Conference: 5A-West
Coach: Lance Davis (13th season, 190-132 at Vilonia)
Assistant Coach: Michael Bowman
Last year’s record: 10-17, seventh in the conference
Returning starter: Trevor Martin, a 6-1 senior guard, won all-conference honors last season.
Best players inside: Coach Davis is dealing with a young and inexperienced group of players this season, but he does have plenty of depth. The top prospects in the paint are juniors Colton Johnson (6-2) and Michael Atkinson (6-1).
Best perimeter players: Aside from Martin, seniors Trey Lewis (5-11), Nick Schnebelen (5-10) and Hunter Scroggins (5-10) will get plenty of playing time in the guard positions. Schnebelen was the first man off the bench last season while Scroggins and Lewis are back on the court for the first time since junior high.
How will you match/exceed/fall short of your success from last year? With only one starter back and a plethora of new faces, Davis has his work cut out for him this season. “We are young and inexperienced,” he said. “We have a good sophomore class, and they’re all working hard trying to gain experience. We also have some seniors who haven’t played in awhile that are back to try to give us some help. … It’s a young team, so some of these sophomores will have to step up and play well for us to have a good season. We will also have to play well defensively.”
Strengths of the team: Davis said having Martin back is his squad’s biggest asset. “He was an all-conference performer last season, and I expect big things from him this year,” Davis said.
Weaknesses of team: Davis gave the obvious answer with his young group, saying “It's going to be our youth. We’ve just got to get better early and continue to improve.”
Game to watch: Greenbrier. “That is always big rivalry game for us, but we had three teams from our conference who were in the semifinals of the state tournament last season.” Alma, a 5A-West member, won the state championship last season.
Toughest opponent: “With our league, there are a lot of good teams who will have a chance,” Davis said. “Alma is the defending state champ and won the league the last three seasons. They have another good team, but the league is tough all the way through.”
College prospects: Martin has his eyes set on playing at the next level, Davis said.