Coming off a 13-18 season, 3-5 district finish and first-round playoff exit, head coach Will Parker expects a better performance from the Brownwood Lions during the 2023-24.
Parker, who is beginning his third season as head coach of the Lions, will again have to battle with a limited roster early on as Brownwood again has a significant number of players still competing with the Lions football team.
With just over a handful of players ahead of Tuesday’s 7 p.m. season opener at Warren Gym against Dublin, the cardiovascular fitness of the Lions may be the most important as aspect of the first few contests.
“Until football gets done we’ll probably only suit up six or seven guys,” Parker said. “The first thing that comes to my mind when you’re only playing that many players is conditioning. We’re going to have to be in shape, we’re going to have to be able to play long minutes. By far that’s the No. 1 thing we have to work on.”
Other areas in which the Lions will focus in the infancy stages of the season include defense, as Brownwood gave up 64 points per game last year while scoring 60.
“Defense and being able to play defense when you’re tired, those things are going to be priorities for us. We’re always going to shoot a high number of shots, we’ll continue to play the up tempo style, but we’re going to have to hang our hat on the defensive end for sure this year.”
With a considerable portion of the roster out until potentially December, several players will have a chance to leave a lasting impact during the first few weeks of the regular season.
“Early on Gage Sparks will be the guy we look to and Hayden Proffitt is the other returner we’ll have,” Parker said. “Those two guys will set the tone for us early in the year. Casey Friebel and Austin Pittman have been really working hard in the offseason and they should be really good shooters for us. They’ll get a lot of opportunities to show how much help they can be to us this year until football gets done.”
Looking ahead to having the full roster, Parker said, “As football winds down and those guys transition over, you’ve got returning starters Ike Hall, Morsello Hooker and Hayden Noe. Carson Noe and Aaron Edmonds could also be difference makers for us this year.”
District 6-4A action begins Jan. 12 at Graham, but a busy pre-district slate features eight of the first 10 games, along with two tournaments, away from home. Brownwood then hosts the TexasBank Holiday Classic Dec. 28-30 followed by three straight games at Warren Gym before league action begins.
“We’re real excited that we’re expanding the tournament,” Parker said of the TexasBank Holiday Classic, the highlight of the pre-district slate for the Lions. “We’re hosting 48 teams total, we’re going to end up using four gyms and a lot of volunteers. We’re really excited about how big a community event this has become and what it’s going to be. We have a lot of hotel rooms already booked, and a lot of coaches excited to come play in such a competitive tournament.
As for the District 6-4A race, Parker said, “Graham’s returning everybody and they were really athletic last year, and I think they’ll be the team to beat. Glen Rose was the district champ last year and they graduated some really good players, but they’ll be very sound in what they do and contenders as well. Mineral Wells got a new head coach, their freshman point guard was a stud last year so they should be more than decent. Stephenville is in the same boat we are with a lot of football guys coming over, so how quick they transition and start playing their brand of basketball will dictate how the district will look.”
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LIONS BASKETBALL 2023-24 SCHEDULE
| N14 | Dublin | 7:30 p.m. |
| N17 | at Benbrook | 7:30 p.m. |
| N20 | Brady | 2 p.m. |
| N21 | at Comanche | 3 p.m. |
| N28 | at Jim Ned | 8 p.m. |
| N30-D2 | at Dublin tournament | TBA |
| D5 | at San Angelo Lake View | 7 p.m. |
| D7-9 | at Brady tournament | TBA |
| D12 | at Salado | 6:30 p.m. |
| D15 | at Abilene High | 4:30 p.m. |
| D19 | at Snyder | 6:30 p.m. |
| D21 | at Llano | TBA |
| D28-30 | TexasBank Holiday Classic | TBA |
| J2 | Coleman | 6:30 p.m. |
| J5 | Gatesville | 7:30 p.m. |
| J9 | Jayton | 5:15 p.m. |
| J12 | at Graham* | 7:15 p.m. |
| J16 | Stephenville* | 7:15 p.m. |
| J19 | OPEN | |
| J23 | Glen Rose* | 7:15 p.m. |
| J26 | at Mineral Wells* | 7:15 p.m. |
| J30 | Graham* | 7:30 p.m. |
| F2 | at Stephenville* | 7:30 p.m. |
| F6 | OPEN | |
| F9 | at Glen Rose* | 7:15 p.m. |
| F13 | Mineral Wells* | 7:30 p.m. |
* District 6-4A Game