freshmen class.

All those guys have been working hard and we will have

Lucas Honeycutt

2022 - 2023 Elizabethton Cyclones

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

a full slate for the freshmen, junior varsity, and varsity,” said Honeycutt.

When it came to picking the pecking order for the Upper Lakes Conference, Honeycutt said the league is very top heavy.

“Volunteer and Tennessee High are going to be right there together while some will look at us and East as rebuilding and that is fair,” said Honeycutt. “It’s not always how much talent that you have but what you do with that talent. I don’t think any of those top two will look at the bottom three and

think they can take the night off. It’s very top heavy I would say in the top three and there is a gap right now between us and Sullivan East.”

22-23 Roster

22-23 Schedule

Turning up the heat... Lady Cyclones want to push defense to a new level; return to state

BY IVAN SANDERS STAR CORRESPONDENT

When a predator gets a taste of it’s victims’ blood, it just drives the predator to be more ferocious.

The same can be said for a basketball team that gets a small sampling of what its like to go to the state basketball tournament only to be sent packing after its first appearance.

Coach Lucas Andrews and his Elizabethton Lady Cyclones have worked since the end of last season in conditioning on the track, lifting weights, and pushing themselves to new limits in preparation for another run back to Murfreesboro and the state championship in 2022-23.

“We really want to build on last year the way we ended,” said Andrews about his team. “We want to keep evolving everything that we started at the first of last year and keep the pedal down. We want to be more efficient and keep the defense at the high level that we were playing with at the end of the year. That is the big keys for us.”

In earning that trip, the Lady Cyclones will be getting the best shot from each team on their schedule and especially their conference foes in the Upper Lakes Conference.

“I think in our conference there are no off nights,” Andrews said. “People are not going to show their hand during jamboree-type games. I still think every team in our league is capable of beating up on each other. Volun -

teer has a bulk of their players back and they are going to be strong. Tennessee High has a lot of big time athletes there that I think once they get rolling they could shock a lot of people.

“East is still East and Coach Aubrey does a great job there. They still have Jenna Hare. I think Unicoi Co. is going to be a sleeper for some people. They were playing at a high level at some of the same camps that we were at. You have to make sure everything is ready to roll when you play each team.”

For his team to make another appearance at the state level, Andrews believes that the key to their success will lie in their defensive effort making for easy buckets at the offensive end.

“Every game that we played last year, when we were playing at a high level on defense that was the nights that our offense looked really good,” Andrews said. “Offense will always outshine the defense. We have to make sure we continue to do that to be successful.”

Lucas Andrews

HEAD COACH: Lucas Andrews Assistant Coaches: Maci Andrews, Garry Smith, Melenda Egolf, and Gordon Smith

2022 - 2023 Elizabethton Lady Cyclones

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

The 2022-2023 Elizabethton Cyclone Cheering squad includes: Xandi Crockett, Rebekah Hardin, Maely Ingram, Haley Stresemann, Lindy Simerly, Emily Little (Stormie), Bethany Wellnitz, Grace Whaley, Hope Shelby, Madison Holly, Kyleigh Elliot, Rheagan Haynes, Mallory Grindstaff, and Cayden Treadway (Tuffy).

22-23 Roster

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

Hampton Bulldogs

Bulldogs anxious to work way back to state tournament

BY IVAN SANDERS STAR CORRESPONDENT

The Hampton Bulldogs were within one eyelash of making it to the state championship game last season on the hardwood and the memories from that game still lingers in the minds of the returning players from last year’s team.

With those thoughts in mind, the Bulldogs are ready to get back to work and give themselves a chance to return to Murfreesboro to take care of unfinished business.

“We played about eight last year and we graduated six and have two returners in Cadon Buckles and Hayden Campbell,” said head coach Ned Smith.” We had a good junior varsity team last year and the kids have worked hard and our goal is always the same we just want to take it one game at a time and try to win as many as we can.”

Smith said the formula is a simple one if his team can achieve the same results as they did last season as they

will need to work hard to build the right team chemistry and do the little things that winning basketball games require. And anyone knows that a team that plays for Smith has to do one thing and that is to play hard each and every night.

