The Claiborne High School Bulldogs basketball team has some unfinished business left from last season. There were so many games that they could have won that were lost late in the second half. There were also some upsets of better teams along the way too.
Coach McGinnis believes his team will compete more consistently this season as his team is heavy on junior and senior members.
McGinnis talked about his talented seniors, “Tyler Myatt is an all-around great athlete who is very experienced and has a high basketball IQ, he’s a great leader. Tyler has added a better attack to the rim, and he is a great shooter.”
When talking about Brennan Fugate McGinnis said this, “Brennan likely has the best basketball IQ on the team. He’s all energy and never gets tired. I would also call him a pesky defender and an offensive weapon.”
Another senior Stephen Thomas has come back to the team a better athlete and will be looked upon to gather in rebounds and more.
Ethan Short is a senior who joined the team as a junior and immediately helped the team. Coach McGinnis had this to say about Short, “Ethan had the football mentality last season and now he is more agile and has better basketball touch. The coaches all wish we had him as a freshman because we feel he could have developed into an all-district player.”
The junior class and maybe the team itself is led by all-district player Ethan Cupp. Ethan is a scorer both inside and out and will even be called upon to help at the guard position which is a testament to his complete game.
McGinnis spoke about Cupp saying, “Cupp has a legit shot of reaching 1,000 points this year. Cupp and Myatt will take charge of this team.” Other juniors include Josh Bolton who is recovering from knee surgery, Evan Thomas who plays taller than he is, Vince Bolden who has come back this year even more athletic according to his coaches, CJ Cox who also has a great understanding of the game, Brady Hamlin who will provide the spark off the bench and Jake Smith is expected to once again provide the Dennis Rodman type of hustle plays.
Ther are two Sophomores: Cole Holt and Hunter Greer and the coaches expect them to get quality minutes.
The Freshman group is talented, and the coaches really like them. There will be surprises coming from this group including Kaden Williams. McGinnis added, “Kaden is a leader and this group plays hard and have a lot to learn but I’m excited about them.”
Defensively this Bulldogs team will feature not only man to man defense but according to the coaches will drop back in multiple zone defenses and press when needed.
Offensively, expect a high tempo running offense with both inside and outside shooting.
Coach McGinnis offered this statement to the parents and fans, “This team is going to be exciting to watch. They play hard and for each other. This team will get after it.”
The first game for the 2022 Bulldogs is on the road at Campbell County, November 15. The first home game will be December 1 against Gibbs.
| Claiborne Boys Basketball | ||
| 2022-23 Roster | ||
| Name | Grade | Position |
| Tyler Myatt | SR | G |
| Brennan Fugate | SR | G/PG |
| Ethan Short | SR | C |
| Stephen Thomas | SR | G |
| Ethan Cupp | JR | F |
| Evan Thomas | JR | G |
| Brady Hamlin | JR | G |
| Jacob Smith | JR | G |
| Vince Bolden | JR | C |
| Josh Bolton | JR | G/PG |
| Caden Cox | JR | G |
| Cole Holt | SO | G |
| Ethan Hunter Greer | SO | G |
| Kaden Williams | FR | G/PG |
| Drew Epperson | FR | G |
| Aden Roark | FR | F |
| Korbin Whitaker | FR | F |
| Kaden Lovin | FR | G/PG |
| Dizel Ford | FR | F |
| Kristopher Ford | FR | F |
| Jeffery Holt | FR | F |
| Lukas Thomas | FR | G |
| Gage Ray | FR | G |
| Head Coach: Corey McGinnis | ||
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Assist. Coach: Andrew McGinnis
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| Assist. Coach: Jacob Williams | ||
More previews are on the way.
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