Here’s what to expect from Nation Ford, Fort Mill, Catawba Ridge basketball programs

This content previously appeared in The Fort Mill Times.

Catawba Ridge boys’ basketball team: ‘I really like this group’

The inaugural season of basketball for the Catawba Ridge Copperheads is here.

On the boys’ side of things, Catawba Ridge comes in with a roster of 15 players, eight of those being juniors.

“I really like this group,” said Catawba Ridge head coach Brett Childers, who was the Fort Mill girls’ basketball coach last year. “There is a lot of young, hungry talent on the team. It is about getting some experience.”

Childers said that none of the 15 players on the roster have any varsity experience, so they are very green when it comes to experience.

The two most athletic players on the team that stand out are 5-foot-11 junior Quinten Jackson, who also played football for Catawba Ridge, and 6-foot-3 junior Marques Johnson.

“Marques is coming from Fort Mill, and he was a on their JV team last year, and Quinten — you can see how he moves on the football field,” Childers said. “Those two are athletically tops of what we have.”

The team does have height to its advantage this season, as seven players check in over 6 feet. Junior Luke Krawczyk is coming in at 6-foot-7 and sophomore Carter Hendrick coming in at 6-foot-5. Both of them made the transition from Nation Ford to Catawba Ridge.

“There is a lot of potential in there,” Childers said.

Childers said that, realistically, for the first year, the goal is to make the playoffs. He said he has a number of wins he would like to reach, but he wants to keep that to himself.

“I don’t want to tell those guys,” he said. “We have a very tough schedule, which I like. It is going to help us in Region (4-3A) play. Growing and competing every night and fighting for that playoff spot is a great way to start. We would love to have a winning record. We have long term goals and short-term goals we talk about. (A) long term goal is to gain experience and develop a culture and a philosophy. These guys are making it a smooth transition for me.”

A young Catawba Ridge girls’ team

On the girls’ side, the Copperheads have just two juniors on the team — both coming from Nation Ford in Victoria Jordan and Emma Grace Hilton. The team has seven freshmen and one sophomore on the team as well.

“They work hard,” said head coach Kate Edwards, who previously was the girls’ coach at Nation Ford. “The only one that has any varsity experience is Victoria and Emma Grace (and they) played on our JV team last year (at Nation Ford). We are looking for them to be our leaders on the floor.”

The majority of the freshmen on the team come from Banks Trail Middle where they played together for two seasons.

“We will have some ups and downs being young, but they get basketball,” Edwards said.

Edwards said the goal for this year’s team is to make the playoffs.

“We will be competing in the middle of the pack,” she said. “We should be in the top three or four. That is realistic for us. We aren’t talking about wins and losses; we are just talking about doing the little things better every day.”

Catawba Ridge start its season, both the boys and girls, as part of the Milltown Classic, played at both Fort Mill and Nation Ford. The boys’ team will play at Nation Ford and the girls’ team will play at Fort Mill. The boys’ team will open with Cuthbertson at 5 p.m. Nov. 25, while the girls’ team will open against Parkwood at the same time.

The regular season with start for them Dec. 2 at York Prep for the girls, and the boys will start the regular season Dec. 3, hosting Nation Ford. Other key non-region games for the Copperheads are at Fort Mill on Dec. 6 and then hosting Fort Mill Dec. 13. They will travel to Nation Ford on Dec. 20.

The boys’ team will play in the Chesnee Roundball Classic tournament on Dec. 27-30 over the holiday break. The region schedule for both the boys’ and girls’ teams start Jan. 10 at Camden.

Nation Ford boys’ team to rebuild

To say the Falcons boys’ team will be rebuilding this season is an understatement. The team is bringing back just two lettermen from last year, with only senior Petey Tuipulotu seeing significant minutes from last season. Nation Ford was picked to finish fifth in the region.

Gone are nearly 100 percent of their scoring from last season, with former players Zeb Graham, Malik Bryant, Khydarius Smith and Shaman Alston that led them to a 24-5 record and a region title, all now playing at the college level.

Head coach Jared Adamson said he knows last year is over, and he is doing all he can to make this year’s team the best it can be.

“We got a lot of guys that are working hard,” he said. “We are concentrating on three things — doing your job, attitude and effort. Those are three things we are really talking about. Those things are non-negotiable.”

So far, Adamson said that he has been most impressed with how this year’s team has been on the defensive side of the ball.

“Defensively, we have been solid,” he said. “We are going to have to win low scoring games. We have a good mix. We don’t have any superstars. We just got guys who want to work hard and do their jobs. That has been fun to coach. It is night and day from what we have had in the past.”

Adamson said his goal for the season is to get better daily and to make the playoffs.

“We have guys that work hard,” he said. “We feel like we got a chance; (we) just have to continue to work on the little things.”

