For the longest time, Petal was recognized almost exclusively as a football or baseball school, but times seem to be changing with the recent success the Panthers have enjoyed on the hardwood.
There’s a palpable energy surrounding the boys program heading into Todd Kimble’s second year on the job. Coming off a 17-win campaign and a trip to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs, the Panthers return several star players and will even break in a new court this season.
Like all MHSAA teams, they started official practice on Monday.
“When I took this job, one of the things I kept getting asked is, ‘How are you gonna get people in the stands?’ I told them, ‘You build it, and they’ll come’. I think that’s with any program,” explained Kimble. “People wanna come watch winners play. I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and said they’re ready for basketball.”
The Panthers lost a few key contributors including Mykah Brown (MGCCC), TJ Henly (William Carey) and Matt Butler, but they’ll return a dynamic duo of juniors in Treylan Smith (6-foot-4) and Caleb McGill (6-foot-5). Both players averaged 14 points a game last season, and both improved significantly this offseason.
Smith has taken his perimeter shooting to another level, and McGill has “gone crazy” in the weight room, according to Kimble.
“When you have the success they had as 10th graders, the expectations grow. They grow for me as a coach, and they grow for people that watch our basketball team play. I think it puts good pressure on them.”
Smith and McGill are two of several skyscrapers on this year’s team. Other big men that are expected to play significant minutes this year are Marcel Blackwell (6-foot-5), Ziquan Gordon (6-foot-4) and Omarion Carter (6-foot-3).
Their length and strength from top to bottom has allowed Kimble to tweak his offense. He normally does that every new year anyway.
“People that have coached against me for any length of time know that I’m not gonna run the same thing every year,” explained Kimble. “I’m going to run whatever fits my basketball team. This team is different. We’ve changed it up to a little more of a power game I guess.”
As for their guard play, senior Don Avilla is expected to start at point guard and fill the role left by Mykah Brown. Like Brown, Avilla is making the transition from shooting guard to the point for his final year in a Petal uniform.
Smith, McGill, Anthony Henderson and Dre Harvel are other players that are expected to handle the ball at times for the Panthers, and Landyn Shows gives them a perimeter threat that Kimble says they didn’t have last year.
Petal will open the 2018-2019 season in late October. Their notable non-region games include: Hattiesburg, Wayne County and Harrison Central. In December, they’ll play Raymond in the St. Andrews Holiday Tournament and Glen Falls (New York) in the City of Palms Tournament in Fort Myers, Florida. Then region play and teams like Meridian and rival Oak Grove await the Panthers. Kimble maintains this schedule is about as tough as it gets in Mississippi high school basketball.
“I don’t expect our record percentage-wise to be as good as it was last year because of who we play. You can’t look down our schedule and find a game that you can guarantee we’re gone win.”
Still, the Panthers have ambitions of making program history this year, according to Treylan Smith.
“It’s unfinished. We’re trying to do something that’s never been done at Petal. We ain’t never made it to the Big House [in Jackson]. The farthest we’ve ever been is the second round of the playoffs, so we’re trying to make history.”
It’s still early in the game, but Kimble likes the direction they’re headed.
“The attitude and togetherness and work ethic and all those tangibles I think it takes to make a great basketball team, this group has.”
