[Stardust]

Brandon Cooper is cranking it up at Garrard County.
The Golden Lions played at a deliberate pace last season, but Cooper, their first-year coach, said they are better equipped for a faster pace this year, and he said they’ll need to do that to be successful.
Cooper, a 2000 Garrard graduate, said the Lions will move much faster than they did under his predecessor, Brad Sizemore, who said last year the Lions had to play at a slow pace to stay in games.
“They were more of a slow-down team; we’re athletic enough and guard-oriented, so we’ve got to speed it up,” Cooper said.
He said the Lions need to play faster to compensate for their lack of size, and he said they have matured enough to be able to do that.
“They’re stronger, they’re quicker, they’re more athletic than they were last year ... and they’re ready to get up and down the floor, ready to play at a higher tempo,” he said.
Garrard remains a young team, but the Lions lost only one player to graduation last year, And they have at least a little momentum, having won seven of their last nine games to finish 10-18.
“If you go back and look at the way they moved forward toward the end, you saw a big improvement. But also the improvement from the middle of summer to now is night and day. They’re a different team,” Cooper said.
The leader of the Lions’ four-man senior class might be guard Josh Stull, the only returning senior not playing football and a player whom Cooper said is both shooting and attacking the rim better.
Senior guards Markell Hayes and Cory Wilson and junior guard Billy Abney will also join the team once football season ends. Abney and Wilson are hard-nosed players who can play more than one role, while Hayes will be the team’s best athlete.
Austin Sebastian, a sophomore guard, emerged as a scoring threat last year and could be a bigger factor on offense for the Lions, as could sophomore guard Clayton Ray, whom Cooper said is also their best defender at the moment.
Sophomore Micah Miniard has grown to become the team’s tallest player at 6-6, sophomore Zach Freeman will also be part of the post game and senior Jonah Johnson has joined a team that Cooper said could go eight or nine deep, with as many as seven of them competing for starting spots.
Cooper is the Lions’ fifth coach in four years, but he said he’s in it for the long haul, with the goal of changing the culture of Garrard basketball.
“Garrard’s never been on the map for basketball. They’ve never experienced that 20-win season consistently,” he said. “We’re looking at that as the norm. That’s what we want from here on out.”

Keys to the Season

Some other area coaches are saying Garrard is a team on the rise, and Cooper said the Lions will have to defend well to prove them right this season.
“Coming in, I was told that was the weakness, but we’ve worked hard to try to straighten that out,” he said. “I definitely know they’ve toughened up, if nothing else. They’ve learned what it takes to defend, and they’re playing a different style of defense than what they were before.”
Garrard made strides on offense last year, and Cooper said they improved over the summer by becoming a better passing team.

Player to Watch

Cooper said Sebastian may not be one of the best players in the region every night, but he has the potential to be.
“He’s really kind of broke out of his shell. He’s had his moments where ... I would definitely put him in (the top 10 players in the region) if he plays the way I know he can,” Cooper said.

Top Newcomer

Miniard gives Garrard some size, but he’s more of a guard in a center’s body.
“He’s grown about 4 inches, and he’s playing like a guard. He’s good enough to outrun any post, and he’s good playing off the dribble. Shot-wise, we’re still developing,” Cooper said.

Biggest Concern

Garrard will be at a disadvantage against any team with a good inside game, which is one reason Cooper wants them to play at a faster pace.
“We’re going to hurting size-wise. That’s the reason I’m hoping we can make it up on our transition (game),” he said.

Top Returning Players

Billy Abney, Jr. G.
Markell Hayes, Sr., G.
Austin Sebastian, So. G.
Josh Stull, Sr. G.
Cory Wilson, Sr. G.

http://www.centralkynews.com/amnews/spor...0490.story