Story by Rusty Ellis
It’ll be almost an entirely new look for the Clarkrange Lady Buffaloes when they start the 2021-22 season.
They’ll be replacing five starters from a year ago, and many younger players will be asked to take on bigger roles as a byproduct of that. What hasn’t changed is the anticipation for another basketball season for head coach Lamar Rogers’ squad.
“We’re really excited to be back,” Rogers said. “It’s another good group. We lost some really good players, but we’ve got a saying in Clarkrange: we don’t rebuild, we reload…we’ve got some girls that are ready to step up. We’ve got great chemistry, and we’ve got some really good shooters. We’re going to be very multiple on defense. We’ve got a young team, but we’re really talented, I feel like.”
The 2020-21 campaign saw the Lady Buffaloes make their fifth consecutive trip to the State Tournament, where they fell to Summertown 37-34 in overtime. Replacing five starters from a team with that kind of pedigree is never easy, but Rogers does bring back a healthy amount of production.
Among them are juniors Mattie Bush and Kacey Sells, along with sophomore Addy Stowers.
“I’ve probably not ever had to replace five starters,” Rogers said. “Mattie Bush is going to have a breakout season this year. She’s so athletic, she’ll be playing point for me. She’s got a whole lot of length, she can get to the rim and she’s probably my best three-point shooter. Addy Stowers is just a scorer, and Kacey Sells brings high energy and is a very good defensive player and three-point shooter.”
That’s not all, as Rogers says he’s got seven players he feels comfortable with on the floor at this point in time.
“Zoey Smith is our lone senior, and she’s a good dribbler that can (get to the rim),” Rogers said. “We’ve got two freshmen that’ll see playing time. Chloe Rogers is going to be starting, she’s a very good shooter. We’ve got Peyton Manis as a post player, who is really coming along…then I’ve got Lauren Choate, who’s another junior, and she’ll be playing inside and out.”
One positive is that in an offseason that saw many districts change, Clarkrange’s stayed the same for the most part. Their league will feature Pickett County, Clay County, Gordonsville and Red Boiling Springs, all programs that Rogers is familiar with.
“It’s been like this for years, where we’re expecting battles every time out,” Rogers said. “Things have changed, but whoever makes it out of the Upper Cumberland has a nice chance of being successful. That’s our plan: to make it back to Mufreesboro.”
How will they accomplish that plan? That question, if you ask Rogers, is answered by an early season of development that theoretically would lead to the Lady Buffaloes playing some of their best ball once the calendar flips over to 2022.
“By January, we’ll find out how good we are,” Rogers said. “Basketball is a tournament sport, so we need to be playing our best basketball come tournament time. I tell them these couple of things: you can’t wait to be a senior to play like a senior, and we can’t wait until tournaments start to practice hard and with intensity.”