david.royal@daily-tribune.com
Playing against Adairsville could become a tall order for Region 7A-AA foes this year.
The Tigers have breath-taking size with six players who stand 6-foot or better, the tallest at 6 feet, 9 inches, and a number of experienced players returning.
Head coach Jacob Travis said this year's team has potential with its size, talent and chemistry but still has some learning to do.
"We've got more experience even though we had a bad loss record (5-20, 2-9 in Region 7B-AA) last year," Travis said. "We had some unexpected things happen but we gained a whole lot of experience as a result."
The team returns three starters and another player with significant experience, he said.
"We still have our work cut out for us," Travis said, "but we have the size and talent where we should be competitive in the subregion we're in if we play up to that."
Travis said last year's leading scorer -- senior Corey Fuleki, a 6-foot-4-inch post player -- is back. He scored more than 12 points per game.
The Tigers are looking for him to continue that stellar play this season.
Returning as a small forward/guard is Thomas Belk, a 6-foot senior. Travis said although Belk was a post player last year, his role this year should be more of a guard.
The coach said the team will be looking to junior Zack Coker, 6-foot-9-inch center, to be a force inside. "There's a lot on him and we need him to lead us in rebounding and to be a defensive cog in the middle."
Another experienced player is Brett Bramblett, a wing player.
Bramblett, a 6-foot-1-inch senior, should be another key to the Tigers' defensive effort.
"Brett is probably our best defender," Travis said. "He's going to give us some good things."
The coach said the team's starting point is Desmond Chester, a 5-foot-9-inch senior.
"He can handle the ball pretty well," Travis said. "He's a good pick-us-up player and has had a good preseason."
Travis said Austin Harrell, a 6-foot-3-inch junior, is expected to contribute at the post position.
"We get big energy with Austin off the bench," he said. "When he comes in we don't miss a beat. We look to him to give us that depth we need. He's intense."
"We also expect things from Justin Harrison (5-foot-8-inch senior) who will play point guard and off-guard for us," he said.
Teamwork and effort are bywords for this year's Tigers.
"We have good size and good spirit, and our boys are trying to go in the right direction, as far as working hard and working together," he said. "It's exciting to coach a team like this."
He said coaches are calling for a lot of effort by the Tigers.
"We have a lot of size and athleticism," he said. "If we have some guys who are hungry, we have the potential to be competitive."
Travis said the team doesn't have a goal in terms of number of victories.
"We talked a lot about becoming a team with a lot of unity, that plays hungry," he said. "Learning to win is one of our goals. Our goal is along the line that we are looking at winning the next game and being prepared for tomorrow's practice."
Travis said as always there's a lot talented teams in Adairsville's subregion, which also includes Model, Coosa, Rockmart, Armuchee, Pepperell, River Ridge and Gordon Central.
He expects competitive teams at Model, Coosa, Rockmart and Armuchee but said any of the other teams could prove just as dangerous.
"If we work hard and play hungry, we should have a chance to be competitive in every game we play in the subregion," he added.