By Derek Shore (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Reeds Spring boys basketball coach Austin Kendrick stressed patience as his team enters the 2024 season.
The Wolves will have a new-look group following an 8-18 season in 2023. Reeds Spring returns just one starter and four lettermen.
“This year will be one that will require a little patience,” Kendrick said. “Mainly because we don’t know what we have just yet. We have a lot of pieces we feel confident about but we just aren’t sure how they will come together. We don’t return much experience and will only have a couple of seniors, so we will have to rely on a lot of juniors and sophomores to step up and play a role.”
Maverick Porter, a 5-foot-11 junior, will lead the Wolves. He averaged 7.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists last season.
“He is our leading returning scorer and the one that has the most varsity experience,” Coach Kendrick said. “He is a guy that has worked to grow and expand his game. We will look to Maverick to play a big part for us on a young team.”
James Dowdy (6-1 senior), Jace Bolin (5-7 junior) and Jayden Turner (6-0 junior) will look for bigger varsity roles.
“James is an explosive athlete that has a nose for the ball,” Kendrick said. “He is a strong kid that doesn’t shy away from contact. He is a physical player that is willing to guard, rebound and make the hustle play.
“Jace was our other ball handler last year. He had a lot of opportunities to step up for us in big spots. He’s a really good athlete that is starting to understand how to use his frame to his advantage. He’s also a kid that can really light it up from deep when he gets going. We look for him to take on a bigger role as he competes to be our primary point guard.
“Jayden is a guy that really came into his own at the end of last season. He is a kid that has a great feel for the game and can make things happen on both ends of the floor.”
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF THE WINTER PREVIEWS
Reeds Spring has six newcomers. The group includes Kaemon Hutchinson (5-11 senior), Vince Hembree (6-5 junior), Nathan Mitchell (6-0 junior), Brody Pettigrew (6-1 sophomore), Sam Carpenter (5-11 sophomore) and Tyson Porter (5-9 sophomore).
Kendrick said Hutchinson is a strong guard who when he gets downhill is hard to stop, while Hembree is poised to get big minutes as he has high upside and is someone who has the potential to make noise this winter.
The coach also mentioned Mitchell will compete for one of the Wolves’ guard spots and could be a big factor. Pettigrew has “all the tools to be a good basketball player and will compete with what we feel is a solid group of guards”, Kendrick noted.
Carpenter is described as a gym rat, who works hard at developing each aspect of his game and looks to continue that development as a sophomore.Maverick’s younger brother Tyson Porter will look to bring energy off the bench for Reeds Spring this season.
“This group will provide the most competition we have ever had in practice,” Kendrick said. “We will have 20-plus guys in the gym and each one of them will have to come to compete to earn their role. We are going to give a lot of guys opportunities to play, and I’m excited to see how everything shakes out. We have a lot of guys that are hungry to be good.
“There’s a different energy and excitement around our basketball program. I’m really excited to see where that leads us. Our ultimate goal is to compete night in and night out. We want to take what we learn from each opportunity and grow as the season goes on. If we do that, we should be playing our best basketball toward the end of the season.”
Reeds Spring will jamboree with New Covenant, Ash Grove and Purdy at New Covenant on Nov. 13. The Wolves open the season at Ava on Nov. 21.
