FAYETTEVILLE -- Many faces familiar to the Fayetteville boys' basketball team return this season with another year of experience under their belts.
Now it's time for those faces to be introduced outside the program.
Fayetteville Bulldogs
Date^Opponent^Result/Time
Nov. 18^Conway^7:30 p.m.
Nov. 25^at Springfield (Mo.) Parkview^7 p.m.
Dec. 4-6^Fayetteville Bulldog Classic^TBD
Dec. 8-13^at Conway Tournament^TBD
Dec. 15^at Van Buren^7 p.m.
Dec. 20^Southhaven, Miss.^7 p.m.
Dec. 26-28^at Mountain Home Tournament^TBD
Jan. 9^Fort Smith Northside*^7:30 p.m.
Jan. 13^at Fort Smith Southside*^7:30 p.m.
Jan. 16^Springdale High*^7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20^Springdale Har-Ber*^7:30 p.m.
Jan. 23^at Rogers Heritage*^7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27^Rogers High*^ 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 30^at Bentonville*^7:30 p.m.
Feb. 6^at Fort Smith Northside*^7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10^Fort Smith Southside*7:30 p.m.
Feb. 13^at Springdale High*^7:30 p.m.
Feb. 17^at Springdale Har-Ber*^7:30 p.m.
Feb. 20^Rogers Heritage*^7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24^at Rogers High*^7:30 p.m.
Feb. 27^Bentonville*^7:30 p.m.
Mar. 4-7^Class 7A Tournament^TBD
- 7A-West Conference game
"We've got several guys back," Fayetteville coach Kyle Adams said. "There's several guys who were with us on the varsity but didn't get a lot of minutes last year."
There is a strong nucleus of returning starters that helped the Bulldogs reach the Class 7A Tournament in what would be considered a down year by Fayetteville standards.
Junior guard Payton Willis, the NWA Media Newcomer of the Year, averaged 13.6 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal per game last season and is the go-to guy for the Purple'Dogs.
"It all starts with him for us," Adams said. "He's gotten so much better, especially from a defensive standpoint.
"There's not a guy who works harder, who's in the gym more than Payton. And for your top player to be your best worker, that's all you can ask for as a coach."
Blake Young, a 6-6 junior post player, also returns. Senior C.J. O'Grady (6-5, 230) will join the team after football season and could be a matchup problem for every opponent Fayetteville will face. The Bulldogs plan to play O'Grady at the No. 3 spot on the floor.
"There's some teams who are as big as us, but we might have the most depth in terms of size," Adams said. "We've got a lot of big guys."
While Willis, Young and O'Grady bring back the bulk of Fayetteville's varsity minutes, Adams is excited about those around the core three.
August Carlson, a 6-4 junior, is another Bulldogs' big man who can play both inside and out. Fayetteville also has another 6-5 junior in Josh Breathitt who can provide matchup problems, along with 6-5 junior Springdale transfer Drake Wymer.
At the guard positions, Fayetteville must replace the bulk of its top outside shooting threats after Mason Adams and Luke Renner graduated. But Adams likes what he's seen so far in practice from 6-2 senior Drew Paslay and 6-0 junior Spencer Brown.
"Drew is a kid who reminds me of my son, Mason," Adams said. "He's a good shooter and we'll look for him when he's open. And he's become a good leader.
"And Spencer has worked and improved as much as anybody on our team."
Kade Scott, a 6-3 senior, will also be counted on as a team leader this season, and 5-5 senior Rodrick Anderson and 5-9 junior Jayden Hampton can provide depth at the point guard position.
"I don't think we played slow last year, but we weren't as up-tempo as we wanted to be," Adams said. "I think we can do more this year with our depth and we can do more with our length.
"We've got some good athleticism and some good-sized kids coming back, so we can do some different things."
Sports on 11/16/2014