By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Two of Steve Poindexter’s Munford Lady Cougar teams have reached the Sub-State round. The first was a group featuring Lauren Zvolanek, Alex Turner, Shaliyah Wiggins and Robneisha “Bird” Lee in 2013. Last season the senior trio of De’Asha Banks, Johnna Jones and Shania Johnson joined forces with then junior standout Gabby Crawford to reach Sectionals. Both Munford teams were eliminated by the Memphis Central Lady Warriors. Another thing the 2013 and 2017 Lady Cougars have in common was using chemistry and experience to win District 13-3A and Region 7-3A championships. But Poindexter wants to avoid the faith of the 2014 team in 2018 of not returning back to Sub-State. “I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself, but we’ll be a deeper team,” Poindexter acknowledged. “We will have more depth than we did have last year. That doesn’t mean our chemistry level is going to be higher or that our experience level is going to be where it needs to be. But as far as players who now active roles on our team We’ll be a deeper team. I would say at the chemistry level, we’re at ground zero right now.” The two beakers Poindexter is hoping to restore the chemistry with in 2017-18 will be seniors Crawford and Dejanae Potter. Potter missed all of 2016-17 after tearing up knee. She is hoping to improve on a solid sophomore campaign in which she was a key rebounder and scorer in the paint. “Talking this time last year, we were talking about staying healthy,” Poindexter recalled. “We had key players in key spots. As far as my lineup right now, I have no idea. There’s a lot of competition going on for those spots right now. There is more competition. Last year there wasn’t much competition. We had a solid five or six. Now there are so many question marks as far as our bench.” Jones and Johnson were interchangable parts in the backcourt last year. The only returning guard with significant time last year returning is Kennisha Mason. She will be joined by other younger players looking to contribute like Cameron Bruce, Mary Richardson, Maiya Reed and Erin Cornelius. “We’ve got more bodies in the mix,” Poindexter said. “But it’s all about chemistry and experience. You don’t want to be at your best in November. You want to be at your best in February. I think potential this team could really be great defensively. “Right now we’re a whole lot better defensively than we are offensively,” he added. “Offensive chemistry is not a quick fix. It takes time throughout the course of the year and practices to improve. Hopefully by the end of the year offensively and defensively we’ll be in good shape.” As the offense builds throughout November and December, Poindexter hopes both ends of the court will be clicking around district time in January. “Dyer County, they’ve got everybody back,” he said. “On paper I would say they’re the favorite. I don’t know much about Liberty at all. I pretty much know they’ll be athletic. By January I’ll know a whole lot more about them. Brighton had pretty much everybody coming back and they’ll be competitive. Hardin County will be solid. You really just can’t pencil anybody in. Things could get really interesting. “Just depends on how well these young players develop throughout the course of the season,” Poindexter continued. “Before we’ll play a district game, we’ll at least have 10 to 12 games under our belt. That’s good. You like that when your teams isn’t very experienced. I think the ability is there along with the athleticism. But its the mental part of it and the experience.” Poindexter said the Lady Cougars have one clear advantage over the competition in 2017-18 with Crawford. The reigning district and Region MVP has signed with Alabama. Crawford has one of the most decorated careers in Munford Basketball history scoring more than 1,000 and grabbing more than 500 rebounds already. Poindexter said her abilities on the court are evident. He’s ready to see that be matched by her leadership of this young group in 2017-18 in order to reach the Sub-State round again. “I think what we do have on our side, every time we step on the court for a district game, we’ll have the best player on the floor,” he said. “In a way that will be a confidence booster for the younger players that don’t have a lot of experience. At the same time, is that best player going to lead?
“Is she going to play hard?” he concluded. “Is she going to be the type of leader you need with a young inexperienced group around her? Will she help us create that situation to where we’re going and the chemistry level is getting better and better. Then come tournament time, we’re ready.”
