Panthers ready to pounce, go to state
Greenbrier Panthers coach Mike Simmons doesn’t mince words about his high expectations for this year’s team in the 5A West Conference. “We expect to be in the top four of our conference and make the state tournament for the third year in a row,” the coach said. He will do it without some of the leaders who last year took the Panthers to the first round of the state tournament, where they lost to Hot Springs. “We lost a good senior class last year with good leaders and players who played hard every night,” Simmons said. “We want to continue to play hard and compete every game. Our conference and nonconference are very balanced, so we will have a tough game every night we play.” Coming off a 22-12 season will be a challenge, the coach said. The Panthers have just two returning starters — senior A.J. Matthews, who averaged 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks per game and made all-conference and all-state, and junior Kobe Dunlap, who was the leading 3-point shooter last year and made all-conference as a sophomore. The coach, starting his sixth year at the helm of the Greenbrier squad, said depth and experience are the team’s strengths. “We should be able to play up to 10 people each game. We have a lot of kids who played a lot of minutes last year,” Simmons said. “We also should be able to score consistently during the year.” The players will be able to pounce on their competitors in the paint, the coach said. “Team defense and rebounding are something that we work on daily and have to get better at each game we play,” Simmons said. Contributing in the paint will be A.J. Matthews and juniors Mason Matthews and Evan Webb. On the perimeter, Simmons will depend on juniors Chole Linn and Dunlap and seniors
Juwaun Clifton and Brady Jerry. They all played “significant minutes last year at the guard position, but we have a lot of others who are expected to compete for playing time and be good players for us,” Simmons said. All the conference games will be tough, Simmons said, but the matchup against Vilonia on Feb. 12 is a can’t-miss rivalry game. Simmons said his team has a lot of talent. “We have several who have the potential to play college basketball,” he said. “Like most players, it’s going to be determined by how they produce and develop throughout the basketball season. “Hopefully , we will build on last year’s success and compete for a conference championship and a third-straight state-tournament appearance,” Simmons said.