Bobcats
The Bobcats donned Black and White jerseys to designate teams for its annual intrasquad scrimmage as coach Jordan Hice put players in different scenarios.
The Bobcats plan on deploying a two-post offense with seniors Cade Carter and Lewis Mulkey and have sets and plays designed to take advantage of their abilities.
“We wanted to see how guards reacted to different post players,” Hice said.
Mulkey started on the Black team while Carter was on White. For the second quarter, they switched teams, and in the third quarter Mulkey and Carter played on the same team but with a back court made up of reserves.
Finally, projected starters were grouped together for the final quarter. White led 26-22 at the half, and Black pulled ahead entering the fourth quarter, 44-40. With the top players on White, they came away with a 70-56 win.
“The best part of it was it was a good up-tempo game, pressing the whole time, and the kids weren’t forgetting to come into a press. I was happy with that considering we’re trying to put a little more pressure on people,” Hice said.
A 35-second shot clock will be used at Christmas tournaments this season and during regular-season region games. It will be fully implemented by the GHSA next season so Hice is already getting players in that mindset.
“With a shot clock, you’re going to have to find ways to play faster and score points and utilize the speed we do have,” he said. “Our depth is a lot better this year than what it has been. We’ve added some speed.”
Hice added, “We should have done better shooting free throws. That was probably the worst aspect of the scrimmage. There are still some things offensively and defensively we need to work on, and there were probably some cases where the shot clock would have come into effect.”
GHS traveled to Copper Basin at press deadline to begin the season.
Lady Cats
Head coach Susan Nunn will revamp her varsity roster for the 2021-2022 season.
The Gilmer High Lady Cats took the court last Thursday for their annual Purple and White scrimmage game.
Two-time all-state performer Elly Callihan returns for her senior season surrounded by four new starters. Nunn noted that Callihan will have an expanded role in the offense this year and will handle the ball some to keep teams from collapsing the post.
Much of the scrimmage was used to make it hard on Callihan, but the tactic was not successful as White built a 38-16 lead by halftime with her leading the way.
“I was happy to see Elly score, but I knew that was going to happen,” Nunn said. “I was pleased with how aggressive she was with what she was doing. She took it to the hole no matter where she was on the floor. She’s taking her leadership role very seriously and knows she has to make things happen.”
White maintained a 54-28 lead through three quarters. In the fourth, the starters were placed on the White team and started off in a 35-20 hole. White’s press fueled its offense, and a Brooke Wilson baseline jump shot moved White ahead in the final minute for a 41-39 win.
“In the fourth, I was pleased with Maddie Wright’s defense,” Nunn said. “She stepped up the most defensively and played some good defense against Elly and tried to cause some havoc.
“I was pretty pleased with our press with as little time as we had to work on it. Some things I saw is our younger girls have to get better at stopping drives. They’re still so focused on their own man they sometimes forget you have to help out.”
Callihan led all scorers with 36 points, Wilson added 10 and Lark Reece finished with nine.