If a freshman plays basketball at a local public high school, chances are that athlete is in a league all their own.
For many years Muscogee County has been the location for high schools to have the opportunity to showcase freshman basketball athletes in a league just for ninth graders. While most high schools have freshman, JV, and Varsity teams, a league solely for freshman basketball players gives incoming athletes a chance to develop and adjust to a higher level of play.
Patavious Sorrell is the head boys basketball coach at Harris County High School. Prior to accepting the job at HCHS, Sorrell was a basketball coach at Shaw High School. He started out as a community coach while attending college, then became a faculty member and coach in 2010. During his time at Shaw, Sorrell became involved in the MCSD Freshman Development League and took over the responsibilities of managing the boys league when the Raiders coach left the school for a position elsewhere.
It was during his time at Shaw that Sorrell recognized the benefits of placing local freshman basketball teams in a separate league from upper classmen.
“When players come into the high school setting from a middle school program, the scheme is more in-depth,” Sorrell said. “The league gives them an opportunity to develop and to make mistakes. If they win, great. If they lose or make a mistake, well, that is a chance to learn and improve.”
The boys league currently consists of 10 teams, eight from Muscogee County and two from outside the county: Carver, Hardaway, Kendrick, Spencer, Northside, Shaw, Jordan, Columbus, Manchester, and Harris County.
Teams play on Saturday mornings beginning in November. Games start at 9 a.m. at a designated participating school’s gym. Four games are played, and the cost is $5 to watch one or all four games. There is no fund-raising for the League, and expenditures (officials, etc.) are paid for with monies generated by ticket sales.
The highlight of the League’s season is the championship game that begins with a semi-finals series and ends with finals. The champs receive bragging rights and the chance to keep the winner’s trophy at their school until the next season’s victors take over ownership.
“It’s like the Stanley Cup,” Sorrell said. “The trophy goes to whichever school wins the finals. The winner’s name is engraved on the trophy, and then that school displays it until another winner accepts it.”
The last two seasons saw a departure of the championship finals. Teams continued to participate, but the trophy remained with its last winners, Carver High School. This season the semi-finals will begin on Jan. 21 and the finals on Jan. 28. Carver will be host school for the championship series.
Sorrell believes strongly in the value of a freshman league. He notes that many basketball athletes coming into the ninth grade may have years of experience playing the sport but might not have received instruction on technique.
“These guys have athleticism,” Sorrell said. “They rank way up there in that because they usually have been playing basketball in some form for most of their lives. What this league helps the coaches do is to try to teach the game. How to play the game and develop the skillsets they will need going forward for every level they attempt.”
Basketball is obviously a passion for Sorrell. When he first came to Harris County High School, he coached all three boys teams. These days he has some help, but he still holds a lot of respect for the freshman league and how it fits into developing his other basketball teams.
“It’s my baby,” Sorrell said. “I have been involved with this ninth grade league for a while. I have seen the results with players who have come through it to the varsity. They become leaders.”
The Harris County High School coach isn’t the only one who sings the praises of the program. The League’s coordinator is Stefan Lawrence, an assistant varsity coach at Carver High School and the head coach for the Tigers freshman team. Lawrence has been involved with the boys league since 2010 and became the coordinator in 2014.
In a recent interview, Lawrence, a former high school and collegiate basketball athlete, acknowledged the need to work with the young athletes for the good of the players and the school’s basketball system.
“The freshman group is the lifeline of your program,” said Lawrence, who actually played in the league as a freshman at Hardaway High School before moving to Northside High School as a senior. “With the League, you get to see what you have in these athletes when they first come out to play. This is when you need to start developing them to be responsible athletes on and off the court. It is also a chance to help them transition to playing with older, more experienced athletes.”
Two of Sorrell’s new HCHS basketball players who are part of the freshman program see the usefulness of the league. Kendrell Bray and Tailique Williams are playing on more than one team at their school but know they will get more time on the court with the league team as well as be able to check out the local talent.
“It will give us a chance to see what some of the other teams will have,” Williams said.
“We will all be on the same skill level,” Bray said.
Nodding his head in agreement, Sorrell said: “This league: It’s like a measuring stick for athletes and coaches.”
For more information about the league, contact Stefan Lawrence at Lawrence.kenneth.s@muscogee.k12.ga.us
Columbus Valley/December 2016
Freshmen Basketball League
Columbus, Georgia
Written by: Beth Welch
Photos by: George McDuffie
There is also a girls league for freshman basketball athletes in the Columbus area. Julee Fryer, head girls basketball coach at Shaw High School, is the coordinator of the program for the female athletes. The season for the girls league began Nov. 12 and ends Jan. 14.
The girls league has 11 participating teams: Spencer, Jordan, Kendrick, Hardaway, Northside, Carver, Columbus, Harris Co., Manchester, Shaw 1, and Shaw 2.
Like the boys league, athletes in the girls league play on Saturday mornings. Locations of the games rotate between Northside, Carver, Kendrick, and Columbus. Games start at 8 a.m. and admission is $3 for one or all games on a scheduled Saturday.
Fryer has been involved with the girls program for three years. She said the league currently does not have a playoff at the end of the season, but plans are being considered to either have a tournament to close out the season or some type of All-Star game.
“The league is most enjoyed by the players and coaches when it is both developmental and competitive,” Fryer said.
For more information about the girls league, contact fryer.julee.c@muscogee.k12.ga.us
