Eagles prepared to be competitive, coach says
Brent Stallings, veteran coach of the Mayflower Eagles, isn’t as concerned about having only two returning starters as some coaches might be. It’s a matter of quality. Two seniors are back on the hardwood this year: David Jagers, a 6-5 post player; and Jay Nance, a 5-10 point guard. “If we were going to have two people back on the basketball team, those are the two you’d want back. I think I’m going to have a lot of kids who can play,” Stallings said. Stallings, who is in his 34th year in the Mayflower School District, will be assisted by Mike Harville. The 3A-5 Conference team is coming off a 7-19 season. Jagers will be the go-to man on the inside. “He averaged a double-double last year,” Stallings said, about 14 points and 9 rebounds. “He’s a big guy, 270, but he moves well and is very athletic for a man his size.” Stallings said Jagers, in the right situation, could play college ball. “He’s our only big guy; then we drop down to about 6-1,” the coach said. That would be senior Ethan York. He played his sophomore year and took his junior year off from basketball to concentrate on baseball. He had some injuries, but he’s back, Stallings said. “Hopefully, he will fill in some gaps on the inside and help us some on the perimeter,” the coach said. From there, a couple of other juniors, Dakota Brents and Dominic Rex,
both about 5-9, are back, bringing more experience for the perimeter, too. Nance, who has had a lot of playing time, will be counted on for outside shooting, Stallings said. “He’s a point guard and handles the ball a lot,” the coach said, adding that he expects Nance to feel even more comfortable shooting the ball this year. Stallings said he has a good sophomore group, including twins Keon and Deon Simmons, both 5-6, who are “football stars right now,” he said, but have told Stallings they plan to play basketball. “They didn’t play last year; just this summer they played with us and were very disruptive on the defensive end of the floor. They were so quick and played so hard; I’d hate to be guarded by them,” the coach said. Others in the sophomore group who are going to be “dandy players,” Stallings said, include Ethan Victory, Wes Sutton, Tayshun Mattison, Kaylan Robinson and Connor Long. The coach said those teammates played a major role in the junior high team winning the conference tournament last year, so he’s looking forward to seeing how the young men develop. “We’ve got a couple of new kids who have moved into the district, but I have never seen them play,” the coach said, because the students are participating in football. “We’re going to have some young kids really come out and step up and play for us,” he said. “We’re going to take the challenge of playing these really, really good teams we have in front of us.” Stallings said that includes two defending state champions, Arkansas Baptist in 4A and Episcopal Collegiate in 3A. “I hope we can come out and compete with them,” the coach said. Stallings also gave credit to Pulaski Robinson, Lonoke, East End and Bauxite, which are all “loaded with athletes.” “Every game we play in our blended league is definitely tough. We’ll be prepared,” he said. “Right now, I expect to have 15 to 20 come out, and if I have 21 or 22 and they’re willing to wear the odd jersey, I may dress out 21 or 22,” he said. “Like I’ve always said, I want to be competitive,” Stallings said. “That doesn’t mean you always win; it means you had a chance to win and make the other team work hard to beat you.”