Photo by Ron Burkett.
Damon Harper led the Huskies in scoring last year and will play more point guard this season.
Marcus Thomas said he thinks this season is a rebuilding one for his Hewitt-Trussville boys basketball team. With that being said, he still has every inclination that the Huskies will put a competitive product on the floor each night.
“They’re working hard, and they’re learning a lot,” Thomas said, entering his second season as head coach and having the interim tag removed from his title. “We are young, and we lost five seniors last year.”
Gone are the likes of Josh Monski, Matt Hicks, Glenn Horsley, Grant Page and William Kirk, meaning the returners will see an increase in responsibility.
Damon Harper led the Huskies in scoring last season and will likely do so again. He played primarily shooting guard last year, but he will be asked to slide over to the point occasionally this year.
“Damon’s going to have more ball-handling responsibilities this year,” Thomas said. “It’s really his natural position, but he scores the ball so well at times, you kind of want to take those responsibilities off of him.”
Harrison Stanley has been a big contributor for Hewitt-Trussville over the last two years, and he will slide back to the small forward position after playing in the post last season. He is a player who provides length and shooting ability to stretch the defense.
Other players to look out for include Sam Frazier and Anthony Temple at the point guard position, along with TJ Alexander, Jordan Eaton, Patrick Bishop, Bryant Howell and Malachi Moore. Although just a freshman, Moore has impressed Thomas and could garner minutes for the Huskies.
One aspect of the team that has stuck out to Thomas is the group’s desire to be around each other off the court. While all teams search for chemistry on the court, the Huskies have formed a bond outside of school that will help expedite that process on the hardwood.
“This year’s group does so many things together,” Thomas said. “I can’t remember a team that has done more bonding activities than this group. One day they may bowl, the next day they’re all hanging out at each other’s home.”
Hewitt-Trussville was hard-pressed to make it past the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament last year, as two of the state’s best teams — Spain Park and Mountain Brook — clung to the two regional qualifier spots. This year, the Huskies are in Area 7 with Gadsden City, Grissom and Huntsville.
Thomas doesn’t see the road to the postseason becoming any easier.
“You just switch from one side to the other,” he said. “Yes, the league was loaded last year. But seeing the group that’s in our area this year, I don’t see that big of a drop off.”
Not that he necessarily worries about those things too often.
“We just got to come and play,” Thomas concluded.
