photo by Dusty Harper

Central-Coosa's Jeremy Murray dribbles around a Tiger defender during Dadeville's Thursday team camp.

Parity at DHS camp

Dadeville, Central-Coosa, Loachapoka all 2-1 in Thursday camp at Dadeville High

By Dusty Harper (Contact) | Alex City Outlook

Published Thursday, June 4, 2009

Thursday was the first chance for Dadeville head coach Rodney Taylor, Central-Coosa’s Joe Belyeu and Horseshoe Bend’s Mike Boyd to get a look at next year’s basketball teams. They each found that there are quite a few kinks to work out.

All three teams, along with Loachapoka, were in action for one of seven play dates each school is allowed.

The Tigers won their first two games against the Generals and Cougars, before falling to Loachapoka in the final game of the afternoon. Central-Coosa was a winner against the Indians and the Generals, and Horseshoe Bend lost all three of their match-ups.

Taylor’s squad defeated HBHS 59-32 and Coosa 55-49. Loachapoka ruined the Tigers’ perfect day with a 43-38 win.

“I was pleased with everybody,” Taylor said. “The effort was there all day. ‘Poka hurt us a little with the full court 1-3-1, but that’s something we haven’t put in yet. We have to improve our passing to be successful against that.

“But, we showed we have some depth. All the guys contributed, and they all play football, so they’ll only be stronger when the season comes around.”

Belyeu, who’s team won a tight one with Loachapoka and beat HBHS 44-18, said his frontcourt needs to step up.

“We were good in spots, but pressure got to us sometimes, especially against Dadeville,” Belyeu said. “Our guard play has to improve, and again we missed way too many free throws. We did do some good things, but we have a long way to go.”

John McGhee and Marcus Judkins, two senior guards for Central, agreed that their team has to stop people more often.

“Defense is what we have to get better on,” said McGhee, who also noted he’s been concentrating on driving to the goal this summer . “As a team, we have to play more together.”

Judkins said he has been focusing on improving everything outside of his shooting.

“I’ve got to get better when my shot’s not falling,” Judkins said. “I need to be able to drive more, and we all have to play better D.”

Boyd’s Generals, who were playing with a roster loaded with freshman, lost each game rather handily, but he got what he wanted accomplished on the day.

“Well, we got to play a bunch of guys and learned that we need a heap of work,” Boyd said. “A lot of these ninth graders got to see what it’s like out there, and they were a little nervous. They tried to run up and down the floor, and they’re just not going to be able to do that. We’ve got to slow things down and get more experience, and we’ll be OK.”

Josh Martin, the General center who is the lone post presence for his team, has to be more involved with the offense, according to Boyd.

“Against Dadeville, we got him a lot of touches and he made about six or seven out of 10 shots,” Boyd said. “We’ve got to run everything through him.”

Boyd also praised the play of Damien Milliner, saying he showed good athleticism and that he could see a lot of playing time.

Kendall Thomas and Corey Battle led the Generals in scoring throughout the games.

The Cougars and Tigers used a balanced attack on offense for the most part. McGhee, Joe Russell and Jeremy Murray all scored in double digits in at least one game for Central.

For Dadeville, guards Zeke Heard and Terry Toler often carried the load points-wise. Kieran Sturdivant did most of the scoring in the paint.

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