The Putnam County War Eagles will begin their 2024-25 regular season next week at Jones County.
They ended last season on a disappointing note by missing the playoffs for the first time under coach LaPatrick Marshall. Marshall and his players have high aspirations this season, calling it a “redemption year.”
“We were young last year. We started well and exceeded expectations early,” Marshall said. “And then we came back to reality, or where I thought we would be when the regular season began. I still thought we were good enough to make the state playoffs and make a run, but we got upset by Laney in the region tournament.”
That loss to Laney was heartbreaking for a young squad with so much potential. Regardless, the War Eagles returned a strong core of players who are "a year better" after playing an entire season at the varsity level.
“Our youth showed up at the end, so I made it a duty for us as a coaching staff to make sure those guys play more and do more skill development,” Marshall said. “We will put them back where we’re supposed to be, and those young guys have been doing good. I don’t really consider them young anymore.”
Last year’s leading scorer, Landon Bonner, graduated. Bonner’s production will be hard to replace.
However, key pieces like Jaylin Harper, Bryce Brabham, Koleman Foster, J’mari Greene, Shamar McClendon, Zay Hargrove, Tamaud Woodson, and Jeremy Banks are back to make a run at the playoffs.
Marshall said Harper and Greene took big steps in the offseason and have stepped up as leaders.
“He’s our undisputed leader and our team captain,” Marshall said of Harper. “He’s been a two-year starter for us. He even played on that 2022 Sweet 16 team for us. He’s really taking the role of being an all-around leader and had a great summer and fall league. Our scoring will come from him and J’mari [Greene], who played AAU [in the offseason]. He really killed it. He’s got a lot of buzz [surrounding] him from AAU ball.”
According to Marshall, Banks, the brother of the program’s all-time leading scorer and current Georgia Southern guard Eren Banks, has also taken on a more significant role. He’s become a player his team can depend on.
Banks played sparingly as a freshman toward the end of the regular season, averaging 4.6 points per game.
“Man, Jeremy has come on unbelievably well. He doesn’t even look and play like the same guy that he was in the ninth grade,” Marshall said. “If you see him, you don’t even think he’s a sophomore. He made a big jump.”
In the past few years, Putnam County has played in a challenging region with mostly Augusta-area schools, including powerhouses like Butler, Thomson, and Westside, the three-time defending Class 2A state champs.
The War Eagles moved to Class A Division I this year and are in Region 4 with Greenforest, Jasper County, Lamar County, McNair, Southwest Atlanta Christian, Towers, Utopian Academy, WD Mohammed, and Social Circle.
Greenforest has always been a force to be reckoned with and won last season’s Class A Division II state title. The Eagles will compete in the Class 3A-1A Private playoff but will be a tough test for Putnam County._ Jasper County also ranks in the top 10 in Class A Division I, so the War Eagles have their work cut out for them.
Marshall believes playing in a region against the Augusta-area schools the past few seasons has toughened up his team. He knows his players will be ready to play Greenforest and Jasper County this year.
“We’re trading in the three-time state champion for probably the most heralded program in all of Class A in Greenforest,” he said. “They’re going to have guys who are 6-foot-10 or 6-foot-11, which is fine. We’re going to get some exposure by playing them. It will be tough to stay there and compete, but that’s what we signed up for. We will play to win the game and have some rivals back. So, we got [Jasper County] back, and that game means something because it’s a regional game… But we’ve been here before.”
That said, Marshall has high expectations for his team this year.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I expect us to make a deep run in the state playoffs and compete,” he said.