The success of the junior varsity last season is ex -

pected to play huge dividends for the varsity Bulldogs this season as Smith will be looking at a group of players who played a lot of basketball in 2021-22.

“Buckles, Campbell, and Michael Anspaugh have worked really hard and we are counting on help from our seniors Levi Lyons, Dalton Nave, and Ty McElyea,” said Smith. “Juniors Dylan Trivett, Chance Point, and senior Brody Hicks have just finished football and we are counting on their contribution as well. We should be able to play a lot of kids this year.”

Like many of the other coaches in the Watauga Valley Conference, Smith feels that the conference is probably one of the toughest in the state with Unaka, North Greene, and Cloudland plus an up and coming University High program.

“I think that our conference will be like it was last year where you need to win your home games and try to get one or two on the road,” said Smith.

Ned Smith

HEAD COACH: Ned Smith Assistant Coaches: Mike Matheson, Wesley Murray, and Dewayne Humphrey.

2022 - 2023 Hampton Bulldogs

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

Hampton Lady Bulldogs

2022 - 2023 Hampton Lady Bulldogs

Lady Bulldogs ready to buckle down on opponents

BY IVAN SANDERS STAR CORRESPONDENT

The Hampton Lady Bulldogs came on like a runaway train at the end of the 2021-2022 season putting together a fantastic season one year removed from being able to compete in a game.

Coach Brandon Carpenter is hoping that momentum his team built last season is ready to carry over to bigger and better things as a new season gets underway.

One reason why the Lady Bulldogs figure into the top of the pack in the conference this season is that they have gotten use to the way Carpenter likes to operate.

“The kids are a lot more comfortable with the things that we want to do especially on defense,” said Carpenter. “I think that as the year went on last year you could kind of see them developing. They have worked really hard and I hope that they can have a good season.”

With a team that isn’t too blessed with size, Carpenter knows that fundamentally his team will have to do the things the way they should be done when it comes to hitting the boards for rebounds.

“We are not real big but rebounding will be the key,” Carpenter said. “We have to make sure that we block out every

HEAD COACH: Brandon Carpenter

Assistant Coaches: Carrie Carden Jenkins, Lindsey Chambers and Tyler Chambers

possession and don’t give up easy things. They are doing better in practice and have worked hard in the weight room so hopefully they can do that.”

The Lady Bulldogs return a wealth of experience as Carpenter will have all five of his players who started at the end of last season returning for another run with the ultimate destination of Murfreesboro on their minds.

“Maddie McClain, Linsey Jenkins, Macy Henry, Taylor Berry - all four of those kids started last year and Piper Helle came on at the end of the year and kind of rounded us out giving us that top five starters,” said Carpenter. “I think that one thing that will

kind of separate us this year is that we do have some depth too in the way we play. We have eight to nine kids that can help us.”

Most teams that have squared off against a Carpenter-led team knows that the coach loves to see the ball moving quickly up the floor on offense and plays an in-your-shorts defense. Although his team excelled last season in those two areas, it was when the game slowed that caused problems which hopefully have been addressed leading up to this season.

“We are going to play fast paced pushing the ball on offense and force some turnovers on defense,” said Carpenter. “We have worked really hard on trying to buckle down on teams in the half court and I think that might be what we are a little better at this year that we couldn’t do last year. We could get teams in a full court game and play about anybody but if they slowed us down we had a hard time. I think that we have made some adjustments and this year are better suited to do that.”

Carpenter added that the main goal for the new season is simple - be better than the Lady Bulldogs were last year.

“I felt like we were kind of knocking on the door at the end of the year and with a break here and there and some special things could have happened,” Carpenter said. “We are just going to try to keep on working hard and get better every day and at the end of the year see where it gets us.”

Brandon Carpenter

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

Good Luck to all Teams on a Successful Season

Hampton Cheerleaders

The 2022-23 Hampton Bulldog Cheerleaders include: Captains Marina Bailey, Cheyenne Fair, and Shania Pierce along with Raegan Ashley, Keagan Campbell, Sydney Covington, Briley Curtis, Briley Davis, Brooke Elliott, Bella Fair, Jessa Hampton, Anna Hatley, Laken Johnson, Bailey Moss, Maleah Scalf, Hannah Smith, Lexi Taylor, and Emma Weir.

