The Greene County girls basketball team has endured its share of growing pains this season, but head coach Steven Hopper believes his team is trending in the right direction as the region tournament approaches.
The Lady Tigers have leaned heavily on youth. In fact, only two players on the roster had meaningful varsity experience before this season.
“When I really thought about it, I was like, ‘Who on this basketball team played serious varsity minutes?’” Hopper told the Lake Oconee News. “Only two girls had. Basically, I’m playing with my JV from last year.”
Despite the inexperience, improvement has been evident down the stretch.
“We’re very, very young,” Hopper added. “But we’re improving and getting better. I’ve seen a lot of improvement.”
One of the biggest bright spots has been junior Denver McCommons, who has emerged as a consistent scoring threat during region play.
Entering this week, she has scored 20 points or more in five of her last six games, including performances of 27, 27, 22, and 20 points.
“She’s hitting the region pretty hard,” Hooper said of McCommons.
While wins have been hard to come by, Greene County has remained competitive in several games, including close contests against Towns County and Lake Oconee Academy.
From the coach’s perspective, the team’s most significant growth has come off the stat sheet.
“This team truly is gelling together,” Hopper said. “They like each other. They respect each other as people.”
That chemistry has helped maintain morale, even though the team hasn’t won a game entering this week.
“Honestly, I don’t struggle with keeping them motivated at all,” the coach said. “They just show up. They’re very upbeat. They’re very energetic — sometimes too energetic, sometimes too silly — but despite our problems, they’ve been there.”
As the season heads toward the region tournament, Hopper remains confident Greene County can still reach the postseason.
“I still expect us to make the playoffs,” he said.
The Tigers drew on last season’s experience as an example of how quickly things can change in the region tournament. After splitting games with Towns County in the regular season — including a two-point home win and a lopsided road loss — Greene County made adjustments and ultimately advanced.
“That’s what I told the girls this year,” Hopper said. “Just stay the course. I know it’s tough right now. I know things aren’t going as we want. But continue to do the little things I’m asking you to do, and eventually things will happen the way we want them to happen.”