Lady Storm will start season in rebuilding mode

Thursday, July 10, 2008

With the loss of last season’s top scorer, Kari Jo Harris, the Hopkins County Central girls’ basketball team has been working on more team-concept offensive systems during the summer break.

“It’s kind of going to be a rebuilding year for my team,” coach Jennifer McCalister said. “We’re going to have big shoes to fill.”

Along with Harris, the Lady Storm will miss Caitlin Metcalfe and Sara Murphy, who also graduated in 2008.

McCalister, in her second year as head coach, said the team’s game plan to success will be much different this year.

“It’s going to take all five people on the floor for 32 minutes in order for us to win basketball games next year,” she said. “Several of the offenses will be for different people instead of just one or two. It’s going to be who can score best during this situation.”

Senior Amber Coakley agreed putting points on the board will be a well-balanced effort.

“I think the scoring will just have to become more rounded throughout the team and not just one person,” she said. “We’ll all have to score, we’ll all have to increase our points per game as individuals.”

To make a smoother transition for the high school season, the Lady Storm have been instituting new plays and improving skills at summer camps.

During June, the team held a camp in conjunction with Madisonville-North Hopkins and also traveled to Lee University (Tenn.), where Harris will play next season.

While at Lee, the girls played four varsity games and two junior varsity contests a day against teams from Tennessee and Georgia.

The experience at camp allowed point guard Hannah Murphy to gain the attention of McCalister.

“She did really well at camp running the point, so that’s something that we will definitely have to have next year, somebody who can take care of the basketball and I think, every day, Hannah Murphy is maturing,” she said.

Coakley’s play inside has impressed the coach as well.

“She works as hard as any kid that I’ve ever coached,” McCalister said. “She knows she has to step up next year and be a scoring threat since Kari Jo has graduated.”

Summer camps can do more than just improve a team’s skill level though. Often times the extra time together can make the team closer and work more efficiently.

“We haven’t really played much together,” Coakley said. “Being at camps gives us time to be comfortable and get used to one another and learn how everyone plays.”

Although Central lost three seniors from last year’s squad, McCalister is not too worried about this year’s team leadership.

“A lot of the kids understand they are going to step up, but they want to step up.”

nbrockman@the-messenger.com