It’s been an eventful two weeks for Panther men’s hoops.
Between the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Team Camp at Johnson University June 5-7 and a summer league scrimmage at Hayesville four days later, Doug Plemmons’ team has been hard at work in the month of June. With the addition of a talented new transfer from Cherokee, an already strong Panther lineup should be even tougher to guard this winter.
“Jack actually went to FCA Camp with us last week – we got him registered in school in time so that he could go over there with us,” said Plemmons of Jack Teesateskie, a rising junior point guard and two-time All-Smoky Mountain Conference selection. “Of course there’s the FCA factor which is really, really good and beneficial, and then you’re away from home for three days with a group and you don’t have any distractions. It was a good time for him to get to know the guys living in the dorm, playing ball and eating with them, and they were pretty much around each other 24/7. So that was a good way for him to break himself into the team, and then we played really well over at FCA. I thought we had one of our better camps that we’ve ever had.”
Following two stellar seasons for the Braves, Teesateskie joins the Panthers having averaged 17.3 points in 21 games last season, including 21 points in a 77-67 loss to Franklin last November. Listed at 6’2” with length and athleticism to spare, Plemmons said the junior should cause opponents plenty of problems.
“He’s a very good player. Offensively [he’s] highly skilled – handles the ball, shoots the ball well, sees the court extremely well,” said Plemmons. “Defensively he’s long – we’ve played mostly man-to-man, but we have played some 1-3-1 zone. We’ve moved him around all over the place, but when you put him up top of that half-court trap, his length really causes problems for the other team. They’ll try to throw it around him or over him, and he tips a lot of balls that end up getting stolen by our team. And of course with him being up top, when we do steal it he’s usually the first one out on the fast break, and he finishes real well.”
Along with returning guards Max McClure, Braylen Dezarn and Addix Sutton, Teesateskie should help form a fearsome backcourt for Franklin this year. After a strong three days at FCA team camp the previous week, on June 11 the Panthers traveled to Hayesville for JV and varsity summer league action.
“Offensively, I thought our transition game was very good. Most of those came off of defensive rebounds or turnovers by Hayesville, and so we were able to get out and run and score a lot of baskets in transition,” said Plemmons. “Most of them were layups; the other ones we found people for open jump shots before Hayesville could get back and get set. Defensively we worked on several things – we played mainly man-to-man defense, worked on our half-court trap a little bit, and at the very end of the game we [deployed] a little bit of full-court pressure, which was really the first time that we’ve shown that this summer. I thought all of them were effective, and it was just a good, solid scrimmage for us.”
While they’re still five months from the start of the season, a team can never have enough work to get ready, especially when bringing a brand new transfer into the fold. In both varsity and JV scrimmages, Plemmons said he was pleased with the trip to Clay County.
“I thought the JVs did a really good job on rebounding the ball. On the offensive boards we got several putbacks for points, and their transition baskets were good,” he said. “A couple of key people off the JV team weren’t there last week, and to have them back, you could tell the difference. I was well-pleased with both teams. I thought the overall effort was there, and a lot of times if they’re playing hard that will take care of a lot of mistakes.”