By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Few programs are as eager to start this season as Republic.
Entering Tim Brown’s seventh season, the Tigers are coming off of a 15-12 campaign that saw them lose four games by six points or less, including a district playoff loss to Glendale.
This group returns three starters and experience that will be pivotal this winter.
“Even though we were able to keep our program relevant and in the mix we didn’t feel like we were able to accomplish the goals that we have for our basketball program,” said Brown. “It took us a while last year to find the right combinations and identity for our team due to some off season injuries and getting a later start than usual with so many of our players getting to play for a state football title.
“We have a hungry group of seniors who have been through the wars and an eager group of sophomores that will fight for our program’s culture so we are excited about our season. We had one of our most productive summers in my tenure here in terms of creating habits, expectations and our identity.”
A trio of seniors will lead this group in Brenley Hagewood, Davin Parks and CJ Uhl.
Hagewood returns as one of the best guards in Missouri, averaging 18.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a junior while also being a walking highlight reel.
He’s already over 1,000 career points.
“Brenley has established himself as one of the best guards in SWMO,” said Brown. “He is very skilled offensively. We are looking forward to watching Bren expand his game and to continue to develop. He has led us in scoring as a sophomore and a junior.”
Parks and Uhl are extremely intriguing because of their size and skill sets.
Parks is a 6-foot-5 wing that averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds as a junior, while shooting 62 percent from the field. Uhl is a 6-foot-7, 230-pound big man that has battled injuries throughout his high school career.
Both will see even larger roles this winter.
“Davin is very active offensively and has the ability to be a great cutter and offensive rebounder,” said Brown. “His size and versatility allow him to guard multiple positions for us defensively.
“CJ is a skilled big that we are excited about in his second full season with us. He has developed physically this offseason and has added some size and strength to this frame. He has the ability to have a big season for us.”
Several newcomers will also see minutes this winter.
Senior Kaden Howard (6-5) and Owen George (6-4) will add size and length, while classmate Ryder Davis is a big-time shooter.
Sophomores Kierran Govan (6-4) and Brody Blades (6-0) will also see time and both have incredible potential and will give an immediate boost to the backcourt.
“Kierran is a big-time athlete that will play point guard for us,” said Brown. “He has the ability to make plays for himself, but his biggest strength is that he makes others better. KG finished the season last year playing with our varsity and we believe that experience will help him and our basketball team going forward.
“Brody has established himself as one of the best shooters in our program. Brody can also defend and guard the basketball at a high level.”
Brown is also excited about a large group of juniors and sophomores that will compete for minutes this season and moving forward.
The new COC will present some challenges, but playing SPS schools isn’t something that Republic is unfamiliar with.
As the Tigers look for their first district championship since 2019, the program has momentum going into the winter.
“As always the COC will be a battle every single night,” said Brown. “It is a great conference with elite basketball programs that have good coaches and players and a lot of history and tradition. It will be important for us to be prepared and play with great effort and execution on both ends of the floor each and every single night.
“Our coaching staff and our players are excited about this upcoming basketball season. We have an experienced group returning and a good mix of upperclassmen that understands our program’s culture, identity and expectations. We also have a good group of underclassmen and newcomers that are ready to compete and contribute to our basketball program so we are expecting our standards to remain high.”
Republic will travel to Rogersville for a jamboree on Nov. 21 before opening the 2024-25 regular season by hosting the Republic Invitational on Dec. 5-7.
