Panther JV boys hoops are off to another hot start.
After narrowly falling to Pisgah in a thrilling Mountain Seven Conference Final last year, Tres Rogers’ team entered 2023 with clear title hopes. In winning five of their first six games with a deep and talented group of underclassmen, Rogers says he’s been pleased with the team’s efforts to this point.
“Other than the East [Henderson] game, we’ve been playing really well,” said Rogers, now in his eighth year as JV head coach. “There’s a lot of room for improvement, but this group is athletic, and they’re really good basketball players. There’s a lot of growing up to do as far as moving from middle school to high school, but they’re doing a good job with it and playing well. I’m extremely happy with them, and I think we’re gonna have a really good season.”
Between veterans of last year’s team and one of the program’s best freshmen classes in years, the JV boys have more than enough talent to compete for a title. But after leading Macon Middle School to two straight unbeaten seasons, Rogers says his first-year players have had to change their approach on the court.
“The freshmen group is really good,” he said. “Obviously, Will [Rauers] has always been their best player and he’s on varsity now, so the group that I’ve got no longer have him to lean on and bail them out of situations where somebody needs to take a shot. In the past it’s always been Will; now they’re figuring out how to play without him, and they’re doing a good job.”
With Rauers starring for Panther varsity, his freshman classmates have picked up the slack, joining the team’s returning sophomores for a red-hot start to the season. While losing a teammate like Rauers is never easy for any group, Rogers says JV experience will come in handy down the road.
“I think it helps them, because they have to figure out how to get things done and how to play without him,” he said. “It gives them the confidence that they can do it. That way, next year or the year after when they get moved up to varsity, when they get back together they’re all gonna be better players. They’ll be more confident in what they’re doing and their role on the team, so it’s a good thing.”
In his eight years coaching the team, Rogers has plenty of experience coaching freshmen without their star clasmates, after Miles and Max McClure’s freshmen years in 2018 and 2021. With players like guard Anderson Terrell, forward Aaron Bravo and big man Lance Parker, Rogers says the team has had a deep rotation this year.
“I’ve got 10 guys that can really play that I can inter-mix quite a bit and not lose much at all,” he said. “Obviously, there’s about five or six of them that I’ve rotated in and out of the starting lineup quite a bit here in the beginning of the year. We’ll settle in on a regular starting lineup, but like last night with Aaron not there, I moved [Peyton Hervey] to the four [power forward] from the three [small forward] and had to add a guard in there. So, we can inter-mix quite a bit and not lose anything from a lineup standpoint.”
With size, athleticism, scoring and defense, the Panthers can play any kind of game they need to match up with opponents. With so much talent on the roster, Rogers has set his expectations accordingly.
“I’ve told my [players] since I got here, our goal every game at the JV level is to hold people underneath 10 points a quarter,” he said. “If we can hold people underneath 10 a quarter, then we should either be in control of the game or right there in it. Of course, in the East game we gave up 12, 13, 12 and 12, but we missed a lot of shots and a lot of free throws. I think we missed 11, but we were right there in the neighborhood, and that’s gonna be our goal all season defensively.”
In losing their only game to this point 49-41 to the Eagles at home, the Panthers weren’t far behind a probable Mountain Seven title contender. After routing Tuscola 52-16 Dec. 19, the team will be off for the holidays before facing Andrews Jan. 3.
“I hate that we’re having almost a two-week break right here, but that’s part of it, and we’ll have to keep rolling,” he said. “A couple of guys are gonna get a chance to practice and play with the varsity through Christmas break, so I think that’s a good thing for them. It’s a little different intensity level going with the varsity, and we can see where they’re at with that level of competition. Hopefully, they bring that back to us and bring a bit more intensity to practice.”