On Oct. 27, both girls and boys basketball teams held tryouts. For the girls’ team, the new season will be a chance to finish off strong in the state playoffs, like the team has in previous years. For the boys’ team, it will also be a chance at gaining the state championship title after two years of finishing in the top 16 of the state playoffs.
Coach Brian Weeden, who is in his third year of coaching the Grady boys basketball team, believes that this year will be the team’s chance to into at least the elite eight, if not further.
“We have unfinished business,” Weeden said. “So we’re trying to go further than we have in previous years … doing it [in] that first year [the 2012-2013 season] was kind of big, repeating [the 2013-2014 season] was kind of disappointing because we had a chance to win. So this year, our main focus, our main slogan, is about business.”
For some players, like senior players Aliya Maloof and Naria Woods, high school basketball has already lead to a commitment to play college basketball. Earlier this school year, Maloof signed with North Greenville College and Woods plans to sign with a college before the end of October. The other female senior players on the team are Jasmine Rich and Tameryn Brown. As of mid-October, neither have made plans to commit to any school. The boys team has four senior players—Gideon Burras, Orlando Riley, Christian Gates and Hasson Jordan—none of whom have currently publicly committed to play in college.
After the girl’s season ended after the second round of the state playoffs last year, Coach Harlen Graham hopes to have similar success this year, though this this year’s region is a bit more competitive than previous years because of schools like Marist and St. Pius X.
“All of [the teams] are going to be pretty good,” Graham said. “I don’t take anyone lightly. I can’t say that you can pencil in any time when you can go out there and beat anybody, you just gotta go out there and play hard.”
Before tryouts took place, Graham did not have any predictions for the grade distribution among the team.
“I don’t care if they’re a freshman, a sophomore, if they can play varsity then they can play,” Graham said. “I don’t look upon classification as a, ‘well I don’t want them on the team.’ If they can play varsity, they are going to play varsity.”
Weeden also believes that the team should be comprised more of a group of players who are ready to play at the varsity level, rather than a group of juniors or seniors.
The way we play, I don’t care who it is. You can be in the sixth grade, seventh grade,” Weeden said, laughing. “Every year I’ve had a ninth grader who started on varsity or has contributed a lot. If you can play, you can play. There’s not any ‘he’s a senior, he’s a junior.’ The way I look at it [is that] if you have a junior who’s not so great or just not dominating and then I have a freshman who can pretty much do the same thing any other kid can do then I got them 10th, 11th and 12th. It’s not about who you are or what status you are, it’s about who can play and who can’t.”
The varsity girls basketball won its first scrimmage against Kipp Academy on Nov. 8 at 2:30 p.m. in the Slade Gymnasium. The varsity boys played Kipp Academy in a scrimmage in order to prepare for their first official game on Nov. 14 against South Cobb High School, which the team lost 63-57. The first official game for the girl’s team was also on Nov. 14 against Douglas High School. The girls team won its game 71-56.