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

Happy Valley Warriors

2022 - 2023 Happy Valley Warriors

Warriors looking to pull pieces together under Williams in 2022-23

BY IVAN SANDERS STAR CORRESPONDENT

The Happy Valley Warriors early basketball season on Warrior Hill may take a little while to settle in as new head coach Shane Williams and his team will be working to feel through a lot of newness on the team for the 2022-23 season.

Williams, who knows something about winning championships as a player on state championship teams at Science Hill, realizes that with a mix of some seasoned players as well as young players that patience will be key until the Warriors can form a team identity.

“There are some old and some young guys - we are just trying to find a way to piece this thing together the best we can and stick with our core values and see if we can

just come together as a team,” Williams said. “There is so much newness for them and newness for me so we are just trying to get on the same page.”

As Williams takes over the helm, the cupboard is not bare as he will be leaning on leadership from seniors Colby Chausse, James Murray, Dakota Grindstaff, Donavan Maxwell, and Steven Perry.

Even though this year’s squad has a mix of players, Williams will rely on his group pulling together and playing as a unit.

“This is going to be a total team effort,” Williams said. “I don’t think that we are going to have anybody stand above the rest. It’s going to be all hands on deck and whoever is feeling it that night, we are going to try and give them the ball but it’s going to be playing defense and rebounding as a team that we are going to have to really work on.”

The Warriors play in a tough league facing foes such as

Shane Williams

HEAD COACH: Shane Williams

Assistant Coach: Andrew Clawson

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

Johnson County and South Greene so each night the teams take to the hardwood, Williams expects a battle.

“When you go to play one of the teams in this league it’s going to be a blood bath - it’s going to be real competitive, real physical, and they are going to take you out of stuff that you are not disciplined in running,” said Williams. “They have a lot of guys that can score in our conference so we are going to have to defend and rebound and the main thing for us is taking care of the basketball.”

And while this will be the new head coach’s first year with the Warrior’s, he has high expectations that his team will respond to the challenges that they face.

“I am more optimistic on what we can get and what the defense gives us,” Williams said. “We are going to try to push and score and if we can’t get anything we are going to run our sets and let the kids take the best shots we can get allowing our kids to drive to the basket and play with freedom so they are not having to think about what they are doing.”

22-23 Roster

22-23 Schedule

Happy Valley Lady Warriors

Short-handed Lady Warriors won’t back down on hardwood

BY IVAN SANDERS STAR CORRESPONDENT

There may only be four girls sitting on the bench beside Happy Valley Lady Warrior head coach Dana Hill this season, but don’t look for the Lady Warriors to make excuses or run and hide despite dressing only nine players in 2022-23.

And while the current numbers doesn’t allow for the Lady Warriors even to scrimmage evenly among themselves, Hill knows the grit that this year’s team has and expects them to put up a fight each time they take the floor.

“Our biggest challenge is our numbers,” Hill said. “The kids, I am really proud of them and how hard they have worked to this point. We are struggling with numbers right now, they are down, but the effort these girls have put forth has been tremendous to this point and if they keep working hard, anything can happen. We have just got to keep

ourselves out of foul trouble and some of the younger girls are going to have to step up and play.”

Hill will be leaning heavily on his three seniors to provide the spark and leadership for his younger players to fall in

behind in a supportive role.

“We have three seniors and two have quite a bit of playing time,” said Hill. “Kadie Bailey has played a lot of basketball here on the ‘Hill and Mailey Guy who has transferred in from Unaka has played a lot of basketball up there. Adrianna Harageones, last year was her first year coming out without a lot of basketball experience, but she works hard and makes us work hard in practice and that’s all I can ask out of her.”

Hill will need his sophomore class to really lace up the sneakers tight and be ready to contribute with the lack of depth facing the Lady Warriors.

Cayden Anderson, Gracie Younce, and Josie Zeoli are three players that Hill will be looking to get a lot of time out of and they will have to grow up real quick. Junior Marcida Moore will also have to be an impact player for the Lady Warriors this season.

