The Pickett County Bobcats are set to open their season with high expectations and a returning core of stars.
After a trip to the final four last season, the Bobcats appear poised to be a force in the 1A classification.
“I feel really good about our team,” said PCHS head coach Joseph Amonett. “We’ve had a really good preseason. We’ve got four returning seniors that will lead us, and we’ve got four sophomores who will contribute more than they did last year. We’ve got four freshman and I’ll look for two of them to play some major minutes for us. I feel really good about the team.”
The Bobcats will start the season without star Zach Amonett who sustained an injury in the summer, but they do expect him back sooner than originally anticipated.
“He’s cut his recovery time from nine months to four and a half months,” said coach Amonett. “We were worried we wouldn’t have him back until close to the end of the season, but I think we’ll have him back pretty close to right after Thanksgiving.”
It’ll be a familiar cast of players as the team who reached the semifinals last season, but with a few new faces mixed in for the Bobcats.
“I think it all starts and stops with our four seniors,” said coach Amonett. “We’ve got Zach Amonett, Will Amonett, Hunter Wattenbarger and Caleb Lowhorn. You’ve got four returning starters on a team that went to the semifinals of the state tournament. It gives you a lot of confidence in what you could accomplish.”
“Some newcomers that I look to impact us are Heath Wattenbarger. He’s a sophomore who will play a bigger role. I’ve got two freshmen in Jacob Amonett and Eli Reagan that I look to contribute heavy minutes.”
The Bobcats share a district with the reigning state champions in Clay County along with Clarkrange, Red Boiling Springs and Gordonsville.
“I think this district… is just a really competitive district,” said coach Amonett. “You’ve got Clay County that won the state tournament last year, you’ve got us who got to the final four, you’ve got Gordonsville that was a really good team last year and got three or four transfers, then you’ve got the tradition of Clarkrange and Red Boiling Springs.”
In the 2020-2021 season, Pickett County was never ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll. Now, outside expectations are higher than ever before.
“I don’t think we were ranked in the top 10 at any point last year,” said coach Amonett. “And we didn’t pay any attention to it, and we won’t pay any attention to it now. Rankings and other people’s expectations don’t really impact us. I believe comparison is the killer of all joy, so we don’t compare ourselves to anyone else. We just want to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.”
While outside expectations are irrelevant in their locker room, Amonett said his squad’s internal expectations are to work every day to reach their full potential.
“I can’t say that I expect this championship or that championship,” said coach Amonett. “What I do expect is I have 12 players who compete every possession. At the very end, I just want us to reach our full potential, whatever that is.”
The Bobcats opened their season with a forfeit win over Oneida.