Bluegrassrivals

By HAL MORRIS
[email]hmorris@amnews.com[/email]
10:56 a.m. EST, November 15, 2011

BURGIN — The Burgin girls return a lot of experience, but not a lot of depth.
So coach¿Chris Myers is going to need his veterans to stay on the floor if the Bulldogs want to get back to the 12th Region Tournament and win the 12th Region¿All “A”¿Classic title.
“Our health will be a key. And we have to stay out of foul trouble; we only go seven deep,”¿Myers said. “Quick early fouls starts to affect our rotation on the bench.”
And if the Bulldogs can keep everyone healthy and playing, Myers hopes they can make a good push in the competitive 12th Region this year.
“The expectations for me every year are going to be to put ourselves in a position to win the district championship. And to do that, you’ve got to get to the championship game. That qualifies us for the region, which is a big deal for me, so that’s another goal accomplished,”¿he said.
“On another scale, I’m really excited about the All “A” tournament. I feel with the team we bring back, we can give Danville a run for its money in the All “A.”
Shavon¿Majors missed half of last season with a knee injury, but Myers said she is back at 100 percent after averaging 12 points and nine rebounds a game last year.
Senior Lindsey Monson, a three-year starter returns at point guard. “Lindsey knows what we expect out of that position, as far as decision making and getting us into our offense,”¿Myers said. “It helps a lot when your point guard has played significant minute for four years.”
Junior Randi Burke will play both forward spots and will fill in at point guard when needed.
Myers said junior Taylor Sanders may be team’s best spot-up shooter. Olivia Dismeaux has grown about 3 to 4 inches, and Myers is excited to have her coming off the bench for some inside presence.
Sophomore Liz Marcinek is the team’s best defender, Myers said, adding that he would put her up against anyone in the region and saying he hopes her offense catches up with her defense this season. Summer Burke will serve as a backup at the shooting guard and small forward spots.

Keys to the Season
The most important thing for Burgin is to keep its starters and few veteran reserves on the floor. If the Bulldogs have to go deep into their bench, they could be in trouble.

Player to Watch
If Majors stays healthy, she can be one of the better players in the region.
“She has shown no ill effects from the surgery and she played well when we scrimmaged,”¿Myers said. “I have been very impressed with her work ethic. She was our leading scorer and we play her in so many positions, and this year, depending on our lineup, we may play her at center and post her up. About the only thing we don’t ask her to do is bring the ball up.”

Top Newcomer
Myers said he has no idea if any of the younger players will be contributors at the varsity level.
“I don’t see anyone in the younger ranks that didn’t see minutes (last year) coming up and helping the varsity,”¿he said. “But I’m excited about the freshman and JV squads.”

Biggest Concern
At some point in the season, some of the reserves may need to be contributors.
The real concern for Myers is if one of the top seven goes down and misses significant time.

Top Returning Players
Randi Burke, Jr. F, 6 ppg, 3.6 rpg.
Shavon¿Majors, Sr. G-F, 12 ppg, 9 rpg.
Liz Marcinek, So. G-F, 4 ppg.
Lindsey Monson, Sr. G, 6 ppg, 2 rpg.
Taylor Sanders, Jr. G-F, 6 ppg.

[Image: 246643840-15075958.jpg]

Burgins Shavon Majors missed half of last season with a knee injury, but is healthy this year for the Bulldogs.

Burgin surprised a lot of people last year by making it to the 12th Region Tournament.