GAINESVILLE -- How do you follow the best season in school history?
Lakeview Academy boys basketball coach Todd Cottrell hopes to do so with even more history -- and the Lions certainly have the right mix of talent and experience to do just that.
The Lions are coming off their first-ever trip to the Class A Private quarterfinals and finished with a school-record 25 wins last year. They also won the Region 8-A title. And they return four starters, losing only Daniel Fadool to graduation, and return seven of their top eight players that saw significant action in 2015-16.
So far so good for Lakeview, which is off to a 4-1 start, including a 79-43 throttling of a good Athens Academy team on the road Friday night to open Region 8-A play.
“We’ve gotten off to a good start this year. I like where we are right now,” Cottrell said. “There’s always room for improvement. I think our defense is going to have to be a little better. But our offense is very versatile and that has carried us so far.”
The Lions are averaging a region-best 79.2 points a game in the early going. At almost any given point of a game they have four, sometimes, five guys on the court that could carry the team offensively. They also are averaging over 20 assists a game as a team.
Junior guard Drew Cottrell leads the way at 22.0 ppg and is adding 3.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.6 steals a game as well. Senior forward Tre Gober is averaging 20 points and 4.2 rebounds, senior forward Josh Randolph is averaging 10.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. Another senior forward, Carter Reeves, is working his way back into basketball shape after football but is still contributing 7.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, including pulling down a season-high 14 boards against Athens Academy.
“We have a lot of guys that can score. Tre, Drew, Evan (Pitts), Josh can all score from just about anywhere on the court. Carter is good around the basket,” Cottrell said. “We also have several guys that can rebound the ball. But for us to be successful we have to rebound and play defense.”
Against Athens Academy, the Lions saw more zone than usual as the Spartans tried to limit Reeves on the inside. Gober, Drew Cottrell, sophomore Adam Cottrell, and interchangeable point guards, Ryan Lackey and Jack Blackburn opened things up with driving dishes and 3-point shots.
“Athens Academy tried to take away the inside with Carter but we have guys that can open things up and eventually we were able to get them out of that zone with our outside shooting,” Cottrell said. “That’s what I like about this team so far is their versatility on offense. A lot of weapons when everyone is on.”
The Lions came into the season ranked sixth in the Class A Private poll. Their only loss to this point was a 67-64 setback to No. 5 St. Francis in their fourth game of the season. That came after knocking off perennial power East Hall 95-79 in the Piedmont Classic.
Despite the St. Francis loss, Cottrell said he found out a lot about his current group.
“We trailed by 10 or more points most of the game,” he said. “But the kids kept battling and scratching and we ended up with several chances in the final minute to take the lead. We couldn’t get that final big shot but the way they didn’t quit and found a way back in the game was very encouraging.”
However, Cottrell said that the difference in repeating as Region 8-A champs in a tough region will come down to their defensive prowess. So far, they have allowed the second-most points (61 ppg) in the region. Their margin of victory, however, is a whopping 18.2 ppg through the first five games because of their explosive offense.
“Well, we’re also averaging like 18 turnovers a game and that doesn’t help your defense so we need to clean that up. But we also need to just get better overall on defense. That is what always makes the difference when you see the great teams, especially in the playoffs,” he said.
With the shadow of their best-ever season still hanging over them as a constant reminder, can the Lions set new high-water marks?
“Like I said, I like where this team is right now, even though it’s still early in the year,” Cottrell said. “I don’t know how good this team can be. There is still a lot of work to do.
“But we’re more balanced than in the past and if we can keep getting better on defense and rebound with the bigger teams, who knows. But I’m interested in watching and finding out.”
