It’s been quite a while since the Pineville Mountain Lions opened a basketball season with expectations as high as this year’s group takes into the season opener on Nov. 28 at home against Clay County. The Lions bring back four starters from an 18-11 squad that broke a string of five straight losing seasons.
Pineville was ranked ninth in the 13th Region in the preseason Cats Pause poll and is favored for its first 51st District Tournament title since 2007.
“We’ve got a different sense of urgency and a different energy around our kids and our program. We have a lot of veterans who have played a lot of key minutes, and we’re further along than we’ve been since I’ve been here,” said fifth-year coach Brad Levy. “It’s a different attitude around our kids right now than what we’ve had in the past. We have expectations for ourselves and other people put expectations on us, but we’re trying to keep it where we’re focused on the ride and what we expect from ourselves. Some of our kids have a little swag about themselves and how they are approaching our business. A lot of that comes from experience and having been so close last year (a 53-51 loss to Barbourville in the 51st District finals), plus knowing how much work we’ve put into it.”
Levy will build this year’s squad around two standout junior guards in Sawyer Thompson (22.7 points per game last season, 4.6 rebounds) and Ashton Moser (15.9, 6.8).
“We expect a lot of floor leadership out of Sawyer this year. We all know what he’s capable of doing offfensively. He’s been a leader for us for a while now. We need him to take the next step and lead us in every avenue of our operation. We want him to continue to grow as an all-around player,” Thompson said. “Ashton took a big step forward in a lot of ways. He was one of the most improved in the region last year. He has a lot of ability and is starting to figure some things out in terms of what he has to do in his approach to the game. We’re looking forward to seeing him continue to evolve as a player.”
Sam Caldwell (7.6, 4.8), a 6-6 senior, returns in the post.
“We’re looking forward to Sam to continue improving. He kind of came out of nowhere a couple of years ago and has gotten better and better,” Levy said. “We’re looking for him to take the next step and be a physical force inside on both ends and continue to get better and stronger and make his presence felt.”
Logunn Littles (3.4), a 6-2 senior, and Wyatt Caldwell (4.9), a a 6-0 senior, will likely round out the lineup.
“Wyatt played football for the first time in high school this year, and I think that will help him be more physical and tougher on both ends of the floor. He shot well from 3 last year, and we need him to do some more things offensively. He’s also stepped up into a leadership role and is a steady kid who is tough and is a competitor,” Levy said. “Logunn had a really good summer and took a big jump since last year. He’s always been a tough, hard-nosed kids but has more body to back it up this year. He’s a dynamic athlete who is shooting the ball better. We think he can get around double figures as well.”
Juniors Kaiden Robbins (2.4) and 6-6 Zander Garrison will also compete for starting jobs, along with 6-3 sophomore guard Ethan Jackson.
“Those three are all dynamic athletes who give us a lift when they are in there. They gave us a lift in some scrimmages this summer,” Levy said, “Kaiden and Zander can be game changers on defense. They will push some of those guy in front of them for playing time. We have some depth now we feel pretty good about. We feel pretty good one through eight or nine.”
Finding a third option in the offense after Thompson and Moser has been one of the Lions’ focuses in the preseason.
“We’re focused offensively on having someone step up and help shoulder the load in scoring,” Levy said. “We have two of the top scorers in our region in Sawyer and Ashton. We have some other guys we think are capable of helping. We want those two guys to be able to count on and trust their teammates in those kinds of moments. We know any smart defense will focus on those two, so we have to have others step up.”
While he feels good about the Lions’ offense, Levy is focusing on improved defense and rebounding to become a bigger factor in the 13th Region race.
“Defensively, we’re working on being solid in the halfcourt and being able to rebound so we can get out and go in transition,” he said. “We feel we will be able to score. Trying to string together stops so we can score on the other end is what we feel can separate us.”
DATE | OPPONENT | SITE | SCORE | STATS? | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 28, 23 | Clay County | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Nov 30, 23 | Cumberland Gap, TN | home | 7:30 PM | ||||||
Dec 2, 23 | Scott County | at Great Crossing | 2:15 PM | Jersey Mike’s Classic | ⇄ | ||||
Dec 7, 23 | Red Bird | home | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Dec 8, 23 | Thomas Walker (Ewing), VA | away | 8:00 PM | ||||||
Dec 15, 23 | Whitley County | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Dec 20, 23 | TBA | at Gatlinburg, TN | Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic | ||||||
Dec 21, 23 | TBA | at Gatlinburg, TN | Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic | ||||||
Dec 22, 23 | TBA | at Gatlinburg, TN | Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic | ||||||
Dec 28, 23 | TBA | home | Chain Rock Classic | ||||||
Dec 29, 23 | TBA | home | Chain Rock Classic | ||||||
Dec 30, 23 | TBA | home | Chain Rock Classic | ||||||
Jan 4, 24 | Thomas Walker (Ewing), VA | home | 7:30 PM | ||||||
Jan 6, 24 | Jackson County | 12:00 PM | 13th Region All “A” Classic | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 8, 24 | TBA | 13th Region All “A” Classic | |||||||
Jan 9, 24 | TBA | 13th Region All “A” Classic | |||||||
Jan 16, 24 | Middlesboro | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 23, 24 | Barbourville | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 26, 24 | Lynn Camp | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 27, 24 | Danville Christian | at Berea | 3:00 PM | Bill Smallwood Classic | ⇄ | ||||
Jan 30, 24 | Knox Central | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 1, 24 | Harlan | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 3, 24 | Berea | home | 7:30 PM | Gem City Shootout | ⇄ | ||||
Feb 6, 24 | Middlesboro | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 8, 24 | Red Bird | away | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 9, 24 | Cumberland Gap, TN | away | 7:30 PM | ||||||
Feb 13, 24 | Harlan County | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 15, 24 | Oneida Baptist Institute | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 20, 24 | Corbin | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 22, 24 | Harlan | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ |