Matt Wilbanks has plenty of obstacles to overcome as he tries to turn around the Lady Yellowjackets basketball program.
But he has two things that most first-year coaches don’t and that’s two established scorers. Willbanks came from Leake Central and takes over for Pam Winstead who stepped down after last season.
Returning for Union will be seniors Parker Breland and Mackenzie Dolan, both of who have started for the last three years and scored in double digits last year.
“I think we have come a long way,” Wilbanks said. “I have high expectations to turn it around and get this going in the right direction. But Parker and Mackenzie are two really good players to start building around.”
Joining Breland and Dolan will be Shania Moore who played significant minutes last year. Also expected to start is Ansley Rigby while Dallas Brown will be the point guard. Also expected to see playing time is Ereyanna Mason and Macy Lott.
“I think we will be eight or nine deep to start the season,” Wilbanks said. “I already have the junior high going and they are 4-1 and that feeds up. I am trying to instill winning to them so it will make my job easier when they get to high school.”
Wilbanks said he has spent the majority of his time working on defense.
“I think the keys for us are to be smart with the ball and play defense,” Wilbanks said. “I’m big on defense, and they are buying in. We are getting their slowly and they are doing everything I ask them to do.”
Union boys
Boys coach Josh Luckett is back for another season and is optimistic about the upcoming season.
“We got the football kids a little earlier than usual this year and had a few kids that didn’t play football,” Luckett said. “We are just excited to get started and get going.”
The Yellowjackets took a small hit from graduation when leading scorer Jonathan Gipson graduated. And then returning starter Jevon Williams suffered an ACL injury in football and will miss the entire season.
“We will miss Jonathan and losing Jevon hurts us,” Luckett said. “With the district this year, it’s more balanced than it has been in the past. So we will have an opportunity to finish anywhere from the top to the bottom.”
Coming back for the Jackets is senior point guard Steven Lewis along with senior guard Micheal McDonald. Also coming back is junior forward P.J. Gage and sophomore forward J.T. Vance. Senior Jay Norris is new to the team and is expected to see plenty of playing time. Also expected to play is Terrance Swinton, rounding out the first group.
“We are expecting a lot out of that group, especially those senior guards,” Luckett said. “Sometimes being small can be a good thing if we use it to our advantage.”
Luckett said that senior leadership will be a key to winning this season.
“The main thing we haven’t had is leadership and everybody being accountable,” Luckett said. “I think if we can get that senior leadership and get everybody on the same page, I think we will be OK.”
