GORDON LEE TROJANS
As the week before Thanksgiving arrived, approximately a week prior to their scheduled season opener, Gordon Lee head coach Matt Smith was still trying to get an idea of just what his team might look like, once they could finally all be together.
With COVID-19 quarantines continuing to be impediments to the start of the new season, Smith said his team would definitely have its work cut out for itself to be able to round into form in the early part of the season.
He estimated that the Trojans would probably end up with around 10 fewer practices under their belts than some of their opponents by the time the season finally began.
“We’ve had a couple practices as a team, but unfortunately we’ve had some guys under quarantine, so we really haven’t had a full practice with everybody since the end of October,” he lamented. “We’re never going to make up the practices we’ve missed, so we just have to be really efficient with the time that we do get to spend in the gym and make sure that what we’re doing in practice is going to prepare us for game day.”
However, with a roster that’s heavy on senior talent and experience, Smith said it’s a group that he expects to have solid camaradarie and cohesion.
“It’s a hard-working team,” he added. “They enjoy playing basketball and they like each other. They really have good chemistry together.”
Smith believes that in addition to some solid guard play, featuring four or five players that can run the point or play at shooting guard,
his team has the potential to play well in the post.
“I think our strength can be down low,” he continued,
mentioning his two main returning starters in Will Carswell and Anthony Peco. “Carswell was our secondleading scorer (last year) and one of our top rebounders and then we have Peco at the four or the five. They know the system and know what we do.”
Carswell has good footwork and brings solid fundamentals to the program, while the versatile Peco can play as many as four different positions on the floor. He will give the Trojans another low post scoring threat that can also take the ball to the basket.
Also looking to make an impact in the paint is Anthony Sikes. A smart player who understands the offense, Smith said Sikes has worked hard in the offseason to improve his strength and his game. One final post player is Jaydn Norton, who is returning to the team after not playing since his sophomore season. Smith said that Norton has also gained size and strength in the weight room and will be counted on down low, especially for rebounding and toughness on defense.
The rest of the other eight seniors on the team will be in the backcourt rotation.
Logan Simerley saw his share of minutes last year, including several starts later in the season when he came on strong. Simerley is a good on-the-ball defender and competitor, who has gotten bigger in the weight room. He will mostly play at the two-guard this season, along with Sam Fehr. Another player who worked to get better over the summer, Fehr is a solid shooter, who could see action at the three-guard spot as well.
Smith said the athletic Dawson Knight is similar to Fehr in shooting ability, in his tireless work ethic and in his desire to improve. The final senior will be Cayden Powell, who will inherit the point guard spot from graduated All-region selection Weston Beagles. Smith said Powell, who played AAU ball over the summer, is ready and hungry to run the offense.
Smith said all the seniors would be counted on heavily this season.
“A lot of them didn’t get much playing time last year,” he added. “Now that they’re seniors, they’re looking at 18-20, maybe even 25 minutes a game (this season).”
There will be no juniors on this year’s roster, but Smith said that there are some underclassmen that will see some spot duty with the varsity team, in addition to their minutes with the junior varsity team.
One sophomore who will see the majority, if not all of his playing time with the varsity club this season is Hunter Holmes. Coming off a solid freshman season, Smith said Holmes is a “gym rat” that “eats, sleeps and breathes basketball”. A good shooter and competitor, the coach added that Holmes has earned the respect from the seniors due to his work ethic.
Smith said that some additional players could join the team once the Trojans’ football season comes to a close.
Derek Roberts will be back for another season as an assistant coach, while Smith has added a new face to the staff in 2019 GLHS graduate Justin Wooden. Now a sophomore at Dalton State, Wooden will serve as the team’s community coach.
Smith said the keys to the season were efficiency on offense, taking good shots every possession and what he called “valuing the basketball”.
“If you don’t protect the ball in our league, which is such an athletic league, turnovers will lead the baskets
on the other end. There’s no way around it,” he stated. “There are teams that are going to be able to fly down the floor faster than us, so we have to value the basketball, protect it and not make risky passes or take bad shots.
“We have to understand the importance of every single possession and know that the first possession of the game is just as important as one in the third or fourth quarter. If we do that, I think we can really compete with teams. We just have to take good shots and play lockdown, half-court defense, like we do a really good job of a lot of times.”
Even with private school powerhouses like St. Francis, North Cobb Christian and Christian Heritage now playing in a completely separate classification in Class A, Smith said that the schedule would still be tough to navigate.
“There are four charter schools in Atlanta that we’ve never played before and some of them are really, really good, but I think all of them are solid,” he added. “We have nine teams in the region on the boys’ side and 16 region games, so there will be a lot of long road trips involved.
“Sometimes there won’t be any fans in attendance (due to COVID restrictions), so it’ll be a unique experience.”