I
n regards to how the 50th District is shaping up this season for boys basketball, Whitley County High School Head Coach Eric Swords said that fans can expect “a dog fight as always.”
“South Laurel, I think, has everybody coming back. Corbin has a good group coming back. Williamsburg has an older group over there. In the 50th District, I think every night it will be like last year. We went three-and-three and beat everyone in the district. I think everybody is right there and it will come down to who executes and who wants it more,” Swords added.
The Colonels had a 20-10 record in 2023-24, ending last season with a first round loss in the 50th District tournament to South Laurel by a score of 55-42.
The team graduated four seniors from last year’s team – Bryce Anderson, Danny Ellis, Jackson Petrey and Lucas Queener – in addition to losing one other player from last year’s squad.
“We actually lost five of our top six, so it will be tough. We are a really young group. I like the makeup of our team. We have a bunch of grit to us. We have a team that is going to get after it. We lost a lot of talent but I think our guys as a group can make up for it,” said Swords, who is in his third year as head coach.
This year’s roster features two seniors, four juniors, seven sophomores and nine freshmen.
Swords said that it is too early to identify his starting five for this season.
“We have about 10 we are probably going to play most games. Garrett Sharp is hurt right now. He probably won’t be back until around Christmas time. We have nine we are going to play right now. It could be any mix of those guys on a given night,” Swords said.
At this point in the preseason, he said the team is looking good at times and “really young” at other times.
“With the way we are playing defense and the way we want to play defense it is 100 mph. We are getting after it trying to get into people and create a lot of pressure. Offensively, we want to space and play and create actions. A lot of times right now we are playing really hard on defense and then that same speed comes on offense. On offense we have to learn to change speed, change pace a little bit. For where it is at in the preseason, I like where we are at.”
On defense, one of the keys to success this season is creating a lot of pressure.
“I think we have a lot of quickness. We have to rebound the basketball. We are small a little bit at times,” Swords said.
Offensively, one of the keys to success this season is just playing together, sharing the basketball and creating opportunities, he said.
Swords said that he never really sets specific goals each season other than obvious things like making it to the region.
“It sounds cliché sometimes when you say it, but we are just trying to get better every day. If we can get better and grow as a team, I think that is a big thing,” he said. “The camaraderie that you build, I think we have done a good job with that the first little bit. I think that will translate over into better basketball. We are getting better every day at basketball and getting closer as a group.”
The Colonels will kick off the season at home on Dec. 3 against Wayne County.
Lady Colonels’ new head coach expects team to win, compete for championships
First year Whitley County Lady Colonels Head Coach Michael Petrey is no stranger to the basketball sidelines and no stranger to the Lady Colonels program, either.
Petrey has coached basketball for 15-or-16 years starting at the elementary school level before moving up to the middle school level and then back down to the elementary school level.
He was an assistant coach for Whitley County Boys’ Basketball Head Coach Eric Swords two years ago, and last season he was an assistant coach for the Lady Colonels under head coach Sean Pigman, who retired at the end of the season.
Petrey inherits a team that finished 16-14 last year, ending the season with a 49-30 loss to South Laurel in the first round of the 50th District Tournament.
The Lady Colonels are only losing two players from last year’s squad in Amber Brown and Jalicia Brummett.
“They were both really good kids. Amber Brown contributed a lot to the basketball team. She was a starter. She will definitely be someone we struggle to replace. Jalicia Brummett was a great teammate to everyone. She gave us some solid minutes at times. Those two will be really difficult to replace,” Petrey said.
This year’s squad includes four seniors, no juniors, five sophomores, three freshmen and four eighth graders.
The team is returning four starters from last year’s squad.
Petrey hasn’t decided on his starting line-up yet, but he said the four returning starters from last season, including three sophomores, are making a strong case to be starters again this season. He cautions there are some younger players nipping at their heels.
“We have some younger freshmen that can compete for varsity starting time as well as a sophomore in Khylea Ray Collier, who didn’t play last year. We have her coming back and she will compete for a starting position also,” Petrey said.
He said that one of the biggest change fans can expect this season is that the Lady Colonels have added some depth to the roster.
“We want to play with a lot of energy and a lot of intensity. We want to get up and down the floor and look to shot the basketball more from the outside from the perimeter,” Petrey said. “Last year we were really solid in interior play both ways. We had two posts that could really score in the inside. We want to balance the floor more and stretch the floor more with some perimeter shooting this season.”
Petrey said the goal for the season is to win and compete for championships.
“These girls they talk about wanting to be champions and that is what we are after. We want to compete for districts and regions and even state (championships). It takes a lot of work to accomplish that. It takes a lot of camaraderie and the team being tight. I feel like we are developing that. The culture is pretty good right now,” he said.
Petrey said that the 50th District is once again shaping up to be solid.
“South Laurel and Corbin, they are always really good. They do a great job in Williamsburg. Williamsburg has years where they are really competitive also. I feel like we are right in the mix with district play and even in the region. I think we can compete,” he said.
Petrey said foul trouble seemed to brother his team last year, and he doesn’t anticipate that being as much of an issue this year with more depth developed.
He said improving the free throw shooting percentage and ball security are two key areas his team has to concentrate on this season.
“We really have to shoot a high percentage from the free throw line. We didn’t really do that as much last year. We get to the free throw line quite a bit. We have a couple of players that get there pretty often,” Petrey said. “The biggest thing is going to be ball security, just valuing the basketball and cutting down on some of the turnovers that may not have been forced by the defense.”
Petrey added his transition to head coach has been pretty smooth this season.
“We have a great coaching staff here. My assistants Coach Collier, Coach Downey, and Coach Smith they really make my job a lot easier. They come in and they work hard every day. They are all knowledgeable. We have really put together a great coaching staff that has made the transition really smooth,” he noted.
The Colonels will open the season on Dec. 2 on the road at Casey County.
