It’s been a whirlwind of a month for the Putnam County High School boys’ basketball team.
The War Eagles have had a busy schedule since the start of June, already competing in more than a dozen summer league games and various basketball camps.
Most recently, PCHS attended a play-date at Clarke Central High School in Athens, where the War Eagles fared well, defeating the host Gladiators (47-42) and rival Morgan County (62-59) in overtime to end a long month of competition.
The War Eagles have responded well to the start of summer ball, especially after an early first-round exit to Woodville-Tompkins in the GHSA Class AA state playoffs.
Putnam County head coach LaPatrick Marshall is liking the effort out of his players, saying his squad has been “hungry” since that tough loss. He added that the result of the contest against the Wolverines came as a surprise to him.
“We went into that game short-handed,” Marshall said. “We were missing our top two players, but we only lost by three (points) to Woodville (Tompkins). So, we’ve been hungry to get back out there.
“We only graduated three seniors this spring, and are bringing back our top two scorers (from last season) in Eren (Banks) and Kenyi (Crawford). Right now, we’re just trying to make sure these guys are understanding the system and playing our brand of basketball. So far, they’ve been doing pretty good.”
In the offseason, the War Eagles have only gotten stronger with the additions of transfers Cameron Stephens and Landon Bonner to the program. Plus, they have brought up Mossiah Walker to play full-time at the varsity level.
Patrick admitted he’s seen some improvement since those three have joined the roster.
“I’ve now got six guards that can go and get it,” he said. “Those three have given us some depth.”
The 42-year-old PCHS head coach highlighted that guard play is important to the team’s brand.
“We play an up-tempo style (of basketball),” Marshall said. “We play fast and want to get out in transition. Nevertheless, what we really pride ourselves on is playing great defense. We do all the other stuff to get people to come out and see us, but we play real, hard-nose defense. The get up in your face, rebound and run kind. ‘Just play fast.’ That’s our (team) motto.”
That style of play and mentality worked well last season as the War Eagles started out with a 10-2 overall record during the 2021 portion of their schedule. However, they lost four of five games to start out the new semester.
Putnam County leaned on a five-game winning streak over the next two weeks to position itself for a top-two spot in the region standings. Even so, consecutive losses to Glenn Hills and Butler to end the regular season derailed the War Eagles’ seeding plans entering the Region 4-AA tournament.
PCHS then defeated Oglethorpe County in the first round of the tournament, qualifying for state, but lost to Westside (Augusta) in a semifinal matchup. That set up a seeding game against Glenn Hills, which Putnam won, and gave the War Eagles the No. 3 spot entering the state playoffs.
According to Marshall, one of the team’s main goals this summer was to fare better against tougher competition, while also learning to get stronger as a unit.
“We probably play in one of the hardest regions, top to bottom,” Marshall said. “We’re going to have six (out of eight) teams in our region next year that made the state playoffs (last year). It’s going to be tough. So, we needed to play some tough competition all the way through, proving we’re battle-tested.”
Westside (Augusta) defeated Butler to win the 2021-22 Class 4-AA state championship. Both programs return a lot of talent next year, as does league newcomers Thomson and Washington County after recently joining Region 4-AA.
As the competition only gets tougher for Putnam County, Marshall hopes this past month of summer league games helps his players in the long run.
“We’ve traveled all over the state this summer,” Marshall said. “Hopefully, that exposure our kids have gotten helps them prepare for the season.”
Entering his fourth year at PCHS, Marshall has quickly turned things around as the War Eagles are projected to be a top-10 preseason team in Class AA. Still, even with all the talent returning, he hopes that his players remain humble.
“Not taking anything away from Woodville, but we didn’t have our full team,” he said. “We are disciplined, but we need to learn to remain disciplined, so we don’t cost ourselves an opportunity. If we learn to do that, then the chips will fall where they may. That way, we will be where we’re meant to be at the end of the day.”
Marshall said he feels like he has grown a lot closer with this group over the summer. He admitted it’s something he takes pride in as a head coach.
“I really value my personal relationships with the kids,” he said. “We try to make it fun (for them). We do all this work, but we also like to have fun. Off the court, I like getting to know the kids and I (sometimes) even play PlayStation with them.
“Making that connection is important. Once the kids saw that we (as a staff) care and that they can come and talk to us, that is what made them buy in (to the process). Now, we can sell what we’re trying to teach.”
The War Eagles will continue team practices into July before the start of the school year. By early October they will be preparing for the official 2022-23 high school season.