Manchester Academy’s boys basketball team had a tough year at times last season with a promising ending.
A couple of wins in the postseason gave the Mavericks, who lost only Peyton Saxton from last year’s team, a lot of things to grow upon.
With a tweak here and a tweak there, the Mavs have a chance to make some noise.
In one big move, Liddon will be making the move from shooting guard to point guard, putting the ball into their biggest playmaker’s hands for the majority of the time.
Manchester Academy head basketball coach John Harris believes the sky is the limit for the guard if he can adopt a killer instinct.
“The biggest thing with Matt is taking another step this year,” Harris said. “I need him to be a big scorer for us. I need him to be the man. He has all the tools to be a great scorer and player. He just needs to get that mindset of going out to get 25 points. He has to have the leadership mentality. As he gets older, he’s starting to take on that leadership role more. He’s done a great job of that since school has started. He shows up every day and does exactly what I ask him to do. He’s an unselfish kid, but I almost need him to, not be selfish, but take over the games. He just has to take that step forward mentally because he’s a good shooter and can go around probably anybody we face this year.”
For the first time in his tenure as Manchester’s head coach, Harris will have multiple waves of talented post players with size to match their potential.
Mark Peaster, Hayes Bardwell, Blayke Dendy, Shumpert Kirksey and Kinkead Dent will all be competing for playing time this year, and all of them should be able to contribute.
Harris is giddy at the thought of having depth down low.
“There will be a lot of competition for playing time, but also, nobody should ever get tired,” Harris said. “We have people to put in there to keep everybody rested.
Although the group will be deep and talented, they will have some inexperienced guys and will need a leader.
Mark Peaster, a senior, will lead the talented, young group.
“Mark has had a good couple of weeks, ever since school started,” Harris said. “He’s a basketball guy, and he’s really been focused on it. I expect a good year out of him.”
The scoring cannot rest simply on Liddon’s shoulders.
He’ll need some help.
Harris believes he has it in the form of the massive Hayes Bardwell.
“I’m looking for a lot from Hayes honestly,” Harris said. “I’m looking from a lot of scoring production from Matt Liddon, and I’m looking for a lot out of Hayes. He’s 6’5”, 240-lb. sophomore because he did get a taste of high school ball last year. He knows what to expect. I need him to come in with the mindset that he’s going to dominate whoever he’s against every night.”
One newcomer to the basketball team is Blayke Dendy, a star on the football field.
Harris has a special role in mind for Dendy.
He wants him to bang bodies, snag rebounds and keep spirits high.
“We can bang down low this year,” Harris said. “I hope that’s what Blayke brings this year. He’s a physical dude. He’s such a positive, uplifting guy and a leader on the football field. I think he has the mentality to be happy playing within his role. We want him to be physical, rebound, be a leader and play hard. We hope he brings all of that onto the basketball court.”
With the dominating post players and Liddon slashing to the goal, the Mavericks need someone to knock down open shots to keep the defense honest.
Christopher Guthrie will fill that role.
“As deep as we are and as many bodies as we have in the post, we’re just as thin a guard,” Harris said. “We’ll be starting Christopher Guthrie at one guard spot. He has some ability. He can shoot. I look for his role to be a spot-up shooter. He’s gotten so tall. He’s probably 6’3”. He’s done pretty well for us. We need him to knock down open 3-pointers.”
With so much added size, the defense of the Mavericks should be helped tremendously.
“Hopefully, our length leads to more deflections, blocked shots and turnovers,” Harris said. “I’m trying to instill a man-to-man attitude. Hopefully, our influx of size will help us protect the rim better and force turnovers.”
The same Manchester team that showed sparks of excellence in the postseason has some added talent.
With a schedule that looks a little more favorable, Harris feels his team can compete for a district title.
“Our goal is to compete for the district championship,” Harris said. “As far as our district goes this year, I think it will be wide open. Hartfield will be good. Riverfield is always well-coached and finds a way to win games. Central Hinds is always tough. I feel like we have just as good of a shot as anybody to compete for it. If we go further than that, we’ll worry about it when we get there.”
The Mavericks will start their season on November 7 at Washington School.
