Both Union basketball teams sit in unusual positions as they get ready to tip off the regular season this week.
Both teams are coming off of winning season and both teams have bright outlooks for the upcoming season.
Union will tip off the regular season on Tuesday as they host Enterprise and will travel to Pelahatchie on Thursday.
Union girls
The Lady Yellowjackets will return three starters from last year’s squad that went 17-15 and are considered one of the preseason favorites to compete for the Division 5-2A title.
“We have set some expectations for ourselves this season,” third-year coach Matt Wilbanks said. “I have got my guards back and they are both 10th graders and I thought we had a really good summer. We played a lot of bigger schools this summer to see where we were going to be at and we played with them. I think we are more athletic than we were last year and can get after you on defense. We have several who have come a long way as far as shooting is concerned.”
The Lady Yellowjackets must replace leading scorer Ansley Rigby, who was a Premier Preps of East Mississippi selection by The Meridian Star last season. Also gone is second-leading scorer Eryanna Mason.
The Lady Yellowjackets only have one senior in Kaliyah Temple while juniors Keshona Smoot and Trinity Lambert will be the posts. Sophomores Kamyia Russell and Keirra Russell return for the Lady Jackets and round out the starting five.
Coming off the bench will be sophomore center Madison Buckley along with junior guard Taniqua Hunter and sophomore Georgia Cooper and D.D. Hunter.
“Our season is going to depend on what we can get out of our bench,” Wilbanks said. “We need for them to play well off the bench and give us some scoring. I think we are a lot deeper than we were last year. I think the district is wide open for us. If we can overcome our lack of size, I think we will be okay. We will get after it, we are just small.”
Union boys
One of the surprise teams in the area last year were the Union boys, who finished with a 20-9 record under first-year coach Jon Darnell.
The Yellowjackets have three starters coming back with 6-foot-2 forward J.T. Vance who averaged 14 points a game along with 6-foot-4 junior forward Jamarcus Jones, who averaged 10 points a game. Also going back is 6-foot sophomore guard Kenyon Clay.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Darnell said. “I lost my starting point guard and shooting guard but feel like we have replaced them and could be better on offense and defense. Having J.T. and Jamarcus back is a big help. They can both handle the ball and shoot the three well and are both long on defense. I’m excited about building a team around them. And Kenyon is a very physical kid and plays hard. We are hoping for him to become more of an offensive player this year.”
Rounding out the starting five is junior point guard Jada Russell and sophomore shooting guard Dorian Hunter. Coming off the bench will be E.J. Campbell.
“I like my team,” Darnell said. “I thought we played well over the summer. Our district is going to be wide open. I know one thing, when you put Crandall Porter, Willis Tullos and Darin Gray in there, it might be the best coached district in the state. I think every night, you had better bring your A-game. I think you can throw records out once you get to district play. I really feel like that will be a dog fight. We believe we can compete with Newton and Philly this year but we know we have our work cut out for us.”
Union schedule
Nov. 12 Enterprise
Nov. 14 at Pelahatchie
Nov. 18 at Stringer
Nov. 21 Pisgah
Dec. 3 Leake County
Dec. 5-7 at Sebastopol Tournament
Dec. 10 at Newton County
Dec. 12 at Nanih Waiya
Dec. 13 at West Lauderdale
Dec. 14 Noxapater
Dec. 17 at Entrprise
Dec. 19 Newton County
Dec. 20 Nanih Waiya
Jan. 3 Sebastopol
Jan. 4 at Newton Shootout
Jan. 7 at Scott Central
Jan. 14 Lake
Jan. 17 Newton
Jan. 18 at ECCC Shootout
Jan. 21 Scott Central
Jan. 24 at Lake
Jan. 28 Philadelphia
Feb. 1 Stringer
Feb. 4 at Philadelphia
Feb. 7 at Newton
