Published Nov 20, 2007
Hickory Hawks Basketball Preview
Matthew Hatfield
Publisher
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2006
Revisited: Finishing
7-16 overall for the second consecutive season, the Hickory Hawks won home games
against
Suffolk
schools King's Fork and
Lakeland
, but went a combined 0-8 against fellow
Chesapeake
schools Deep Creek,
Great
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Bridge
,
Indian River
and Oscar Smith. Even though it was
a challenge for them to eclipse the 60-point mark last season, doing so only six
times, they were quite effective shooting the rock from the land of plenty.
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Hickory
was eighth in the region and third in their district in treys made.
2007
Outlook: Never
have the Hawks reached the Eastern Region Tournament in school history.
That could change in 2007-08, though it'll have to happen without
guards Loren Bagley and Mike
Eaker, a tandem that combined for 167 three-pointers over the past two
seasons before graduating. Hickory's
new 1-2 offensive punch will consist of 6-foot-5 senior forward/center Andrew
Burke and 6-foot-4 junior forward Donte
Morales, both of whom are drawing interest from Division III programs.
Described as "smooth," Morales averaged somewhere in the neighborhood
of 14 points per game on JV two years ago. Burk
was the team's most consistent rebounder at times and had his moments
offensively, such as scoring 17 points vs.
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Indian River
.
"In the past, we've
leaned on outside three-point shooting. But
this year, Morales and Burk will be factors," says Hickory Head Coach normal">Shane Smith, who adds that they will be "solid on the boards,"
and have a good deal of "inside scoring."
Since the Hawks aren't expected to be as proficient from the perimeter
as they have been in the past, look for them to push it up court and pound the
ball inside. By doing that it should
lead to a fair amount of free-throw attempts if they're able to effectively
attack their opponents' big men and do so without turning the ball over.
Smith believes his two guards are tough if nothing else.
An aggressive ball handler, 6-foot-1 junior Jordan
Griggs switches from the point to the off-guard position this year.
Sliding in at the point is 5-foot-8 junior Brett
Pearman. Six-foot-1 junior
forward Larry Roberts and 6-foot-8
junior center Matt McMahon, now fully
healthy after suffering a wrist injury in the off-season, should hold down vital
roles as well. In short, Smith
expects less finesse and more athleticism and toughness.
On defense they are hoping to play less zone and go to man-to-man more
often than not.
Date
to Circle: December
20th vs.
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Indian River
. They will be coming off a road
battle with Deep Creek two days prior to this game.
Not only is it in the final contest before the Holidays, but it's also
at home. In their building against
district opponents they went 3-5 compared to 1-7 on the road.
Final
Thoughts: How
much of a transition will there be going from being a half-court set team to
pushing it with a more up-tempo style of play as well as the defensive switch
(zone to man-to-man)? Confidence,
learning how to win and finishing off opponents are the biggest keys for this
coming year. Their execution in the
final few minutes of games is going to be crucial because they lost five games
by eight points or less last season. Essentially
they were about 23 points away from finishing with a winning record, so they
aren't too far off from moving up a couple spots in the district standings.
Matthew
Hatfield has served as the authority on Eastern Region Hoops since 2004 for
VirginiaPreps.com – the #1 High School Sports Site on the Rivals Network.
Check out Hatfield's website – www.matthewhatfield.com
– for plenty more on the sports world. To
contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com.