Bluegrassrivals

MANUAL

Coach: Stacy Pendleton (eighth year).


Last season: 33-5, lost to Rockcastle County 62-60 in overtime in Sweet 16 final.


Player to watch: Senior April Wilson, a 5-7 guard, is a top candidate for Miss Basketball. The Purdue signee missed last season’s Sweet 16 with a broken hand but is healthy now and expected to improve on the numbers from her junior year (6.9 ppg, 4.5 apg, 4.1 spg).


Other top players: G Kara Wright (5-10, Sr., 9.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg); G LeAsia Wright (5-7, Sr., 9.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.1 apg); G Lauren Bodine (5-7, Sr., 4.4 ppg); F Kayla Styles (6-1, Jr., 4.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg); G Destony Curry (5-7, Jr., 5.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg); G Morgan Allen (5-7, Jr., 3.8 ppg).


Outlook: Seventh Region Player of the Year Mechael Guess has moved on to the University of Pittsburgh, but there’s plenty of talent back from the Sweet 16 runner-up. It starts with Wilson, one of three seniors who have signed with NCAA Division I schools, joining Kara Wright (Southeast Missouri State) and Bodine (Maine). The wild card is Styles, who has the frame and athleticism to emerge as one of the state’s best players. Pendleton believes this is the most talented team he’s had at Manual.

http://saxo.highschoolsports.net/article...-2?Avis=B2

No smiles yet: Lady Crimsons No. 1 but haven't gotten over finishing No. 2

If you think they’ve forgotten, that the Manual High School girls’ basketball coaches and players have simply put last season behind them, consider the story of head coach Stacy Pendleton.

Only three days ago Pendleton went to his office, got on his computer and listened to a replay of the final minutes of Rockcastle County’s 62-60 overtime victory over the Lady Crimsons in the Sweet 16 final.

“It just about brought tears to my eyes,” he said. “My head was down. I pounded the desk. My heart was pounding. It was painful. Painful.”

But as the 2011-12 season approaches tipoff Nov. 28, Manual appears to have a solid shot at redemption. Led by four senior starters headed to NCAA Division I colleges and a strong group of juniors, the Lady Crimsons are No. 1 in The Courier-Journal’s preseason poll of coaches. They received 43 of 77 first-place votes, edging out Marion County (31) for the top spot. Boone County is No. 3, followed by Perry County Central, Mercy and Butler.

“Manual absolutely deserves the No. 1 spot,” said Ballard coach Steve Kaufman, whose team is expected to give the Lady Crimsons their toughest challenge in the Seventh Region. “They were in the state final last season, so it has to be them on the pedestal until somebody removes them.”

The Lady Crimsons lost four seniors, led by Seventh Region Player of the Year Mechael Guess, who’s now playing volleyball at the University of Pittsburgh after leading Manual in scoring (14.8) and rebounding (5.9) last season.

Pendleton was asked who his go-to player would be this season.

“I have four of them,” he said, referring to seniors April Wilson, Kara Wright, LeAsia Wright and Lauren Bodine. “All four of them have played huge minutes their whole careers.”

Wilson, a 5-foot-7 guard, is among the frontrunners for Miss Basketball. The Purdue signee averaged 6.9 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 steals last season before suffering a broken hand and missing the state tournament.

Pendleton expects Wilson’s scoring numbers to increase this season. “I really don’t have a choice because my coach at Purdue has said the same thing, that I need to look to score more and that I pass up too many open shots,” Wilson said. “It’s not a bad thing to be unselfish, but as a point guard you have to know when to take over games and take the right shots.”

Kara Wright (9.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and LeAsia Wright (9.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg) — no relation — are the top returning scorers. Kara Wright has signed with Southeast Missouri State; LeAsia Wright is considering Marshall, Jacksonville State, Saint Louis and others.

Bodine (4.4 ppg), a Maine signee, led the team with 36 three-pointers last season. The fifth starter, 6-0 junior Kayla Styles (4.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.8 bpg), might be the most coveted college prospect because of her length and athleticism.

“This is by far my most skilled team,” said Pendleton, in his eighth season at Manual. “Our top seven players will all play (Division I) in college. … But this team needs to come together to show they’re a better team than last year.”

Juniors Destony Curry (5.8 ppg), Katie Long (1.4) and Morgan Allen (3.8) and sophomore Tabitha Mitchell (3.4) lead a deep bench. Pendleton called Curry “one of the most underrated kids in the state” and said Long is his most improved player.

“I know what I’m going to get from the four seniors,” Pendleton said. “(The reserves) are the ones that will determine how good we are.”

If they’re good enough, the Lady Crimsons might get a pep rally of their own. Pendleton and the seniors talked about sitting in the bleachers earlier this month during a pep rally to celebrate Manual’s field hockey team that won the state title.

“We were mad that we didn’t get to have that pep rally last year,” Bodine said.

Yes, that loss to Rockcastle County is still a bit painful.

“You get so close,” Pendleton said. “I know it’s on our minds. As a competitor, it’s on my mind every day. But if it’s overwhelming and intimidating, it will cause us to not perform well this year.

“But it should be what motivates us to be great. It’s all about doing what we can to get back there.”

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