Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Ware Plans To Finish On Top In 7A South League

By JOHN MILLER

Gurdon's Go-Devil basketball team was given no kindness by the Arkansas Activities Association.

When the AAA revamped its district boundaries based on student population, Gurdon was placed in the 7A-Central basketball conference with Genoa Central, Nevada and Stephens. Three class A powers, rich in basketball tradition.

This means the 19 players suiting up for the Devils will have their work cut out for them night in and night out.

In addition to the double round robin conference schedule, where every game is vital, the tournaments Coach John Ware has his team scheduled for are killer. They will be participating in the Southern Arkansas University Tournament Dec. 9-14 and are one of the teams in the Southwest Arkansas Invitational in Saratoga Jan. 4-11, 1997.

Ten players from the football team came to join the basketball squad, but most of these are sophomores. Ware said only one senior came out for the team -- Mario Charles.

This doesn't bother Ware much, however, as he says he's rather have students who want to play basketball instead of those who feel pressured to be there.

He also said he has some players on this year's crew. Corey Marsh will be his big man inside, while Marcus Wright and Eric Hatley return with plenty of experience from last season.

Mitch Plyler and Sam Bell are two seniors who haven't seen much court action, but who could contribute this year.

Ware also expects help from Keon Brewer and Antonio Gatlin, as well as Don Smallwood.

The sophomores, he said, will have to grow up fast, because they are expected to contribute also. This group includes Terry Cornish, Chauncey Charles, Adrian Meeks, Josh Griffin, Eric Allen and Demond Beasley. "We need something from them immediately," Ware said.

Those coming to the hardwood from the gridiron entered beat up, but none have serious injuries. Ware said most of them are bruised and battered from their football campaign and need some time to heal.

In spite of this, they are giving it everything they've got in practice, he said. "They came ready to play."

Unfortunately, those who were ready for basketball when school started didn't get much practice time in. Ware said they had to be taken to the old gym at the middle school and only got in about 30 minutes of work daily.

At this point in time, Ware doesn't have his system in place. "We've had some unfortunate distractions," he said, "and I've told them I'll be patient with them if they'll be patient with themselves.

"We have a good nucleus and have some workers. We've got good quickness and are in a new conference."

In discussing the new conference, Ware said Gurdon, Lewisville and Stamps are the only three schools offering football. The rest play basketball year round.

Gurdon finished second to Stamps last year for the 7AA conference title. He said the Yellowjackets bring back three players from this squad and have some height.

Still, he said Genoa Central, Nevada and Stephens are the teams to beat because they never put the basketball down and the sport is big in their communities. "They pack the gyms," he said of the fans.

Ware pointed out Stephens is only one of two or three teams with a win against Saratoga in the past two years.

"If we win the 7A-Central," he said, "we need to beat Nevada, Stephens and Stamps. Those are the three top teams in the conference now. This is a good conference, but I plan to finish on top. We're playing for this."

Ware actually likes being placed in a primarily basketball-oriented league. He said playing better teams makes his team better and pointed out last year's schedule which included several AAA and AAAA teams.

"This is the toughest schedule we've had in a while," he said. "But when you play good teams, you tend to step up and play better ball. We've dropped in classification, not competition."

Ware said the game of basketball has changed over the years, as the players and coaches have gotten better. The players are bigger, stronger, faster and better skilled than in years past.

While he loves the game, he uses it to teach his players life skills as well. These include teamwork, responsibility, determination, dependability, trust and discipline.

Talking about the new league competition, Ware said it should help the players in the long run.

"They should stay focused because they have to be ready every game," he said. "You get better when you come to play every night."

Before the double conference games, the players tended to get up only for those game they considered important, mainly league contests and games against heated rivals. For the rest of the games, they played no harder than they had to. But this wasn't just for Gurdon, it was all teams involved.

Ware said his team had better be ready to play every night because their opposition definitely will.

"Everybody will be ready to play us," he said. "They feel we're coming to their back yard to play.

"Our kids have a lot of respect for the teams in our conference. They know the tradition and keep up with basketball. They know their work's cut out for them."

Ware said the Devils will be a four guard one forward team this year because there's no true big man to play center.

However, those wearing colors other than purple and gold had better come ready to run as Ware plans to "push" the ball down the floor.

He said this year's team has some shooters as well, but the best thing about the team is its work ethic. "I'm pleased with their work," Ware said. "If they'll just be patient, work hard and enjoy the game, we'll have a good season and be competitive.

"We have a whole group that hates to lose. They won't accept losing."