Tigers prepare for 2022-23 season
After going just 6-17 in the 2021 season, Greene County has reshaped the Tigers’ whole program heading into 2022.
First off, only a handful of players on the Tigers roster played on the team last year. The bulk of the squad is composed of younger guys with the addition of a couple of kids who recently moved to the area.
In addition to a relatively new roster, Greene County brought in first-year head coach Mark Wright to take over the helm.
Wright, who came from Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County, believes the culture around the program is changing in a positive way since he’s taken over the program.
“Since football season ended, we’ve got more size and athleticism now. The guys have dialed in surprisingly, and they’ve been able to transition from the two sports in a big way,” Wright said. “It may be a culture shock for some of them since they’ll be held accountable more than they may have been before, but I think they’re all handling it in a positive way.”
Unlike the girls’ team, the Tigers have yet to play a game in the 2022 season and will tip off in its season-opener on Nov. 29 against Taliaferro County.
After hosting the Jaguars on its brand-new court, Greene County will prepare for two consecutive rivalry games at the beginning of December against a few other area teams.
The Tigers will have to travel to Putnam County on Dec. 2 and then turn around and host Morgan County the next day. Greene County lost to the War Eagles last year and hasn’t played the Bulldogs since 2020, but fell to them as well.
Looking ahead, Wright is excited about those types of contests and believes it will be a good indicator of where the team is after a short offseason.
“It’s a sophomore-oriented group, but it’s good because I’ve found out they’re conducive to learning at a young age,” Wright said. “I feel like these guys will be ready to go, but we’ll see when we actually play some real competition like the rivalry games we have early on in the season.”
In terms of the identity of this year’s Tigers’ team, they hope to be more aggressive on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, Greene County was able to average just over 45 points per game. They relied on buckets close to the rim, usually on put-backs or layups. This year, the Tigers will have more experience and more shooters than before.
Defensively, the Tigers expect to cause more problems for opposing offenses than they did last season. Greene’s defense gave up about 56 points per game and struggled to get into full-court presses when needed.
As the season gets closer to the beginning, Wright believes aggressive defense will be the backbone for the squad.
“Since I’ve been coaching, everything has been predicated on defense. There’s a defensive standard we have to have,” Wright said. “The guys know that, and once they fully understand that defense is more important than offense and can invoke that in the game, then they’ll start seeing better opportunities.”
In the end, the Tigers are ready to step back in front of their home fans and show people how much they’ve improved since last season.