Life in the 8-2A isn’t easy, but Parkers Chapel found itself in the thick of a conference race that found schools trading places in the standings on a nightly basis.
The Trojans finished fifth in the league and fell short of qualifying for the regional tournament, but coach Josh Langley said there was plenty of growth this year.
“This season was a very hard-fought season,” Langley said. “Nothing came easy for us and we had to battle for everything that we got. Some of the high points from the season was to see how the seniors grew as leaders and despite setbacks they never folded.
“I'm extremely proud of those guys for that and that tells me a lot about their character. I also enjoyed seeing the younger and less experienced guys step up for us. That stood out to me and gives me a ton of confidence as we look forward to next season.”
The Trojans will lose a pair of All-Conference selections in Chris Greer and Jaylen Gray.
Greer averaged 11.7 points per game along with 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while Gray averaged 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists, but a core of sophomores that made significant contributions will be returning.
One area Langley said would be a focal point of the offseason is working on perimeter shooting.
“Our biggest goal for the offseason is going to be to improve our 3-point shooting,” Langley said. “That was a weakness for us this past season and made it difficult on us as we got later into the season. We want to really focus on individual skill over the offseason as well as learning how to play without our seniors from this past season.”
Langley added that the Trojans will get plenty of work during the summer.
“We will be busy this summer with camps,” Langley said. “We usually attend the Harding camp for three days and the Hot Springs Lakeside camp, which is also three days.
“This year Camden Harmony Grove is also going to have one that we are looking into as well.
“Outside of the camps, the gym will be open a few hours every day during the weeks that we are not on dead periods for guys to come in and get some work in.”
With their season concluded, Langley is looking forward to next year and he believes his team can build on their success.
“Looking toward next year, I feel like we have a chance to improve and continue to build on what we accomplished this year,” Langley said.
“We got guys some experience throughout the year and we have some other guys that I feel like can step in and provide quality depth and minutes that were not quite there this year.”