Young Lady Hornets squad poised to excel
The Bryant Lady Hornets are young but have the potential to excel this season under first year coach Eric Teague.
The potential being fulfilled is a matter of steadily taking steps in the right direction.
“The team lost four starters from last year,” Teague said. “Our point guard Brilynn Findley has a ton of experience. But the rest of the team is very inexperienced. We’re here to build upon the program, which it’s solid. But there’s also a lot of growth that can potentially take place here.”
Teague comes to Bryant after enjoying an extraordinary amount of success overseeing the Melbourne girls program. He led the Class 2A school to four state titles. But now, he’s simply looking forward to a new challenge.
“I’m excited about being here,” he said. “I felt a calling to go somewhere else to grow as a coach and put work in at a bigger classification of basketball and see how I could grow as a coach.”
As for the players also growing and competing on the highest level of Arkansas high school basketball, the little things will make a big difference, the coach said.
“We have to listen in practice,” Teague stated. “Learning the fundamentals and getting through periods of time in the game that are tough is important. Learning to depend on one another is important. Those kinds of things are important when trying to build a program. The players are respective, and they want to learn. I really think that’s going to pay off in the end.”
As of this point of the season, Teague developing Bryant’s core group of primary contributors is key. He mentioned that three individuals have established themselves as dependable whether in a game or during a practice.
“Brilynn is a four-year starter and she’s a great player,” Teague said. “Austen Oholendt is a great offensive player. Lariah Hawkins is a senior post player who we’re going to depend heavily upon. Right now, at this point of the season, we’re playing a bunch of players. We have several who are learning how to chip on and learn their roles.”
Effort has not been an issue and Teague doesn’t see it becoming an issue moving forward. That’s a big step in the Lady Hornets achieving their goals, he added.
“This team plays hard,” he said. “They give 100% on both sides of the ball. We’re improving offensively. But the kids play hard and we’re going to move up and down the court fast, play a fast-paced game – it’s exciting.”
The potential for success is obvious, but as of now, Teague is working to mold the young team into a high-caliber squad.
“We need to figure out how to win,” he said. “How to play as a team. Play together. Depend on each other, play hard, learn the fundamentals, the small things. That will help us get to the point where we want to be. If we can do that, we can peak later in the season and make the state tournament. I believe we can be a dangerous team in the state tournament – if we can make it.”