HUNTSVILLE — Senior Tucker Trumbo had no hesitations when he was asked how tough it’ll be for Huntsville to compete in the 5A-West Conference this season.
“I’m actually looking forward to it,” said Trumbo, who led the Eagles with an average of 17 points per game last season. “I like competition, mostly because of the matchups. I’m hoping our coaches will let me guard some certain players this year because I can promise you we’re going to prove this season that we can compete and win against anybody.”
The Eagles went 31-6 in Class 4A last season and surprisingly advanced to the state championship game, where they were defeated in a close contest by Jonesboro Westside.
This year, Huntsville returns Trumbo (6-foot-2) and senior Bailey Counts (5-11), who were two of the biggest reasons the Eagles — they have 13 seniors on this year’s roster — had such an impressive postseason run.
Counts, a three-year starter, averaged 15 points last season and is only 100 points away from reaching the 1,000-point mark, said Jim Stafford, Huntsville’s coach.
“We’ve got a group of kids that are going to be tough, we’re going to shoot the ball well and play good defense,” said Stafford, who’s 376-141 in 17 years at Huntsville. “It’s going to be tough this year, there’s no doubt. Every game we play in conference is going to be a challenge. We’re certainly going to have to play well at home.”
Besides Trumbo and Counts, Stafford said he’ll have to rely on several others to step up at certain positions, including Jake Kirk, Cody Stevens, Taylor Calvert, Brandon Emitt, Phillip Hoskins and Heath Gurley.
“We just have to be calm,” Counts said. “It’s a new conference, there’s going to be new referees, new crowds — we just have to stay focused and be calm and we’ll be fine.”
Besides winning games on the road, Stafford said rebounding will be something his team will have to do effectively if it wants to have any success this season.
Huntsville’s girls team, which went 20-8 last season after a first-round loss to West Fork in the Class 4A Region 1 Tournament, returns only one senior this year in center Kelsey Rodden.
However, Rodden has been rehabbing since May when she had surgery on her left Achilles tendon. During spring practices, Rodden tore the tendon, which has slowed down her progress.
“There’s some pressure being the only senior, but I feel ready for the challenge,” Rodden said. “I think we’re going to have a good season because everyone knows what they’re supposed to do.”
Berry said his team will have to be more up-tempo on offense, which is something the longtime coach hasn’t traditionally enjoyed doing.
“We’re not going to be able to run our halfcourt offense like we have the past,” Berry said. “For us to be successful, we’re going to have to get rebounds, push the ball and make buckets fast.”