Watson Chapel Wildcats basketball is in the midst of their non-conference schedule, and they’re currently one game above .500. The Wildcats are under the leadership of first year head coach Marcelle Goins, who is in the process of establishing his way of doing things.
The Wildcats are now working with their full slate of players after the guys from football made their way into the mix. Without those guys, the Wildcats went 1-1 in their first two games, winning the opener over Searcy and dropping their second game against Little Rock Fair. According to Coach Goins, his players have been putting forward a nice effort and he’s proud of them for that.
“I feel that we have progressed a little,” Goins said. “We still haven’t jelled because of the new football guys that we’ve added to the team. The guys that have been here have been working hard. They’ve been in here since I arrived in June and with the hard work they’re putting in and with the new guys we’ll be in good shape when conference rolls around.”
The Wildcat’s’s depth has benefited from the guys coming over from football. Coach Goins mentioned three players who he expects to make huge contributions to the team.
“The new guys are going to help out tremendously,” Goins said. Johnathan Harris is the senior point guard, and Mike Williams and Jaquan Dorsey can start in the post any given night. Mainly we just have to get them up to speed.”
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Right after getting the guys from football, the Wildcats traveled to Searcy to compete in the Searcy Bank Classic tournament. The Wildcats had a good showing in the tournament, winning three consecutive games and taking home the championship title. To win the championship they gained wins over Batesville, McCllelan, and a second win over Searcy.
“I seen alot of fight from our guys,” Goins said. “It was like practice for my football guys as they were only able to participate in one practice before the tournament. Our communication has been good and I see us jelling as a team in the near future.”
Although the Wildcats experienced success in the Searcy Bank Classic, they’ve dropped their last two games. Last Tuesday, the Wildcats loss a close one to Vilonia 49-43, and last Friday they were beaten by Little Rock Christian 48-35.
“We’ve suffered from a lack of focus,” Goins said. “Last week we lost focus in both games and we loss both games from a result of a bad quarter. We gave up 24 points in the second quarter against Vilonia, and 23 points to Little Rock Christian in the fourth. We have to work on our consistency, and keep getting better.”
The next non-conference opponent for Watson Chapel isn’t a slouch at all. On Friday, the Wildcats welcome in the Sylvan Hills Bears who are currently unbeaten.
“We’ve watched film on them and they’re going to get after you,” Goins said. “They remind you of Syracuse. We have four full practices before the game and we’ll go out and leave it all on the court Friday.”