The Falcons will open up the regular season on Dec. 2 at Indian Land and will have its first home game Dec. 9, also against Indian Land. They will travel to Catawba Ridge on Dec. 3 and will host the Copperheads on Dec. 20.

Region play starts for both the boys’ and girls’ teams on Jan. 14th against Rock Hill. Nation Ford will host Fort Mill Jan. 28 and will play at Fort Mill Feb. 14 to close out the regular season.

Nation Ford girls’ team: ‘A pretty strong team coming back’

Some things will be the same for the boys’ and girls’ Nation Ford basketball programs this season, but there will be a lot that is different.

For the Nation Ford girls, the team brings back several players, including senior Kelci Adams — who is one of the top senior players in the state, according to the state Basketball Coaches Association. Adams could become the second girls’ basketball player in school history to score more than 1,000 points in her career. She comes in just 182 points away from that mark.

“We have a pretty strong team coming back,” said new Falcons’ head coach Coretta Richmond, who takes over for Kate Edwards, the new head coach at Catawba Ridge. “Even though they graduated five, there are some kids that look really, really strong. I think we are going to be pretty good.”

Nation Ford is coming off a Region 3-5A title and a deep playoff run to go with its 23-6 record from last season. This year’s biggest strength for the team will be their guard play, Richmond said.

“We are going to be quick,” she said. “I believe we are going to be able to capitalize on our defensive side. Offense and defense will be interesting to see as we go into the region.”

The Nation Ford girls were picked to finish third in the region in the preseason coaches’ poll, but Richmond feels like that is underestimating her team.

“I believe we will be able to attend and fight for the region again,” Richmond said.

Fort Mill boys’ aim to thrive with new players

Picked to finish fourth in Region 3-5A, the Fort Mill Yellow Jackets have a lot to prove this year — and have a lot of new faces to do it with.

Coming off a 20-6 record last year and a first-round playoff loss, Fort Mill will have to replace a big key in their scoring cog with the loss of Jacobi Wright, who transferred to Legacy Early College, a charter school in Greenville, during the off-season.

Fort Mill still has coming back seniors Keyan Mims, Cabe Christopher and Jordan Herman, to go with juniors Brandon Wingo and Nic Curtis. The Jackets have seven players coming back from last season, but only Mims played significant minutes last year.

“Off last year, we lost three of our top four leading scorers,” Fort Mill head coach Dwayne Hartsoe said. “That is close to 89 percent of our scoring off of last year’s team.”

Hartsoe, who is tied with Bailey Jackson for second-most wins as a head coach for Fort Mill with 128, said that guard play will be key to success this year.

“Our guards are inexperienced, and it depends on how well they can adjust to the speed of the varsity game,” he said. “We should be okay size-wise. Guard play is an important role. They have to get better. We just want to get better as the year goes on.”

Hartsoe said making the playoffs will be a good goal for this year’s team. He feels like his team and rivals Nation Ford will be fighting for that final playoff spot.

“It has come down to us two for the (region) championship for the past couple years and last year we finished third,” Hartsoe said. “We will use the season to get some experience for the young guys. By the time the region comes around we will be ready to be competitive. We have some good senior leadership.”

Fort Mill girls welcome new system

This year’s Fort Mill girls’ team is bringing back key players in Calli Wells and Izzy Giarrizzi, but it’s also under different leadership as new head coach Heather Klipa is looking to install her system as this season might be a learning curve for the team. The team has seven returning players back from last year’s squad, including Regan Hodge, Maggie Blackwell, Lyric Smith and Felesha Geiger as well.

“At this point in the year, everybody has a lot of work to do with hopes to be peaking at the right time,” Klipa said. “For us, it will be a lot about growth for the season. We got a lot of newcomers. For us, it is about creating the habits and culture we want as a team and hopefully, those things carrying over on the floor every night.”

Fort Mill is coming off a 15-11 season, but struggled in region play and failed to make the playoffs. A goal for this year’s team is to secure a playoff spot.

“The girls are working extremely hard,” Klipa said. “They are picking things up well. We are challenging them every day.”

Fort Mill was picked to finish last in the region and Klipa said that gives her and the team some extra motivation to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“We play in a good region and we have some good teams in the region,” she said. “It will be interesting to see how it shakes out. We can be competitive in our region. Definitely a goal of ours is to make the playoffs this year.”

Fort Mill will open the regular season Dec. 3 against White Knoll at home. They will host Catawba Ridge Dec. 6 and then will travel to Catawba Ridge Dec. 13. The girls’ team will play in the Gaffney Invitational over the holiday break, while the boys’ team will play in the Claw Classic at Chapin. Their region schedule will start Jan. 17 at Rock Hill. Fort Mill will play at Nation Ford Jan. 28 and will host the Falcons Feb. 14 to end the regular season.

Mac Banks: mbanks@comporium.net, @MacBanksFM