High School Sports

Today, high school boys basketball programs throughout the state will begin practice for the upcoming season.

At Whitehouse, the scene will be different than years past.

Former Bullard coach Ryan Tomlin will begin his first season at the helm of the Wildcats, who last season went 29-2 and reached the Class 4A Region II semifinals.

Whitehouse fell 53-49 to four-time defending state champion Dallas South Oak Cliff.

Staff writer Shane Stark spoke with Tomlin on the eve of the first practice.

I'm very excited about this opportunity. These guys, from the first day I've had them in the end of August, they have worked really hard, which makes it a lot more fun as a coach. These guys are excited to get after it. They've worked really hard ... They've talked about this day, (today), and are ready to practice. We have a lot of things to put in and a lot of things to teach. The best thing is they've gotten used to me and how I work.

The number one thing is defensively. I know from playing against Whitehouse they mainly ran a lot of matchup zone. We will be more of a man-to-man team, pressure-man and getting up and getting after people. We focus much up this point on little things like diving for loose balls and taking charges; just playing hard. I think that's going to be the biggest difference.

In man-to-man you have to be in tip-top shape. It's an attitude. Offensively, we look to get the ball up and down the floor and run. I think this team can run and open up on offense. They've been used to, offensively, running a lot of sets. We want to push the ball forward as quickly as possible. If we can't we'll run a motion, which is a lot different than they've done. This entails a lot of reads off their defense. If you want to run, it all comes from your defense.

I've spent a lot of time getting to know the guys ... They've played in a couple of shootouts up in Richardson and South Garland. My number one concern is to build relationships with these guys, my players, before we start anything with basketball. We go to Dallas and watch them play. I wanted to see them play; it helped me see strengths and weaknesses.

That's been their focus; their focus is to get to Austin. They feel they can do that. They understand the region. They know how tough the region is. That's what I've most enjoyed with them. It's not to just win district. It's not to get into the playoffs. It's to get to Austin.

No doubt. By far when you get to this level, not only do players get better, but coaches get better. The coaching has a lot more strategy into it than sometimes in 3A and 2A basketball. I think everything is better. It's the reason I'm here. I want to take myself personally to another level and challenge myself. I'm excited about it because you are dealing with a lot of different types of athletes.

My focus is we play great, solid defense and that we're smart on offense. We are going to play hard. My expectation is we player harder than every opponent we play. To do that, you have to be intelligent with the way you play. We have smart guys. When everybody touches the ball, this is when this team will be at its best. We are going to have eight to 10 solid players once the guys come from football. I think if we stay healthy, and with a little luck, we will have a shot to get to the regional tournament. Hopefully good things will happen from there.

One thing is the way we are playing defense. We're not as tall, but I think we are quicker. I think we will possibly be more aggressive. It's going to be very hard to replace that lineup. I think with the addition of the two sophomore kids (Quincy Aldridge and Trey Metoyer), with them getting more time now, I think we will be a lot quicker and hopefully more aggressive. Besides Jacob and our two twins (Luke and John Clardy, who stand 6-5), we average six foot to 6-2. With the smartness of our players and our players and our athleticism, that will help with the way we play man-to-man defense.

If you want to build a team you want to have a great point guard and a great post player, and we have that. They are best friends.

They want to win. You want your leaders to work harder than everybody; that's the ideal situation. Mitch has worked harder than any player I've coached ... He understands the game. He's starting to learn what I want and how I want the team to run. He's a great competitor. Their vision is to get to Austin. With a new coaching coming in their senior year, I know it was probably tough for them when coach (Wally) Dawkins left. But they have been very receptive to me and what we're hoping for ... That shows great leadership from those two kids.

Notes: Holmen and Marquis have made oral commitments Centenary College.