The Gilmer Bobcats are aiming for a return to the state basketball tournament, and head coach Jordan Hice has an experienced roster on his side.
Gilmer posted a 20-6 record a season ago and graduated four seniors off a team who achieved a second consecutive trip to the postseason. They return plenty of offense including junior center Jackson McVey, senior Ryder Wofford and sophomore Keegen Bryant.
McVey was an all-state selection as a sophomore and has earned spots on preseason all-state lists this year. Wofford was a second team all-region player, and Bryant received an all-region honorable mention. GHS also welcomes back a wealth of experience from seniors Kohan Davis, Jacob Becerra, John Ponders and junior J.D. Taylor.
With so many returning varsity players, Hice and the Bobcats have been able to expand on what they have instead of reteaching concepts and tactics.
“The good thing is, we’re a lot more experienced this year so that’s going to help out. We’re polishing things and adding things as opposed to having to backtrack and revamp our offense and defense to figure out what we’re going to do,” Hice said.
“They know what’s going on and what we need to do so that saves a lot of time. We’re always trying to get better defensively and polish that up. Offensively, we’re looking to advance the plays a little bit.”
That experience also nurtures familiarity. Players know each others tendencies and traits, which should only continue to blossom over the coming season. Hice believes the Cats will give opposing teams more to consider.
“They have spent so much time together and run very well together. They like to push the ball, and we have some good scorers. We have different scoring angels from multiple people, so we’re not looking at just one or two scoring options. We can look for that third or fourth, or possibly fifth scoring option,” Hice said.
At 7’ 0”, McVey will continue to attract plenty of attention in the post. In turn, his presence alone should create open looks for teammates, and they took advantage last season. Behind McVey’s 19.6 points per game were Wofford (12.5), Bryant (10.4), Taylor (8.2) and Davis (6.3).
Hice said the Cats plan to continue to push the ball as much as possible to take advantage of transition points. When they set up in the half court, their aforementioned experience will lend itself to more freedom.
“Instead of me just saying, ‘Hey, this is what we’re running,’ we’re going to have a variety of options in the offense off a multitude of people scoring. It’s still controlled, but more of a freelance offense,” said Hice.
Defense has been a focus of the Bobcats at early season practices. Hice discussed how they plan to play on that side of the court and hopes they can build off last year’s efforts.
“We have some height and have been working on some half-court traps,” Hice said. “This team is more equipped for that in the half court. We’re playing a little more aggressively with man to man. I feel like we’re going to build upon what we did last year. We lost some really good defense (Will Kiker), which is going to be hard to replace. I think some players who are now a little bit older and a little bit stronger will be able to make that up and play some better defense.”
Returning starters and varsity letter winners who received plenty of court time last year are McVey, Taylor, Bryant, Wofford and Davis. Becerra will be battling for starting minutes, and Hice is looking for Mac Kiser, Riley Davis, Cooper Farmer, Boston Teague and Blane Banks to provide more depth off the bench.
“Jackson comes in for his junior season. Obviously, he’s really tall and is going to be a heavy contributor for us on the offensive and defensive end,” Hice said. “J.D. has gotten a lot better over the summer, and he’s one of our top defenders and offensive players. Keegen comes in being able to run and control our offense and take that aspect to another level after he had to do it so young as a freshman.
“Ryder brings that scoring aspect on the offensive end. He’s an offensive threat, plus his height. Kohan is another guard with height and has gotten a lot stronger. Plus, he adds the ability to shoot from outside.”
Gilmer played for the region title last season against White County. The Warriors lost their best player to graduation, but Hice still expects them to be a solid team. Wesleyan is led by preseason all-state selection Josh Kavel, and Dawson County and Pickens will also field veteran squads.
Gilmer’s season last year ended in the first round against Hart County. Hice mentioned what he hopes to accomplish this season as Gilmer seeks a third consecutive state tournament berth.
“I want to improve on what we did last year,” he said. “We have a tougher schedule, and I’ve kind of planned it that way. I want to be better prepared so if we can make it back to the state playoffs we’ve played some higher-level competition.
“I want us to improve as a team and have better team players. It’s going to help us a lot if we’re trusting each other to do what we’re supposed to. We want to give other teams different things to scout for so we’re not just a one-aspect kind of team.”
Gilmer kicks off season in North Hall
The Bobcats faced St. Pius last Monday, and the Lions’ speed and depth proved to be an issue for Gilmer. The Lions benefited from steals in the half court and with their full-court press as they downed the Bobcats, 90-62.
“St. Pius was really good competition for us because we usually don’t see that kind of talent,” said Hice. “They were running 10 to 12 players in and out of the game, and they got off to a good start. We were able to cut it to eight in the third quarter, but eventually their speed got to us. It was good to see that kind of play and speed and athleticism.”
Turnovers were the Bobcats’ bane. GHS lost possession of the ball 28 times, and 22 of those turnovers were because of Lion steals. After falling behind by 12 points at the end of the first quarter, GHS kept pace in the second to trail 46-34 at halftime.
GHS had a solid shooting third quarter and made 7/11 from the field. However, a 4/12 effort in the fourth allowed the Lions to build upon their lead.
St. Pius made 10 three pointers in the game to go with 44 points in the post. Their 21 offensive rebounds led to 14 second-chance points, and GHS was unable to close the gap in the fourth quarter.
McVey led Gilmer with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Bryant added 18 points.
GHS reversed its fortunes the next day versus Northview. The Cats made 47 percent of their shots and rolled to a 72-54 win.
“We didn’t shoot well from the three-point line, but we focused a lot on getting the guaranteed baskets,” Hice noted. “We focused hard on finishing layups and cutting down on our turnovers. We were able to extend the lead in the second and got a lot of steals with our press in the third quarter.”
McVey (30 points) and Taylor and Davis (10 apiece) led the way offensively versus Northview. McVey added 13 rebounds and six blocks in Gilmer’s first win of the season.
GHS dominated in the paint, and in addition to McVey’s close-range points, the Cats scored 30 more inside on the night. Cashing in on close-range shots helped offset their 2/14 performance from beyond the three-point arc.
The Bobcats were also quick to take advantage of Northview’s sloppy ball handling. The Titans’ 19 turnovers were converted into 22 Gilmer points.
GHS led by eight after a quarter and 43-21 at the half. The Bobcats continued to pour it on in the third with their best shooting quarter (63 percent) to open a 68-39 lead with eight minutes to play.
Hice emptied his bench in the fourth en route to the 18-point win.
Wofford added eight points, and Bryant scored seven to go with four assists. Becerra dished four assists as well.
Gilmer traveled to Murray County at Tuesday’s press deadline and will make its way to Sonoraville Friday.