Perry teams off to matching quality starts

When it was time for summer basketball, Reginald West was dealing with some suspense. Two years earlier, after he had taken over as the girls basketball head coach at Perry, he watched his team roll through the summer and get better, to the point of a quality 16-12 season.

The next summer, little went well for Perry, and that followed the Panthers into an 8-20 season.

Sitting in the stands watching was LaShandria Mallard, who had moved to Perry from Peach County right after the calendar year started but wasn’t playing basketball.

Little did West know what Mallard’s debut months later in summer action would bring.

“First game we played, probably two minutes in, she’s diving on the floor for a 50-50 ball,” West said. “We hadn’t seen that. When Coach (Tyler) Rodgers and I took the job, 50-50 balls, taking charges, (players) looked at us like we’re (crazy).

“That was a game changer. Once they saw that, we had a great summer. And it’s just been …”

And he snapped his fingers.

That just about sums up the season so far for Perry’s girls, as well as the boys. Both are 15-3, with the girls in sole possession of first place in GHSA Region 2-4A and the boys sharing first place with undefeated Upson-Lee. Perry faces Upson-Lee on Tuesday in Thomaston.

It’s a new position for West’s team, thanks in part to the Panthers following Mallard’s lead.

“It was pretty rough to watch,” she said. “Yeah, they needed to work on some strength. They had to, and they’ve gotten more tough mentally and physically.”

Mallard, who averages nearly a dozen rebounds, agonized while watching her future teammates during that junior season and was ready to make an impact.

“I knew once my other two (rising) seniors got to be seniors – because we were close last year, and we were ready to play together – it would get better,” Mallard said of K.K. Smith and Tatyona Owens. “We had that drive.”

Plus younger players, like then-freshman point guard Asia Harrell, improved in the summer and carried it over to the season.

“Having all the pieces jelling and playing as a team, it’s really been great,” West said.

Perry’s boys are in a familiar position under veteran head coach Brett Hardy, in his 16th season as the Panthers’ head coach. They are about two seasons removed from a region title and went 18-11 last year.

Of course, there was some doubt creeping around after a season-opening loss to Class 2A Bleckley County.

“I have no idea how we lost to Bleckley,” senior Damion Bagley said with a smile. “No idea.”

Bleckley County, however, is 12-6 overall and 7-0 in Region 3-2A, so that loss is not as bad now as it was considered then. While Hardy only had football players in practice for less than a week, it was still an immediate wakeup call.

“That first practice, we practiced real hard,” Bagley said. “Everybody was on the same page.”

The only other losses are to Class 6A Northside and Class 5A Warner Robins, the although the Panthers beat the Demons earlier in the season.

One big difference is the lack of one big man, Chris Clerkley. Now at Georgia State, Clerkley was a 6-foot-8 inside mainstay for three seasons.

“It’s a lot harder without Chris,” Bagley said. “I mean, 6-8, you can’t beat that.”

Topping the height list on this year’s team is a collection of 6-3 players. Bagley is one of those wing players spending some time inside. One of the school’s top athletes since he started competing for the Panthers, Bagley leads the Panthers with about a dozen points and seven rebounds per game.

Jhi’Marre Brown, Jake Smith, Jacori Burks and Jabari Rucker all add at least three rebounds per game.

The Panthers try to make up for the lack of a post presence with depth, playing about 10 players a game. Defense is also a forte, helping to counter a so-so perimeter game.

“We’ve got to shoot the ball a lot better,” Bagley said. “We also have to shoot free throws better.”

Hardy said the Panthers have improved their halfcourt offense and have to keep improving that. But the Panthers have strong chemistry, and younger players have stepped up.

“The maturity level,” Hardy said. “We played three sophomore guards (Smith, Burks and Keyiovione Whitlock) last year. Now they’re all juniors, and they have kinda kept everything steady.

“Our guard play has been better than I thought it would be. I knew we would be good, but to handle things the way they have, it’d been nice.”

This story was originally published January 15, 2017 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Perry teams off to matching quality starts."