Chesnee Boy's BasketballChesnee heads into the 2021-2022 season with some big expectations as they look to be in the hunt for the playoffs and a chance at a region championship this year thanks to the return of some key players. The Eagles will be led by head coach Andy Pitt who enters his 11th season at the helm of the Chesnee program and 12th overall as part of the Eagles program, which has been filled with many playoff runs and they look to make this season another one of those years. Chesnee will enter the season as the #10 ranked team at the 2A level by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association. "We will be smaller in size than in past years so you'll see us playing more with four guards on the floor," said Pitt. "You will still see us playing hard and competing with grit each night for 32 minutes. We should be highly competitive in Region II-AA while competing for a playoff spot and maybe even a chance at winning the region." Chesnee will be led this season by preseason All-Region selections senior KJ Valentine and sophomore Brady Poole. Valentine enters the season coming off back-to-back All-Region performances along with a 2020 season that saw him finish the year averaging a double-double (11.3 points and 12.2 rebounds a game) along with 2.4 blocks a game. Poole is the leading returning scorer from last year's team as he averaged 12.9 points a game while shooting 43% from the field and over 80% from the free throw line. "We're going to lean on KJ and Brady with their experience this year," said Pitt. "KJ is in his fourth year of starting on varsity and we're going to be looking to him as our emotional leader this year. We have a lot of great kids that have been working hard this summer along with this preseason and I like the direction that we're heading as a team. I think we can have a lot of success with the style of ball we're playing this year." Valentine says that he wants to make his senior season the best of his career and he has a list of things he wants to accomplish before his high school basketball career comes to an end. "We want to win the region this year and we're working hard everyday to attain that goal," said Valentine. "With this being my senior season I want us to go far this year and I'm expecting a bigger season from myself this year than I've ever had before." The duo won't be the only Eagles returning from an 8-7 team last year, as they will also see the return of seniors Ty Dawkins and Jayden Gossett along with junior Carson Williamson. Chesnee will also look to get key contributions from four newcomers as they welcome senior Elijah Wease, junior Jalen Rudisill, sophomore Daniel Wease, and freshman Coyie Poole. The Eagles will tip off their season in the Rippy's Tipoff, a three day tournament from November 22-24, where they will start off the tournament against the #1 ranked team at the 1A level, Southside Christian. Pitt says the early season matchup against such a strong team will show the Eagles where they stack up against other teams early in the year. "We're going to find out pretty early where we stand," said Pitt. "We don't normally play in tournaments to start the season but with circumstances we changed it up this year and we're going to get tested early being on the same side of the bracket with Southside Christian. Depending on what happens we'll play the winner of Woodruff and Spartanburg Day School, which have been two good teams so we'll find out pretty early what we're made of going into the season." Chesnee will also see the return of their Roundball Classic for the 2021 season, as last year's event was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic. The tournament will take place on December 21-23 with a field that consists of: Blacksburg, Boiling Springs, Catawba Ridge, Chesnee, Fort Mill, Spartanburg Day, Union County, and York. Pitt says that the team is looking forward to the opportunity to bring back the tournament with another strong field. "It's going to be really good to get our tournament back going this year," said Pitt. "We have a nice field and like most years, no easy games. We hope to have three exciting days of basketball to send people into the Christmas holiday as we changed the dates this year to have the tournament happen just before Christmas instead of after like it has been in years past." The Eagles fanbase will get their first chance to see their team play at home on December 1st when they host Woodruff in a non-region matchup. Chesnee Girl's BasketballWhen the new season arrives for the Chesnee girls basketball team it will be a year of change for the Eagles as they'll have many new faces around the program this season.
The biggest change for the Eagles this season will be the leader of the program as first year coach Derek Byars takes over for former coach Carey Burns who stepped down at the end of last year, after leading the Eagles program for many years. He has been part of multiple state championship teams with the Eagles serving as an assistant on the 2013 state championship baseball team as well as an assistant on the 2020 volleyball state championship team, which the Eagles hope will transition to the girl’s basketball team. In a press release from the school district prior to the season Byars said that he's looking forward to the opportunity to take over the reigns of the Eagles program and to continue what Coach Burns has built with the Eagles. "I'm really excited," said Byars. "This is a good program and I'm looking forward to helping us take the next step. Coach Burns has always done a great job of leading them in basketball and in teaching players how to be good people. I want to continue that." Byars takes over a program that finished 9-7 last year during a season that saw that saw many teams dealing through the Covid pandemic. In a normal season the Eagles would have been in the playoffs but last season they were left out as only the top two teams from each region were allowed in the playoffs. "We are looking to improve throughout the season," said Byars. "We are excited to work hard and compete this year as we're going to play sound defense and do all of the little things right." Chesnee will be looking to their lone returning starter from last year's team, Brie Smith, to lead the team as she was named a Top 5 senior player at the 2A level by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association this season. She will be joined by two newcomers, Hannah Henderson and Pearl Holloway, who the Eagles hope to get big contributions from this season. The Eagles will kick off their new season in the Turkey Shootout tournament at Chesnee that will include York, Broome, and Polk County. The tournament will be November 22-23 and start at 6:00 PM. Chesnee will follow up their play in the tournament with a road trip to Broome on November 30th before hosting their first home game of year on December 1st against Woodruff. Comments are closed.
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