RIDGELAND HIGH SCHOOL PANTHERS
Of all the high school basketball teams in Walker County, no team went into the new season with more unknowns than the Ridgeland Panthers.
Ridgeland opened the new season at Coahulla Creek on Nov. 18 with approximately half of its roster back at home in Rossville, facing Spalding in the second round of the Class 4A football playoffs.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, the football team fell to defeat that night, ending their season.
That meant secondyear head basketball coach Matt King got his players back sooner rather than later. However, the delay in getting everyone back on the court means that it may take a little longer for the Panthers to gel together as a team.
“We had to play that first game with just one player that had any experience even being on a varsity team,” he lamented.
But when Ridgeland finally gets a few games under its belt and starts to click, King might just have one of the surprise teams in all of Region 6-4A.
“We’ve got an interesting team,” he said. “I’m not going to make any prognostications, but I will say that returning a lot of players with some experience will be nice. We’re a better shooting team than we were last year.
“Last year, people went to a zone (defense) against us and we couldn’t shoot our way out of it. I don’t think that will be the case this year. We could eventually be a pretty good team.”
“We do have a lot of pieces. We’ve got a good-sized post player, a good shooting guard and a good point guard. Together, that’s a pretty formidable triangle to start with. We’ll just have to see how it all meshes together. There are several guys that can make a difference for us.”
King is also hopeful that the great season the Panthers enjoyed on the gridiron will carry over to the hardwood.
“Certainly, I think success breeds success,” he continued. “We’ve talked about that, about getting used to winning, and hopefully it carries over to basketball. But basketball is such a different sport than football. It’s not all about strength and speed. A lot of it is fundamentals, but we certainly have guys that have the talent and athleticism to compete in our region.”
King will have six seniors out to be leaders for the squad.
Shooting guard Markeion Jones averaged 16 points, six rebounds and four assists per night to earn Walker County Dream Team honors and is on pace to eclipse 1,000 points in his career.
The versatile Grayson Moore had an outstanding summer for the Panthers and the 6-foot-3 swing man can play inside or shoot from the perimeter. He also earned Dream Team honors by scoring 10.3 points and grabbing eight rebounds a night as a junior.
King calls senior, Jacob Gadd, a true “gym rat” and expects big things from the guard after serving primarily in backup role last season.
The final three seniors were late additions to the roster.
Triplets Caleb, Chauncey and Chris Figgures all bring outstanding athleticism to the floor.
“They are all three great kids,” King added. “They haven’t played for me before, but they showed an interest in playing. We needed a back-up for Fred (Norman, Jr.) at center and Caleb is a strong individual. He’s got really good length.
“Chauncey and Chris will be working in with the other guys early on. They will give us added depth at the wing and the guard spots and, hopefully, I can start to tell them apart.”
“The leadership (of the seniors) will be critical,” King continued. “They will either lead the ship or sink the ship because the young kids will follow them.
“Sometimes, when you are talking about leaving your legacy with a program, the light bulb finally comes on when you’re a senior. You realize this is your last go at it. They have to decide what their legacy will be here at Ridgeland. Will it be hard work, leadership and sacrifice for the good of the team or will it be other things?”
Among the juniors, C.J. Shackleford will likely take over at point guard his season after a solid summer running the offense. The athletic Markeith Montgomery will also lineup in the backcourt and has the ability to defend players taller than his 5-foot-11 frame.
Ellis Johnson and Kylan Clark will also provide depth at the guard spots. Christian Battle is back with the team and will be a small forward. Battle went for 21 points in the team’s opener.
Another late addition to the roster is junior football standout Jalyn Shelton, who will work in the post. Despite being a little undersized, Shelton proved last year he was more than capable of hanging with bigger opponents.
Shelton joined the team after the start of last season and quickly found his footing. He made the Walker County Dream Team by averaging eight points and 11.5 rebounds a night.
Norman will anchor the sophomore class. The Ridgeland big man has solid footwork, a soft shooting touch and excellent low-post moves and will give the Panthers a physical presence in the paint.
The rest of the varsity roster will be made up of a pair of promising freshmen in guard Jordan Blackwell, an exceptional allaround athlete, and forward Montrell Griffin, a raw talent who King believes has tons of untapped potential.
King is also very encouraged by the underclassmen in the program.
“I’m really impressed with what I’ve seen from the younger players,” he said. “I think we may have one of the best JV teams around. I’m really happy with all the freshmen we have this year.”
Michael Baker is back in an assistant’s role, while Bill Oliver is in his second season as the team’s Director of Operations.
“I think there’s more of a rapport (with the players) this year,” King said of his second year on the job. “I didn’t feel like I had to prove myself last year, but anytime you go through a coaching change, you’re still trying to make it your own. This generation of athletes needs to understand what it takes to be successful and I hope it happens for this group this year. I really believe we have some kids who love it enough to put the time in and work.”
King believes Walker County neighbor LaFayette should be the region favorite, followed by Northwest Whitfield, based on what he saw over the summer. However, he thinks his team could have what it takes to be in the mix for a state playoff spot.
“There was a big learning curve last year because we were still trying to figure out what we could do,” he explained. “But we’ve played together for a while now. We’re athletic and we have a bunch of slashers, but I think chemistry will eventually be our strength.
“Of course, we can be our own worse enemy at times. We have to beat our own inner demons and nothing destroys team chemistry quicker than being selfish and in-fighting. We need to be unselfish as teammates and we have to have some early success.
“If we can get some wins early and develop that “buy-in” among the players, I think we can be a pretty decent team.”