Basketball season for 2015/2016 should provide another exciting year. What should we expect from DuPont Manual. Remember, please be constructive.

Manual is coming off what must be considered their best season under coach Just. The Crimsons finished with a 26-5 record losing in the regional final to Ballard in overtime. Manual graduated 6 seniors including Dwayne "Waynie" Sutton, who was a Mr. Basketball finalist and Division 1 signee with UNC Asheville.

 

Returning for the Crimsons are four seniors that saw significant playing time in coach Just ten man rotation. Those seniors are Stevie Gordon, Marquis McClendon, Jo Aunn Rivers, and Eric Niemann.

 

Gordon is a slashing, fearless player that plays much bigger than his 6'0 size. McClendon is going to be counted on greatly this season. I believe as McClendon goes so goes the Crimsons. He is a strong player capable of doing many things, defense, rebounding, scoring, etc. Rivers is returning from major knee surgery, an injury he sustained in the LIT game against Bullitt East. Up to that point, Jo Aunn was playing major minutes as the backup point guard. He is an excellent defender, and goes hard all the time. Niemann is probably the teams best defender, at 6'3 he can guard all five positions. He is a two sport athlete playing WR on the Crimson football team.

 

The Junior class is small in numbers and are in experienced at the varsity level. One junior that should crack their 10 man rotation is Will Britt a 5'11 guard that will play some point as well as 2 guard. He is another good on ball defender. He is at his best when attacking the defense in the open floor.

 

The future is bright with an excellent sophomore class. 6'5 Noah Hawkins, 6'1 Jordan McClendon, 6'0 Jalen Howard, and 6'0 Kenyan Jacob are all expected to make some noise this season at the varsity level.

 

Hawkins started all summer for the Crimson and continues to improve every time he steps on the floor. He will be a serious post option for Manual this season. Jordan McClendon may be the most athletic player on the Crimson roster. If he continues to grow he just might be in the same league as Waynie Sutton by the time he is a senior. Jalen Howard plays point for the Crimson and this summer showed he is ready to contribute. He has great energy and loves to compete. Kenyan Jacob is an excellent shooter that continues to improve daily.

 

After watching Manual this summer, I am convinced that they will make some noise in the always tough 7th region. They will be tested very early with 3 of their first 5 games against Waggener, Ballard, and Trinity all on the road.

 

I believe this will be a better defensive team than last years squad and their offense will continue to improve over the course of the season.