The Gilmer Bobcats were in the gym during June for their annual basketball activities ahead of July’s alumni game.
GHS hit the camp circuit right off the bat when summer practices opened June 3. Head coach Jordan Hice noted that participation numbers were high and remained consistent for the varsity group, while numbers were a bit lower for junior varsity. In some weeks, Hice brought rising eighth graders from Clear Creek Middle School to compete with the JV.
“We did a lot. We did a camp every week and one week we had two camps,” Hice said. “We had seven practices on the days we weren’t at camp. Our JV numbers are a little low. We only had two freshmen show up consistently, and we only have three sophomores left. We pulled up eighth graders for the North Georgia Camp (June 18-20) and Covenant College Camp (June 27-28).”
Aside from the aforementioned locations, the Bobcats also made camp stops at North Murray to kick off summer June 5-6. They attended a three-day camp at Georgia College in week two. In addition to the camp at UNG, the program also held its annual youth camps for primary and middle school students.
The varsity Bobcats typically had nine players for its 32 summer scrimmages while the junior varsity played 16 games.
Teams in the state are able to continue to work in July, but Hice uses that month to give players freedom to participate in other sports.
“July is still somewhere you can practice and still do stuff, but I stay away from July,” he said. “Kids who only play basketball can go on vacation, plus football starts to get going. We like to go really hard in June and take July off.”
In the weeks following the completion of their summer, Hice received word that rising senior Jackson McVey would be transferring to Overtime Elite. Without his 7’ presence, it will greatly alter how the Bobcats play on both ends of the court. Hice has started to scheme for the players who will be there for the upcoming season.
“There was one camp Jackson didn’t go to and we played well,” Hice said. “When that group was all together, all you do is win. So when you have Jackson, you’re winning a lot more because you’re getting more rebounds and protecting the rim better defensively. Plus you have another scoring threat. It’s hard to say what we’ll look like. I’m not saying the season is going to be horrible, I’m saying we’re going to have to adjust.
“We’ll lose scoring on offense, but I think defense will be our biggest adjustment. That was a big aspect of how we stayed in games and how we won big games was by having that defensive rim protector. The kids are going to have to adapt, and it’s going to be a challenge.”
Hice added, “We’ll be shooting a whole lot more. There will be more outside shooting. We’ll need to penetrate more and attack the rim as opposed to posting up. Our screen and rolls will change without that man who is 7’ tall. We won’t change the offense a whole bunch. We have a very good outside offense that has been put into place the last few years. We’re just going to have to utilize that more now.”
Alumni showdown
After a few weeks off, players were back in the gym last Thursday for the alumni game. While a younger core of alumni has entered the fray, the older group is still intact, which one would know if only by the sound of their bodies clattering off the hardwood.
“That one older group that always used to play is older now, so they don’t play as much. Hopefully, we can get some of those who are 10 years out and still want to get some minutes in. We’re really going to focus on that 5-10 years out group and fill the rest with ones who graduated within five years.”
For each 10-minute quarter, the clock ran continuously. Following regulation and two overtime periods, the varsity Bobcats defeated the alumni, 69-67.
Without McVey, the alumni enjoyed a height advantage with recent graduates that included Ethan Banks, Britt Taylor, Cade Carter, Lewis Mulkey, Brady Sanford and Kell Weaver. The varsity Bobcats started Mack Kiser in the post with guards Keegen Bryant, Cooper Farmer, J.D. Taylor and Riley Davis.
After a sluggish start for both teams, the alumni hit a trio of three to close out the first quarter ahead, 19-9.
Over the remainder of the game, three marked spots on the court added value to shots and were worth three, four and five points. However, they were only utilized twice.
The alumni maintained a 38-28 halftime lead, which was cut to 53-46 entering the fourth quarter. The current Cats got points from Farmer, Kiser and Taylor down the stretch to reel in the alumni. A Taylor basket evened the score at 63-63 to force overtime.
Mulkey hit a designated three-point shot for the alumni to tie the game once more, 67-67, to end the two-minute extra period. The game then went to sudden death, and a Bryant lay-up ended the game in the varsity’s favor.
“It was a good turnout, and I think everyone had fun,” Hice said. “It wasn’t one of those ‘must win’ games. I think the kids had fun on the varsity side and so did the alumni.”