Depth key for well-rounded Trojans in 5A tourney
Just as they did throughout the 2022-23 campaign, the Trojans might sneak up on a few opponents in the Class 5A state tournament.
After star Jabari West graduated from a team that went 9-5 in the league last season, the Trojans might not have garnered too many preseason looks as one of the top teams in the 5A-South.
Flash forward to state tournament week, and Hot Springs heads into the postseason as the No. 3 seed from the league after finishing with a 13-3 conference record.
“Everybody’s stepped up,” Hot Springs head coach Antoni Lasker said. “You know last year we weren’t a one man show as a lot of people thought we were. We played well together as a team. Jabari shared the ball. … He was a good teammate and shared the basketball and gave those other guys confidence.”
Players like Octavious Rhodes, Kendall Williams and Nasir Hannah have really stepped up to another level to propel the Trojans to an outstanding season.
“Those guys have stepped up tremendously,” Lasker said. “It’s not one guy that’s taking the attention.”
Hot Springs will play the No. 2 team from the Central, Vilonia, Thursday in Pine Bluff.
“Coach (Troy) Campbell does a good job with those guys,” Lasker said. “I respect the heck out of him. They don’t make many mistakes. They don’t hurt themselves. The ability they have to shoot the 3-ball along with having the kid inside that can follow up on shots and crash the boards. It’s going to be a good battle.”
Hot Springs secured an impressive 56-50 road win at Lake Hamilton Feb. 3 and can take momentum from performances like that into the state tournament.
“I think we have a confident bunch of guys, and rightfully so,” Lasker said. “These guys are battle tested. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs the last couple of years when they were sophomores and juniors. Like I told them man, we could manufacture 20 wins every season if I wanted to, but we put our guys through the gauntlet. We push them and challenge them for moments like this. I think they’re prepared.”
Vilonia (22-8, 10-4) lost to Lake Hamilton and Parkview each by two points in February. Hot Springs could meet either one of those teams in the semifinals of the tournament.
“I feel like we share the ball well,” Lasker said. “I feel like we defend well. We can defend in the half court as well as extending pressure. Our depth is something that we’ve created over the season that has really, really allowed us to wear teams down.”
Lasker made sure to shout out every single one of his coaches for the help they give him.
“Those guys make my job easy,” he said. “They do a tremendous job of suggesting things in game, adjustments and things of that nature. We work really, really together. We’re friends on and off the court and it definitely shows. I think that players feed off of our camaraderie and that helps them on the court as well.”
The Trojans remain healthy heading into the state tournament, and Hot Springs benefited from a long layoff since the team’s final regular season game against Pine Bluff Feb. 21.
Hot Springs finished the regular season as one of the surprise teams who battled for the 5A-South title, and the Trojans could definitely make some noise in the state tournament.
“Man, it’s going to take execution,” Lasker said. “It’s going to take commitment by our guys over this next week or two. Commitment from everybody. Managers, coaching staff, players. We’ve been bought in, but as long as we continue to defend and play the way we play and execute the game plans the way we’ve done this year, I feel like that’ll be what’ll help us get to where we need to get to.”