Familiar face, new voice leading Warner Robins girls basketball

WARNER ROBINS -- When they looked to the sideline, Warner Robins girls basketball players couldn't help but see and hear longtime head basketball coach Tom Mobley.

From the bald head to the quite stocky physique, it was easy for them to locate him on the bench.

And if not?

Well, there was the voice. It carried, throughout almost any gym in any situation.

Near Mobley for many years was assistant Tracy Fendley, who in no way resembled Mobley.

So it was clear what the biggest difference would be when Mobley retired after last season and Fendley took over.

"That was the first thing we talked about," Fendley said. " 'The biggest difference will be you will not be able to hear me.'

"He's got that voice, that big voice that everybody in the gym can hear."

The Demonettes already used hand signals, but the importance grew drastically.

"I don't have that voice," Fendley said. "It's not in me."

No problem. Fendley is making the right hand signals, and the Demons are reading them properly, which has lifted Warner Robins to an 11-1 start in Fendley's first season as head coach at her alma mater.

Senior forward Tesia Walker, like most of her teammates, was used to Mobley's presence, physical and vocal.

"We had hand signals already," Walker said. "We could always hear Coach Mobley. With Coach Fendley, we have to emphasize our hand signals and stuff."

No problem so far, even to the point where Warner Robins keeps winning close games. The lone loss was 50-48 in overtime at Tift County in early December.

"That stung bad," Fendley said. "That hurt their heart. I really think playing in a game like that, in their gym, helped us. We learned a lot from it, and it's carried over into our other games that have been close.

"We've had a lot of close games. I think that helped."

And there have been some not-so-close games, like Tuesday's 61-22 win over rebuilding Mary Persons.

The Demonettes are speeding things up this season.

"We are playing faster," Walker said. "(Fendley) coaches us to push the ball, and not to necessarily run up the score, but keep playing, keep the tempo up."

They have bought in, and Fendley has to slow them down in games like Tuesday's. And that change is only boosted by a deep bench.

Walker, India King, Kezia Holmes and Dooly County transfer Le'terria Mathis start, and Fendley has tapped four or five other players for that fifth spot. Around 10 or 11 will play, most of the time.

"We have a lot of juniors on the team, so we do have a lot of depth," said Fendley, who played for Mobley at Warner Robins in the early 1990s. "A lot of the girls have some playing time and some experience. That plays to our advantage. we have such a deep bench, and it helps with our up-tempo style of play."

The Demonettes have wins over Veterans, Washington County and Carver-Columbus, as well as a GHSA Region 2-AAAAA win over Houston County.

Warner Robins returns to region play Saturday at Northside. The Demonettes are already close to matching last season's total of 11 wins, but there's no looking ahead.

For Walker, she's just happily surprised at how her senior season has started.

"I think we are" a surprise, she said. "I didn't think, from the summer, I didn't think we would adjust that well and I thought that we were gonna start off slow.

"But it's a lot better than I thought. I'm all for it."

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 8:42 PM with the headline "Familiar face, new voice leading Warner Robins girls basketball ."