Sports

WILDCATS HOPING FOR SPECIAL SEASON

By Troy Schulte/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, November 14, 2009 1:55 AM CST

A few nights ago, the Watson Chapel boys basketball team gathered to watch film in preparation for Monday’s season opener against Pulaski Robinson in the Stuttgart Tournament.

Coach Danny Myatt’s players, for whatever reason, wanted to watch their final game of last season, an 80-60 loss to Little Rock Hall in the semifinals of the Class 6A State Tournament in West Memphis.

Myatt wouldn’t budge.

“I told them ‘It’s burned,’” he said. “That wasn’t indicative to the type of team we were. It was that night. It wasn’t the best outing for us.”

Watson Chapel went 23-5 last season, won the 6A-South Conference and went through a string of 17 straight wins in the middle of the season to enter the state tournament with visions of reaching Hot Springs and the state final. But its eight seniors, six of whom played significant minutes last season, all have a bit of state tournament redemption on their minds heading into their final season.

None of them want to exit their high school careers without getting past the semifinal round, the hurdle that has proved too tall for the Wildcats the last two seasons.

“Our main goal is not to lose a game all year,” point guard Jevon Barnes said. “If we go undefeated, it will automatically mean we’ll win championships. Everything. We want to win it all.”

Forward Daniel Broughton, an all-state selection last season and The Pine Bluff Commercial’s Southeast Arkansas Player of the Year, echoed his classmates views.

“That’s it, state championship,” he said. “Of course, we want a conference championship. But the most important goal is the state championship.”

Myatt’s goals for the most experienced team he’s ever had are a bit more subdued.

The fourth-year coach acknowledges that, given his team’s returning experience — Broughton, Barnes and guard Keith Ross are all three-year starters. Christian Smith started every game last season while Kyle Piggie and Lenell Brown rotated at the other guard spot — reaching the Class 6A final next March in Hot Springs isn’t an outrageous goal.

Myatt also knows it’s a little bit early to be thinking about March. Last season, the Wildcats lost two of their first three games before winning 17 straight to take control of the 6A-South Conference. Based on the events of last season, a pair of early losses don’t have to necessarily mean a derailed season, but he’d rather take the baby-steps-through-a-long season approach.

“We’re not planning on winning them all,” Myatt said. “We’re going to compete and try to win them all. We’re looking for a conference championship, and hopefully playing better in the state tournament.”

Myatt said each one of his players entered practice last month better than how they finished last season. Whether that translates to a better team, he said, remains to be seen.

Broughton, who holds scholarship offers from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Central Arkansas, Drake, Grambling State and others, will anchor the middle while Barnes runs the offense. Ross can drive to the basket or step out and shoot and Smith, at 6-6, can play in the middle or out on the wing. Piggie and Brown will most likely rotate like they did most of last season, providing defensive pressure and an occasional basket.

Put it all together and it makes up a level of depth Myatt said he might never have again as a high school coach. That’s what he’s been trying to tell his players. Most likely, Myatt will be coaching an inexperienced group of players at Watson Chapel next season. His eight seniors won’t be among them, some of them scattered across the country at various levels of college basketball.

“This is their team. Their year. Practice with that, play with that, in mind,” Myatt said. “It will be a long time for me, before I ever have a group that I enjoy so much.”

Added Smith: “I really want this to go slow. This is my last year. Take it one game at a time.”

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