By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Fair Grove basketball enjoyed another successful campaign last season with a roster full of underclassmen.
The young Eagles posted a 17-9 record and reached the Class 4 District 10 championship, falling in overtime to California.
“Going into the season we had high expectations, but we knew with the amount of freshmen we would have playing that there would be a strong learning curve,” Talbert said. “I know that my girls did not like the way our season finished and they have worked very hard to keep that from happening again.”
Talbert, entering her 13th season at the Fair Grove helm, is optimistic about her team’s opportunity to improve this season and for good reason.
Save for graduated senior Bradi Weaver, the Eagles return the entire roster.
“We have a great core group that played a lot last year,” Talbert said. “I am excited to see the progress we can make and build on from last year’s season.”
That progress starts with Kameron Green.
An all-conference and all-district selection, the 6-foot senior center gives Fair Grove a dominant, physical presence at both ends of the court.
Green averaged 12.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and shot at a 48 percent clip from the field last season.
She also reached the 1,000-point career scoring mark.
“Kameron has improved her physical strength, and that has made her an impact player on both ends of the floor,” Talbert said. “She is capable of stepping out on the perimeter to score and can attack the basket from many spots. On defense, she can alter shots and is capable of rebounding at a high level.”
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The lone senior will be joined by a pair of juniors in Allison Findley and Hannah Maxwell.
Findley, a 5-foot-6 guard, averaged 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds last season.
“Allison has been a big part of our varsity team for the last two years, and we expect her to continue to thrive in her role,” Talbert said. “We know Allison is committed to doing whatever is needed to help our team. She is a great athlete, can guard many different positions, is a great jumper and can rebound the ball very well.”
Maxwell, a 5-foot-8 forward, averaged 3.1 points and 4.4 rebounds as a sophomore.
“Hannah is a tremendous athlete,” Talbert said. “She has great defensive instincts and a nose for rebounding. Hannah does a lot of the little things that are keys to helping us win: rebounding at key possessions, guarding other team’s best players and setting screens for the shooters.”
A trio of talented sophomores also return to the starting rotation in Brooke Daniels, Ashton Bell and Camdyn Hart.
Daniels, a 5-foot-5 point guard, averaged 9.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals during a freshman campaign that saw her earn all-conference and all-district honors.
“Brooke was thrown into the fire as a freshman and was asked to lead our team,” Talbert said. “She has tremendous speed and can really change the tempo of a game. Brooke is a great defensive player as well and can change the momentum of a game based on her defensive ability.”
Bell, a 5-foot-8 guard, averaged 13.8 points and 3.0 rebounds last season. She also garnered all-conference and all-district honors.
“Ashton got to play in many intense games and competed at a high level,” Talbert said. “She is a very capable scorer and a great defender. She is very competitive and has a strong will to win. We think she will have another great year and will be an impact player on both ends of the floor.”
Hart, a 5-foot-9 guard, averaged 6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals as a freshman.
“Camdyn played many different roles for us last season; key reserve at the beginning of the season and then ended up being a starter,” Talbert said. “She has great size for the guard position, and that helps her to be able to finish inside the lane and guard bigger players. She can hit from outside as well.”
Three additional sophomores return to the varsity roster in 5-foot-11 Abbey Green (2.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg), 5-foot-8 Emma Padgett (3.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg) and 5-foot-11 Shea Skouby.
5-foot-7 junior Talor Green also returns to the roster after battling through injuries during her sophomore campaign.
With a loaded roster returning, it’s no secret Talbert has some lofty goals set for her program.
“I have high expectations for this group,” Talbert said. “We had a great season last year but fell short of our ultimate goal of winning a district title. I believe that if everyone can accept their roles and put the team first we can have an amazing season.”
For the Eagles to be successful down the stretch, Talbert believes consistency will be a big factor.
“We need to be more consistent with each game this season,” Talbert said. “Our shooting percentage dipped midway through the season and we struggled staying consistent on offense. We had some huge wins last season, but then we would struggle in other games and come up short. We do like to play fast and that caused us to have too many turnovers in some of our big games last season.”
Along with consistency, Talbert believes her team’s overall chemistry will be a difference maker.
“We talked a lot this summer about sticking together and putting our team first,” Talbert said. “I think if each girl can thrive in their role then we will be very successful.”
Following a Nov. 15 jamboree at Marshfield with the host school and Waynesville, Fair Grove will tip off its season Nov. 19 at Kickapoo.
