Jonesboro Coach Wes Swift got an idea about what to expect out of his team this season during last week's three-day run to the Rumble on the Ridge title game in Forrest City.
That's not to say the Golden Hurricane resembled the team he hopes he'll see by the time February and March rolls around.
"We looked like a group that had no clue what our roles are, and the coach had no clue what he wanted the rotation to be," said Swift, whose team took home runner-up honors after losing to North Little Rock 57-53 in the final. "That's being dead honest because we really didn't know. We played 11 people in the first half of all three games, even the championship game. Shoot, we played our entire roster in two of the three games.
"We needed to see who's going to separate. It really didn't happen in the first two games in Forrest City, don't feel like we played well. I did feel like we'd play better against North Little Rock, especially on the defensive end, but we didn't, and so we've got some work to do."
Jonesboro (2-1) will see how much improvement it's made over the next few days when it hosts the 37th annual Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic. The eight-team tournament begins today with four opening-round matchups and runs through Saturday.
The Golden Hurricane, who are ranked No. 2 in Class 6A in the early season Super Six, won the event last season after dominating Manila in the first round, holding off Bentonville in the semifinals and outgunning North Little Rock in the championship game. This year, Swift feels the showcase will be just as competitive.
"What's funny about it is that when you start looking at the bracket, sometimes you can say, 'Man, these four teams are going to win and go to the semifinals,' " he said. "I'm not so sure you won't see some really competitive games right off the bat. Starting with us and West Memphis, who just took [Little Rock] Central to a one-possession game. That right there deserves respect because we know how good Little Rock Central is.
"And then you've got Gentry, Miss., who went deep into their state tournament last year, went 26-3 and have everybody back. And they asked to come, and nobody asks to come unless they have the talent to win the thing. Nettleton, who's matched up with Gentry, will be big in the paint, and has the 6-4 guard in Taylor Smith who'll be the most athletic kid in the gym of all eight teams. And that's just four of them."
The other games on Day 1 will feature Fayetteville, No. 3 in the Class 6A's early season Super Six, against Osceola, and Pine Bluff, No. 3 in the Class 5A early season Super Six, against Brookland.
For Swift, all four games will be intriguing in their own rights, but he's anxious to see how his Golden Hurricane will bounce back. He said he was pleased with the way Devarious Montgomery defended and how C.J. Larry took care of the ball last week. Swift also liked what he saw from Isaac Harrell, especially the way he rebounded.
However, there's plenty of room and plenty of time for improvement in his eyes.
"When the guys watched the film, they were banging their heads up against the lockers going 'gosh, we looked bad'," Swift said. "But the other part about that was Coach Swift was really bad, too. But like I told them, I've given myself a break because before that first game, I couldn't tell who our eight or nine-man rotation would be.
"You know, it wasn't until that North Little Rock game that I really started seeing some separation in our guys. I've got a lot better feel about it now, and I'm looking forward to getting back out there on the floor because we all have a better idea about who we currently are and who we want to be."
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NoneAt a glance
Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic
At Jonesboro
Boys
Today’s games
GAME 1 Fayetteville vs. Osceola, 4 p.m.
GAME 2 Gentry, Miss. vs. Nettleton, 5:30 p.m.
GAME 3 Jonesboro vs. West Memphis, 7 p.m.
GAME 4 Pine Bluff vs. Brookland, 8:30 p.m.
Friday’s games
GAME 5 Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 4 p.m.
GAME 6 Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 5:30 p.m.
GAME 7 Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.
GAME 8 Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday’s games
GAME 9 Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser, 1 p.m.
GAME 10 Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 2:30 p.m.
GAME 11 Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 4 p.m.
GAME 12 Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 5:30 p.m.