Greene County is coming off one of its best seasons in program history.
The Tigers won a region championship, entered the state playoffs as a No. 1 seed, and reached the semifinals before losing to eventual runner-up McIntosh County Academy, finishing with a 22-8 record.
Greene County graduated a senior class that included starters Laryous Burt, Jesse Broadus, and Ryder Eschbach, as well as RJ Monford and Ivan Porter. The Tigers may have lost those players, but they also returned a few key pieces from last season’s deep playoff run and entered this year ranked No. 2 in Class A Division II.
Greene County head coach Mark Wright knows he has a young roster, but is confident his players can succeed.
“Well, it’s a young group, but the young core group is really coming along,” Wright told the Lake Oconee News.
The Tigers returned Braylen Hurt and Corey Brown, both of whom Wright is high on.
Wright considers himself a “developmental coach” and mentioned that both Hurt and Brown understand his expectations and know the standard. He’s hoping the pair steps up as leaders after the team lost a lot in the offseason.
“We lost a lot of leadership with those guys being gone,” Wright said. “So, the hardest task is to find new leadership and guys who want to step up and take those reins. And I, as a coach myself, can care less if it comes from a freshman or a senior. We just need team chemistry, leadership, and camaraderie.
“So, right now, as it is, I try to put at least one or two freshmen on varsity, just like kicking them out of the nest and making them flap their wings and see where they go. Because by the time they’re juniors and seniors, they’ve had two or three years in the program. They understand the process. They know what’s required and what the standard is, and they can start to lead younger guys. So as it is, those two guys will be Braylen and Corey.”
Greene County also got a few transfers, including Dontrell Glover from Hancock Central, Jalen Edwards from Forest Park, and Jordan Knox from Washington-Wilkes. They’re all expected to make an impact this year.
Ethan Wright, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard and son of the Tigers’ coach, is also a player to watch.
“Overall, we have a lot of really good guys,” Wright said. “The talent is there. Leadership is our Achilles heel right now. So, during the season, we’re going to need to find it because we have another tough schedule. We have the toughest schedule in (Class A Division II), from what I’ve been told. And with that, it’s a lot of responsibility because we have to produce results. We’re looking to get ready for the state playoffs.”
Greene County’s schedule features non-region games against Kell, Clarke Central, Christian Heritage, Morgan County, Manchester, Taylor County, Commerce, and South Forsyth. The Tigers also face a challenging region slate with Towns County and Warren County, two teams ranked in the top 10 of Class A Division II. They’ll have their work cut out for them from the beginning of the regular season until the end.
Short-term goals for Greene County include helping its players grow, develop, and buy into Wright’s system. The Tigers’ long-term goals are, first, winning a region championship, and second, winning a state title.
“Every season that I’ve been here, we’ve grown,” Greene County’s head coach said. “We’ve grown from a 7-18 team in our first season to a 19-10 team in year two, and then we got to the Sweet 16. Last year, we were 22-8, reached the Final Four, and won the region. We were eight minutes away from a potential berth at the state championship. Right now, if we’re looking in the grand scheme of things, our expectations are high.”