By Chris Parker
Brad Shockley enters his last season as head coach of the boys basketball program at Cabool with a team featuring a pair of returning all-conference seniors.
Leading that group is senior Josh Shockley who earned second-team all-conference honors last season.
“We expect Josh to continue to be a leader for us. He had some big games for us last year and was the focus of a lot of teams’ defense. He has the capability of a very good senior season,” Coach Shockley said.
Classmate Tyler Fleetwood also earned all-conference honors as a junior on the All-SCA Honorable Mention team.
“He is a competitor and one of the best rebounders I have coached,” Shockley said. “He loves to go get the ball.”
Wil Tucker and Brody Norifalise are two more returners for Cabool.
“Wil became our go-to defender last year and took a lot of pride in his defense. He is a competitor and capable of scoring the basketball. Wil looked much more comfortable this summer offensively and I look for more offensive production from him,” Shockley said. “Brody got thrown into a tough situation last year due to injuries and moves and was asked to be a varsity player probably before he was ready. Brody has great court vision and good instincts. I anticipate him running the point for us some this year.”
CLICK HERE FOR LINKS TO ALL OF THE WINTER PREVIEWS
Seniors Aceton Gonzales, Seth Owns and Trey Atkins will join the Cabool rotation this season.
Gonzales was at Cabool prior to his junior year but transferred out last season. He is back for his final year of high school.
“Aceton has moved back and has been in the gym every chance he could,” Shockley said. “Aceton has always been a three-point shooting threat for our team, but really worked on getting to the basket this summer. We look for Aceton to be a vital part of our program.”
Owens and Atkins both were expected to contribute last season before football injuries ended their seasons before they could start.
“Seth Owens was poised to be our sixth-man last season providing defense and rebounding with his athleticism. A football injury sidelined him for the entire basketball season. Seth is back from his knee injury and had a successful summer getting back into basketball shape. We look for him to make an impact defensively immediately,” Shockley said. “Trey Atkins is another player that has been a part of the bulldog basketball program for years. After a successful sophomore season, we were looking for Trey to set up as one of our leaders but he also suffered a seasoning ending injury in football. Trey is back and healthy and we look for him to make an immediate impact.”
Cabool will be able to find scoring from all over the court this season.
“I really think we will have the ability to score from several different spots this year and our quickness should help on defense,” Shockley said.
Cabool opens the season Dec. 5 at home against Couch.
