Veteran Midland Trail girls basketball head coach Mark Kincaid is not exactly sure how good his team will be this year.
However, Kincaid is convinced when January rolls around, the Patriots should be a team to be reckoned with this year.
We have 16 kids out and I really like them, but most of them are maybe a year away from being productive,” Kincaid said. “There are a lot of positives to that. It is not a lack of talent, it is the fact that they are not quite ready for varsity action. They are just young. I see a lot of potential in them though.”
Midland Trail does have four solid underclassmen returning from last year including three juniors and a sophomore.
Addy Isaacs heads up the trio of juniors and is a player that fills up the stat sheet each night. Last year, Isaacs averaged 16.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.1 steals, 4 assists and 1.9 blocks per game.
Isaacs will be flanked by classmate Rumor Barnhouse who also averaged double figures scoring 11.5 points a contest, while grabbing 3.6 rebounds and recording 2.6 steals.
The third junior in the trio is Jayla Barnhouse along with sophomore Nevaeh Hall who had a strong year in her first season.
“We do have our two leading scorers back and it will be their third year starting for us,” Kincaid said. “Jayla has really worked on her game and has improved. She started some last year. Nevaeh will be a full-time starter this year after starting for us some last year as well. She is like my little Dennis Rodman type of player. Those four kids are pretty athletic and can move for us.”
After those four players, Kincaid admits it is a bit of a mystery as to who will start, but he does believe he has some players to get the job done.
“We are not big and don’t have much size, but we do have some length,” Kincaid said. “I like to press, trap and play zone, but we may have to play a little more man-to-man. I feel like we will be pretty good, I am just not totally sure yet.”
Maddi Harrell is back after suffering an injury that held her out last year. She will provide a solid presence in the post along with Hall.
“Harrell and Hall are the two true post players,” Kincaid said. “We have some young players in the post, but they are not quite ready.”
Kincaid added Mary McGraw, freshman Raelyn Morris and Fallon Bragg should also play key rolls this season for the Patriots.
“Raelyn has a really nice offensive game, but we will need her to play some defense and rebound as well,” Kincaid said. “Fallon Bragg has a really good defensive game. She has worked really hard the last two years and has really improved. I also expect good things out of Mary this year.”
With a smaller team than in years past and depth being a work in progress, Kincaid will look to turn up the heat on defense this year.
“With these new rules, we will try to be more aggressive. Of course, we want to play better defense without fouling,” Kincaid said. “We have to be physical and get up and down the floor. I like playing chaotic basketball. I like organized chaos.”
Trail will have a good opportunity to get off to a strong start with the first six games being played at home.
“December is kind of the preseason, but by January I feel like we will be OK. It will be an adjustment to how we play and I will have to coach a little different than I normally do,” Kincaid said. “It will be fun though. I really like this group. They are working very hard. We just don’t have the depth that we have had in the past and don’t have a lot of tall people.”
