By Chris Parker
Purdy took a big step forward last season going from six wins two seasons ago to a 17-11 record last season.
The Eagles will look to take another step towards the program’s first district title since 2020 behind junior Carter Keeling.
“Carter has been a vital piece for our program over his first two seasons,” Purdy head coach Heath Carmichael said. “He moved into a starting role midway through his freshman year and was a full-time starter for us a year ago. Carter is a ‘basketball player’. He travels and plays AAU in the spring and summer, which is a big help. He has a basketball in his hands for the vast majority of the calendar year, which is vital for becoming a good, consistent basketball player. A lot of the things we run tend to be for Carter to get open and quality looks but I also have to give credit to older guys and upperclassman for having trust in Carter and what we do to look for him and be willing to give a younger guy the reins to be the guy. Carter is a kid who has the ability to score at all three levels which makes him a hard kid to defend. He continues to grow and mature so he can be a tough matchup for teams. If he has a big on him, he has the ability to space the floor, shoot the ball as well as play off the dribble. If he has a smaller guard on him, he has the ability to post up and play around the rim as well. Which, as he continues to grow and mature and he is able to put on weight and get stronger, will only make him that much more difficult to defend and productive for us.”
Keeling earned first-team all-conference honors last season scoring 15.1 points per game to go with 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. He also knocked down 2.1 threes per game.
“Carter’s ceiling is very high,” Carmichael said. “He has the ability to produce big numbers for us in all areas of the game and not just offensively. He is going to be the main focus on everyone’s scouting report, so he is going to see everyone’s best night in and night out. He has the ability to score at all three levels and has a scorer mentality to make plays. From a coach’s standpoint, in order for Carter to take that next step would be to become a more consistent shooter and to be able to continue to improve his play without the ball in his hands. If he is able to improve his shooting percentages from a year ago then that will only help him as he continues to grow, mature, and develop.”
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Senior JJ Felipe and junior Will Henderson return after seeing in action in 24 and 26 varsity games last season, respectively.
Carmichael on Felipe: “J.J. was our sixth man a year ago, but he played starter minutes a lot of games and found himself in the lineup during crunch time more often than not. J.J. has a very high basketball IQ and has the ability to read and see things before they happen and develop. He has great basketball instinct. J.J. has the ability like Carter to score at all three levels and will have a much more expanded role this year for us. J.J. was our fourth-leading scorer in a deep and very balanced rotation/production line. We look for J.J. to increase his outputs for us tremendously in all areas of the game. J.J. will find the ball in his hands a ton as a scorer and playmaker. J.J., along with Carter, have the green light and the keys to the kingdom. We will go as those two go this season.
Carmichael on Henderson: “Will is a kid who has found minutes at the varsity level since the middle to end of his freshman year. His role and minutes have been limited due to a balanced and deep rotation, but we look for Will to have an expanded role for us this year. Will is another kid who has a great basketball IQ, and we will look to put Will in positions where he can make reads for us. Will is one of our bigger and stronger kids we have so he will have a lot of responsibility on the defensive end for us in terms of production and being a leader on the defensive end with talk and communication. If Will is able to be a consistent shooter/scorer for us and be a threat on the perimeter where opponents have to respect his shot, it will only make us that much tougher to guard.”
Senior post player Gauge Davidson returns after missing last season with an injury.
“Gauge will be back with us this season after missing his junior season to a shoulder injury,” Carmichael said. “Gauge was a starter for us towards the end of his sophomore season and will find himself in a large role this year for us. Gauge is another smart, high IQ kid, and an exceptional athlete. (He is a) strong, physical kid. Gauge has the ability to stretch the floor for us and has the speed and quickness to attack the rim off the dribble as well. With his speed, strength, and athleticism, he has the ability to be a tough matchup for a guard and or a post. We look for Gauge to be an energy giver for everyone with how hard he plays the game and how hard he works. Gauge will be a vital piece in this success of this season.”
Sophomores Damon Mahurin (guard), Denilson De Leon (guard/post) and J.J. Aguliar (guard/post) along with senior Geo De Leon (guard) and freshman Jordyn De Leon (guard) will be newcomers to watch.
Purdy graduated a lot of size from last season’s team, but the Eagles can replace that with versatility in the lineup.
“I think one of our biggest strengths this season will be our versatility on both ends of the floor,” Carmichael said. “We lost a lot of physicality and size, but with this group I am excited with the potential options for us on both ends of the floor. We will have some length and some athleticism on the perimeter and around the rim as well, but it will have to be a group effort battling around the rim, rebounding, etc. with less size this season.”
Improved discipline will be needed for Purdy to also improve its record.
“For this year, for us to be at our best and as successful as possible we are going to have to be very disciplined on both sides of the basketball,” Carmichael said. “Offensively, we are going to have to take pride in valuing the basketball and give ourselves the best opportunity to get quality possessions and shots each time down the floor. Defensively, we are going to have to be hard-nosed and tough. It’s going to take a group effort on the defensive end controlling the paint and rebounding. We are really going to have to buy into the defensive end and limit opponents to just one shot and force teams into earning everything they get. For us to be at our best, each guy is going to have to buy into his role, no matter how big or how small, and come to work every day to honor and fill that role.”
Purdy opens the regular season Nov. 18-22 at the Verona Tournament.
“I think for us to have a successful season we find ourselves in a position to be fighting for a conference championship in the SWCL, and we find ourselves in a great position come district time,” Carmichael said. “We were a 17-win team from a year ago, so even though we lost a lot of production and pieces, being back around that 20-win mark would be a fantastic goal for us or a goal to strive for. With a few seniors in the mix and some newer younger guys being thrown into the rotation, the ability to mesh and build chemistry together will be vital. If we come to “work” every day, and we strive to be the best basketball players we can be, on top of being great young men and teammates then the uncontrollables will hopefully take care of themselves.”
