For the Pottsville boys basketball team, the margin for error is small, but head coach Shane Thurman said he expects to have a great year.
“We have a solid team that will have a chance to win most nights,” said Thurman, who is in his 10th year as head coach at Pottsville. “Honestly, success in the 2020-21 season is about just getting to play.”
Last year, Pottsville finished as district and regional runner-up and made it to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A State Tournament. Returning this year is all-conference guard Matthew Moore, who averaged 12 points per game as a junior, and all-conference forward Trey Thurman, who averaged
13 points and 7 rebounds per game last season as a junior.
Coach Thurman said Moore will play college baseball, and Trey Thurman could play college basketball in the right situation because of his size and versatility.
“He has changed his game by changing his body in this offseason,” the coach said. “We have some younger guys who have the potential to play at the next level if they continue to improve.”
Coach Thurman said Trevor Curtis-Lyles, who plays inside and out, played some meaningful minutes last year and will assist Trey Thurman in the post this season. The coach said sophomore point guard Nico Ybarra, senior point guard Cache Linker, senior shooting guard Zach Byrum and senior small forward Jacob Adams are either meeting or exceeding last year’s expectations.
“We graduated a lot, but I like our group,” Coach Thurman said. “Our conference is going to be extremely competitive, which will prepare us for postseason play if we can get there.
“We have really good chemistry and a strong senior class.”
Unfortunately, Pottsville does have a lot of unproven depth, and during the current pandemic, “you are not going to be at full strength every night,” he said. “We have some young guys with a lot of potential who could address this need.”
Ozark, Dardanelle and Morrilton are all rivalry games, and they should have outstanding teams with a lot of experience,” the coach said.