2022 - 2023 Happy Valley Lady Warriors

Dana Hill

HEAD COACH: Dana Hill

Assistant Coaches: Rik Anderson and Cara Bowling

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

“When Marcida wants to go, she goes,” Hill said. “If we can harness that night in and night out, we can be pretty competitive.”

There is no doubt who will be leading the pack in conference play as Hill said that everything will run through South Greene this season and the shake out of the rest of the conference is a coin flip from second to last place.

“South Greene is head and shoulders above everyone else and then it will be a dog fight for second,” Hill said. “Chuckey Doak is a lot better and West Greene will be decent as well as Johnson County. It will be a dog fight for second to last place.”

Happy Valley

Cheerleaders

22-23 Roster

22-23 Schedule

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

The 2022-2023 Happy Valley Cheerleaders are: sitting (L-R) Captain Gracie Young and Co-Captain Jon Perry. Middle row (L-R) Kortlin Bennett, Hannah Smith, Jaydon Brummitt, Juley Nieminski, and Bella Garmon. Back (L-R) Jaylen Fletcher, Izzy Sisneros, Natalie Cline, Kanye Fair, Emilie Vanover, Maliyah Green, and Shaylee Grindstaff.

Unaka Rangers

Rangers look to rebound from losing season

BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN STAR CORRESPONDENT

When senior guard Devin Ramsey fell to injury last season it seemed to take something away from the Unaka Rangers basketball team that they couldn’t recapture. The Rangers finished a disappointing 11-21 last season losing seven of their last eight games, including three straight in the district 1A playoffs.

Unaka will look to rebound in 2022-23 with seniors Joe-Z Blamo and Landon Ramsey taking leadership roles with a young team trying to find itself.

“I think a lot of people are going to underestimate us,” Ramsey said. “We want to win and we are working hard toward that goal. Some are going to doubt us and say we can’t win, but I think we can surprise some people. Last season injuries kept us from our potential.”

Seniors that graduated last season include Joseph Slagle, Gavin Seigfried, and Devin Ramsey and seniors this season that did not return include Ryan Sexton and Brady Taylor. Also sophomore Brynin Repass is not on

the current roster.

Returning players include junior posts Marcus Shomaker and Brayden Powell along with sophomore guard Mason Wilson and junior Kaiden Benway. Blamo was Unaka’s leading scorer the last few seasons and has worked diligently on improving his game.

“I have been working on my game a lot,” Blamo said. “I have a lot of personal goals and team goals and one of my team goals is for us to get to the state tournament. And my personal goal is to be a finalist for Mr. Basketball. These are lofty goals, but if you don’t go big then you aren’t doing everything to the best of your ability.”

Last season the Rangers had a difficult time keeping leads and that is something the team has been working on keeping their mental edge and focus.

“I feel like I have to step up and take a bigger leader-

2022 - 2023 Unaka Rangers

Star Photo/Larry N. Souders

Aaron Dugger

HEAD COACH: Aaron Dugger

Assistant Coach: Aaron Cross, Noah Rosenbalm and Kelly Oliver

ship role,” Blamo said. “Yeah, last season we lost some games because we lost our focus and that is something that I have stressed with the team. We have to maintain our focus late in games and win them and not make excuses.”

Some young additions to the squad include Wes Oliver, Jackson Deyton, Rylan Crabtree, Collin Deyton, Austin Lambert, Brinton Salinas and Logan Lewis but how these new players fit into the scheme is not yet known.

The Rangers open the season on November 18 against Cosby in the Hall of Fame tournament.

22-23 Roster

Good Luck Rangers!!!

22-23 Schedule

Unaka Lady Rangers

Lady Rangers in rebuild mode

BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN STAR CORRESPONDENT

Coming off a 24-win season and a loss in the Region 1A semifinals in 2021-22, the Unaka Lady Rangers will be hard-pressed to match that output. Only four players from last season’s roster have returned with the senior graduation of four starters.

