New-look squad to use athleticism, length
After a season in which the Searcy Lions saw some struggles, going 8-20 overall and 2-10 in conference play, the team remains positive for the 2017-2018 season. Last season was a bit of a roller coaster for Searcy, as the team began the season winning two of its first three games before seeing a fivegame losing skid. The Lions came out of this slump strong with a four-game winning streak before hitting another rough patch, losing 11 of their next 12 games. Despite these rough stretches for the Lions, the team was able to keep games close toward the last half of the season and looks to use its length and athleticism to emerge from some of these tightly contested battles. Second-year head coach John White said the Lions will remain solid around the perimeter, with its only two returning starters in senior point guard Malik Branch, 5-8, 155 pounds, and senior guard Joe-Todd Smith, 6-1, 160 pounds. “Malik is a competitor and very strong for a guard. He’s explosive; he’ll just blow past people and get to the rim and is able to finish. I’m hoping for an improved outside jump shot from him this year. That would make him even more dangerous,” White said. “Joe-Todd is kind of a slashing guard, and he does shoot the ball pretty well if he gets his feet set, but he’s an extremely explosive athlete. Both of those guys have the ability to go by you and get to the basket and score.” White added that there are a host of new players, including sophomores and transfers, who will get a shot to get meaningful minutes in the backcourt. Down in the paint, White said, senior forward Ty Haralson, 6-1, 220, and junior forward Trystan Alcorn, 6-3, 130, will be the primary go-to options for the Lions. Despite not having a true back-to-the-basket big man, White said, these two will use their strength and athleticism to be effective. “[For] Ty, it’s his size and strength. He’s a broad-shouldered kid. He does a good job creating space, and his strength gives people trouble,” White said. “Trystan is really long and athletic, so his athleticism and length give people trouble.” While the Lions lack a lot of size and experience, White said, improved shooting and the experience the team does return will play a role in determining Searcy’s success. “Those guys coming back, they’ve been through some battles, and they know what it takes. And we’re hoping they can show these
other guys what it takes, but as far as building on our success, I think we know that we can compete with people now where I don’t think we believed that at the beginning of last year,” the coach said. “We lost a lot of close games in the second half of the year, so just having been through those battles, we know we’ve got to play hard all the time now. We struggled to shoot from the perimeter. We expect to shoot it better from the perimeter this year, so we’re hoping that will lead us to more success.” Having several players between 6-1 and 6-3 will certainly help the Lions in terms of height and length, but White said the team doesn’t necessarily have any “big” kids. Look for the Lions to try to counteract their lack of size, in terms of weight, with their length and athleticism. White also said the team chemistry could remain a question mark for the Lions, as there are a lot of new pieces for Searcy. Games early in the season may be key in gauging the success of this new-look Searcy team. Fans will likely want to pay close attention to the Lions’ matchup against Mountain Home, who is in Searcy’s 5A/6A blended conference and 6A-East. White said this game will be big for Searcy to jockey for position in the postseason. He also said the teams that are geographically close to Searcy will be fun to watch because the players get to know each other well. This includes teams such as Beebe and Vilonia. When it comes to some of the toughest matchups for the Lions this upcoming season, the 6A-East tournament will provide plenty of competition. White mentioned teams such as Jonesboro, West Memphis and Little Rock Hall, depending on whom Searcy gets matched up with, that are always tough to beat. Overall, White said, he expects his team to be successful and for his players to put in the hard work to get to where they need to be. “I expect our guys to go out and play extremely hard and represent Searcy well, and I expect us to have more success than they’ve had in several years,” he said. “We’re looking to continue to build toward being one of the toughest teams in the state.”