Conference: 2-4A
Coach: Leighton McCrary, 8th year at school
Assistant coach: Ray Rideout
2012-13 record: 14-14 overall, 8-6 in conference play
Returning starters: Senior guard Kris Crite (5-foot-10), senior forward Asanté Shell (6-5), junior forward Kharian Stafford (6-1) and senior forward Robert Robinson (6-1) all return on a Greyhound team that finished in the middle of the pack in the ultra-competitive 2-4A Conference. McCrary, who won’t have a complete squad until mid-November at the earliest, is also looking for big things out of senior guard Markus Neal (5-9), who also started a few games last season. Crite, Shell and Neal routinely scored in double figures last year for the Greyhounds.
Best inside players: McCrary will probably be the Greyhounds’ most imposing figure inside with his 6-5 frame, but both Stafford and Robinson will provide added punch with their athleticism around the box.
Best outside players: Crite and Neal will provide a formidable duo, especially on the defensive end of the floor, with their quickness on the perimeter. McCrary is high on the way his team was able to shoot the ball from the outside last year but is hopeful that the Greyhounds can better that effort this year.
How will you match/exceed/fall short of your success from last year?: Newport managed to finish about .500 in league play, but to better that, the Greyhounds will have to get contributions from all over.
Team strengths: Newport will have a senior-heavy ballclub, and that, according to McCrary, will be his team’s biggest asset. “We’re going to have a lot of experience, more so than what we’ve had,” he said. “That along with our quickness should be the strongest points of our team. We’ve got some fairly good shooters, too. So we’re expecting to have a pretty good squad … whenever we can get them in.”
Team weaknesses: One glaring downside to this season’s team may be how his team shoots free throws, which was the deciding factor in several games last season for the Greyhounds. “We’ve got to shoot free throws better,” McCrary said. “We’ve got some pretty good shooters, but we’ve got to be able to shoot better overall from the free-throw line.”
Games to watch: Greyhound Classic, beginning Dec. 2nd, will possibly offer McCrary a chance to see his team at full strength. However, it all depends on how well the football has done to that point. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the football team, and this is a football town,” McCrary said. “I really do hope they do well and advance far into the playoffs. But it’s just tough to get a gauge on your team when most of your players are still playing football. We may not have a full squad by the time our first game rolls around. If that’s the case, I may have to pull some of the PE guys to fill in.”
Toughest opponent: State runner-up Dollarway and Lonoke are the two teams in the conference that everybody else will be chasing, McCrary said. “Everybody else will be fighting for third,” he said. “This is an extremely tough conference, and it starts with those two.”
College prospects: Shell, Crite and Neal could all draw attention from college this season, especially if the Greyhounds are able to get off to a fast start.
In a nutshell: With most of his players unavailable until mid-November, McCrary isn’t sure what to make of his team. But the eighth-year coach does expect the Greyhounds to be competitive on a nightly basis. “We expect to make the playoffs,” he said. “Like I said, the conference is tough, but anything can happen on any night. So we’ll see.”