Macy Ensor, Tara Whitehead, Julie Simerly and Kiki Forney all graduated and junior post Mailie Guy transferred to Happy Valley, leaving senior Lyndie Ramsey, sophomore Emma Taylor, and juniors Haley Taylor and Alisha Harrell as the only players with any experience at the varsity level.

“We’re working hard but we don’t have a lot of experience,” Lady Rangers head coach Kenneth Chambers said. “Haley Taylor and Alisha Harrell have played some, but other than that, there is not a whole lot of experience at the high school level. Right now, Lyndie is out. She is experiencing some health issues,

she lost 10-15 pounds and for a girl with her small frame, that is significant. We are hopeful for her to return.”

Ramsey – an All-State performer and a finalist for the Miss Basketball trophy in 2022 – will play a large role for this young team with two freshmen and two sophomores as a floor leader.

“We have a young team this year and we will have to learn to overcome obstacles,” Ramsey said. “We face new challenges in seeing defenses they have not seen and a faster pace of the game. We need people to knock down their shots when open and to have the confidence to take the shot.”

The other problem the Rangers will face this season is their lack of size. Guy was a solid post who stood nearly six feet tall but this group of Rangers more resemble Smurfs than giants.

“The young girls are going to have to learn how to play at a varsity level,” Chambers said. “The game is more physical and they will have to learn to deal with that aspect, but they are working very hard and are eager to learn. We hope that we can get through the early portion of the season with them gaining experience and by the time we get to the end of the season that they have improved. We need to find out what they can and can’t do.”

Unaka will have to shoot the ball well because rebounding

2022 - 2023 Unaka Lady Rangers

Star Photo/Larry N. Souders

Kenneth Chambers

HEAD COACH: Kenneth Chambers

Assistant Coach: Dawn Lowe, Jessica Pulley, John Ramsey and Mike Lunsford

with such a small team is going to be difficult, especially in the post. The Rangers open a tough early schedule with games against Morristown East, Dobyns-Bennett at the Sullivan East Thanksgiving tournament and Rockwood in the Harriman Christmas tournament as well as a tough conference slate with Hampton, Cloudland and University High.

Unaka opens its 2022-23 season on November 18 with a game against Cosby in the Hall of Fame tournament.

Unaka

Cheerleaders

Rachel Lloyd, Jordan Pippin, Kylee McCall, Celeste Wilson, Tiffany Shepard, Emma Davis, Madison Markland, Bregayle Scalf, Alexis Fuller, Micah Gray, Makayla Bunten, Emma Slemp, Kimberly Proffitt, Mollie Buckles, Mackenzie McCall, Makenzie Fuller, Scarlet Salinas, Makenzie Sampson, Madison Warren and Amariana Harter.

22-23 Roster

22-23 Schedule

Cloudland Highlanders

Highlanders looking to run offense inside out

BY IVAN SANDERS STAR CORRESPONDENT

Cloudland head coach Spencer Nave has something to be excited about now that Highlander football has came to a completion as some of those players will be switching from the pads to sneakers in preparation for the 2022-23 season. That’s especially important as Nave’s team is a little low number wise this season and he needs all hands on deck as the Highlanders forge forward toward a successful season.

“The guys have been working hard and we should be getting our football guys back soon,” said Nave. “We have had three guys that have been coming in pretty much every morning around 6:15 to 6:30 and shoot until school starts. I am excited about those three and we have a transfer from Unaka that is going to probably going to help quite a bit in Ryan Sexton.”

Nave plans on using what he has available and that is two big men in Dylan McClellan and Jacob Street that can dominate a game from their inside position. The secondyear coach is hoping that both players can create the op-

portunity for some points from the outside.

“Our inside game with Dylan McClellan and Jacob Street - we are going to try pound the rock a little bit inside and hopefully have our shooting good enough on the outside that when they collapse inside that we can kick it out and shoot the three ball well. We have been working on it so I hope it pays off,” Nave said.

The Cloudland head coach also has the luxury of having an athletic specimen in senior Gage McKinney who is coming off a phenomenal football season in which he rushed for nearly 3,000 yards.

