Story by Rusty Ellis
The DeKalb County Tigers saw some strides last season, as they increased their win total from 2019-20 from seven to 10.
If you ask head coach John Sanders, he’ll tell you that he felt like his team competed much harder and were a much stronger defensive team than they were the year before.
“We had a lot more close games than we’ve had in the past,” Sanders said. “We kept things low-scoring a lot of times. In our Hudl stats, I think we averaged 52 points a game, and we gave up 56. So our games were close for the most part, we just struggled to close games out.”
Sanders took over the program in 2018, and while it took a couple years to get to this point, he believes the players have started buying in to what he and his coaching staff want to do on the court.
“We had a pretty good summer, and you can tell they look a little more comfortable,” Sanders said. “They know what I expect and what I want…for the most part, I feel like they’re picking up and grasping what we want them to do, and they feel more comfortable doing that.”
One thing that’ll affect most teams this year is the new districts set by the TSSAA, and while the Tigers are used to competing in a tough district, that task gets even harder this season with both a jump to the 3A class and the additions of White County, Cumberland County and Stone Memorial to their league.
“Those three programs have been historically good at basketball,” Sanders said. “Then you add in the schools we’re used to…Upperman traditionally has been good, so people expect them to be tough. Livingston, even though they lost Matthew Sells, they’ll still be pretty good. They’ll compete a lot more than people think. And then of course, you’ve got Macon.”
The main feeling around the league is that it seems to be wide-open. There’s not really one consensus favorite, meaning that on any given night, any team can knock off any opponent. Sanders says he’s looking at the newcomers as the teams to watch as far as competitors.
“I got to see everyone play this summer except Stone, and we sort of got the feeling that on any given night, anyone can beat anyone,” Sanders said. “Cumberland could potentially be a favorite, and I’ve heard some good things about Stone…White County is traditionally good. I think those three, if you asked me, are the three to beat.”
The Tigers return several key contributors, while replacing two key players in Tennessee Tech football signee Evan Jones and multi-year starter Luke Jenkins. For Sanders, he’s expecting several players with experience to take on bigger roles on and off the floor.
“Brayden Antoniak has started since he was a sophomore, and he’s our glue guy,” Sanders said. “He’s scrappy, defends, and his shot has really improved…Jordan Young started every game last year, so he’s got a lot of experience. He shoots the ball well, and his ball-handling and decision-making has gotten a lot better over the summer. Elishah Ramos is a junior, and started all last year. His decision-making has gotten a lot better. He’s good shooter and a pretty good playmaker, but taking care of the basketball is one of the things we talked about that he needed to get better at, and he’s done that.”
Along with those three, Sanders says there’s another group of players that will have increased roles this season.
“Stetson Agee made big strides last year as a sophomore, and our sixth man off the bench,” Sanders said. “We’re going to need him to score inside and out, as well as defend…Connor Close was a freshman last year who saw quite a bit of playing time this year, and he’s got a smooth shot. Isaac Knowles from the football team is a phenomenal athlete. He hasn’t played in high school because he also plays baseball. He did a lot better this summer than I thought he would.”
So that all begs the question: what does a big step forward for this team look like?
“Ultimately, we want to finish in the top half of the district, fourth or better,” Sanders said. “We want to make it to the region tournament…if you make it to the region tournament, that typically means you’re playing good basketball and you’ve got a shot to win a game or two. Those are our goals right now.”