By: Alex Northcut, Sports 731 Network Reporter
Known for their tradition of success in years past, the teams at Liberty Tech are looking to make a good amount of noise this high school basketball season. Both groups will be seeing some new faces on the court this winter, however expectation to compete at a high level remains the same.
The girls’ program at Liberty Tech is under new leadership this year, as Brian Lake takes over responsibilities as head coach of the Lady Crusaders. The 2023-2024 roster will be made up of a few returning players mixed with several freshmen, a dynamic that has already sparked a positive level of team chemistry.
“Seniors Sydnee Cole and Harmony Williamson have been great leaders for us,” said Lake. “When you have this many freshmen, that’s always a beautiful thing, because you have four years to develop them. Daija Fizer is one of the freshmen, and she’s going to get a lot of opportunities for us.”
Coach Lake’s bunch has prioritized defensive intensity and toughness this offseason. The Lady Crusaders will have two or three individuals at the guard position that will carry ball-handling responsibilities, giving them depth as they look to get up and down the floor with pace.
“If we can rebound, that would be an awesome thing for me,” said Lake. “Being able to rebound, score in transition, and have my point guard run the offense are things I’m looking at as early goals for my team.”
The Liberty boys are gearing up for another strong run in West Tennessee, led by 3rd year head coach Lonnie Starks. Known as one of the more successful basketball coaches in the area, Starks feels confident in this year’s team, especially coming off a run to the district title game a year ago. The Crusaders now have dropped down a classification to 2A, which gives them another great chance at making a run as one of the top teams in District 13.
“We think we’re ready,” said Starks. “We’re experienced, we’re going to hit the ground running, we’ve had a great preseason/summer, and we’re just ready to play.”
Starks has been very pleased with the coachability of his players over the past few months. He’ll be leaning quite a bit on point guard Richod Gill this season as the floor general of the Crusaders. Liberty Tech will be led on the interior by two 6-5 forwards, juniors Kelcey Taylor and Kamari Douglas, who will provide more balance to this year’s group in terms of offensive efficiency.
“I want guys to be accountable for each other,” said Starks. “If we’re going to play this tough team defense that I think we’re capable of playing, I think these guys can get there now. We’ve got a lot of pieces, a lot of parts, we’re interchangeable, and we’ve got about 8-9 guys that we can start. So, I like the way we’re looking right now.”
Liberty Tech will open up the regular season on their home floor, taking on Ripley next Tuesday night, November 14. The girls will tip-off at 6:00 with the boys’ game to follow.