“Gage McKinney is a great kid and I can ask him to do anything - if I told him to run through the wall, he would run through the wall for me,” Nave said. “We need that type of kid. I would love to have five to 10 of Gage’s - we would be all right. He had a heck of a year in football and we just

2022 - 2023 Cloudland Highlanders

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

Spencer Nave

HEAD COACH: Spencer Nave

Assistant Coach: Connor Birchfield

want to keep him healthy.”

Although the numbers are low right now on Roan Mountain, Nave can’t help but look ahead to next year when there are a possibility of 14 eighth graders who will be moving up to the high school.

“We currently have 11 kids,” said Nave. “We have a couple of freshmen and its kind of a down year with numbers but that is kind of the way it is with small schools. Our eighth grade class has 14 eighth-grade players at the middle school so next year is probably going to be pretty good. We are hoping to get a few more kids out of the hallway this year as well.”

Despite the low numbers, Nave believes that his team will be ready to compete each and every night in a conference that if full of star athletes and teams that are accustomed to reaching deep in post-season play. It’s a conference that Nave believes is one of the toughest in the state.

“This is probably one of the toughest conferences in East Tennessee from Knoxville up,” Nave said. “We have a couple of teams that pretty much go to state every year in North Greene and Hampton. Ned (Smith) does a great job at Hampton They are in it to win every year. Ned came really close last year and he is getting a few kids back that have that experience. University High and Unaka have some good kids returning as well.

“I am really looking forward to having a good season and try to win a few more than we did last year.”

Cloudland Cheerleaders

The 2022-2023 Cloudland Highlander Cheerleading squad includes: Katie Baldwin, Ella Benfield, Kendall Birchfield, Shana Canady, Faith Roark, Melena Roberson, Hailey Simerly, April Stone, Tate Shaw, Katelynn Simerly, Izabella Christman, Mackenzie Moro, Jenna Stinnett, Kaydence Sweat, Alexus Ward, Allie Miller, Adlyn Williams, Clarissa Wilson,

Mackenzie Johnson.

22-23 Schedule

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

Lady Highlanders look to utilize height advantage for success

BY IVAN SANDERS STAR CORRESPONDENT

The Cloudland Lady Highlanders have been fortunate to have some pretty good teams the last few years under head coach Matt Birchfield and the 2022-23 season could shape up to be another solid year on Roan Mountain for the Lady ‘Landers.

Birchfield has a solid core of players returning from last season and will lean on his senior players along with size that he will be able to utilize to one of the strengths of this year’s team.

“We lost two kids but we have some good senior leaders in Ella Benfield at the post and we are expecting big things out of her,” said Birchfield. “Also, Kendall Birchfield and Katie Baldwin at guard who played some for me there last year will bring experience for us there. As far as the junior class, we have our four-guard back in Saharra McKinney and Izabella Christman at the post.

“Basically, we have four returning starters back so we are excited about that and looking to build some depth with younger kids.”

Birchfield made no bones about it when he said that the Lady Highlanders will be running their offense through the post position with Benfield and Christman but also needs some outstanding play from three-year starter Saharra McKinney from the point guard position.

“I think our post play is our strength,” said Birchfield. “If they have a good year and we get good play and leadership from Saharra will be the key for us. I think that we have to be able to score and if we can do that we can compete with anybody. It does have to go through our posts because I think that we have some size that helps us a little bit.”

When looking at the conference, Birchfield said every team will be bringing their ‘A’ game to the floor as it won’t

be a cakewalk going against Hampton, Unaka, and North Greene.

“Some of the teams lost some good kids but they have some good players coming back,” said Birchfield. “Unaka and Hampton are going to be tough along with North Greene. It’s going to be another tough year in the conference as there are no nights off in our conference.”

Birchfield is hoping that his younger players get into the fray quickly which will only strengthen his Lady Highlanders.

“Hopefully if we can build some depth by Christmas we should be a pretty good team,” said Birchfield.

HEAD COACH: Matt Birchfield

Assistant

Coach: Shellie McKinney

22-23 Roster 22-23 Schedule

2022 - 2023 Cloudland Highlanders

Star Photo/Ivan Sanders

Matt Birchfield