With the 2018-19 basketball season come and gone, the Clarksdale Press Register will be putting together all-area teams to recognize athletes throughout the community.
We will have first and second teams for the boys and girls with MVPs, coaches of the year, newcomers of the year and other awards we may think of. Our goal is to have the all-area teams put together for publication in the next few weeks.
We will be seeking nominations from coaches for all eight of our teams — four boys and four girls — and also welcome input from members of the community.
We welcome not only your thoughts on who is deserving of the awards, but we would also like to hear other ideas for any honors we may be able to give out.
I first came to Clarksdale in 2011 and can honestly say this is the only time I can recall every single team having success to the point where they all made it out of the district tournament.
Unfortunately, that will mean some athletes who would normally win awards may fall short this year, but having success across the board is a good problem to have.
As you will see in our editorial on the opinion page, coach Derrick Moore is one of the reasons Coahoma County has been successful for so long, but every basketball coach in our community has done a great job.
Looking ahead to next year, all of our schools should have success once again.
Center Jai’Sheldon Yates is one of the top players for the Coahoma County boys and he is just a sophomore. Guard Bentavious Galmore will be a senior for the boys next year and is an all-star this year.
Calysia Phillips and Nakia Cheatham are excellent ball handlers, leaders and have great speed.
They are also all-stars and will provide senior leadership during the 2019-20 season.
Coahoma Early College High School had two first-year coaches — Corney George for the boys and Isaac Morris for the girls — and have an extremely strong senior class coming back next year.
Post player Thomas Williams Jr. consistently puts together a double-double for the Tigers and will be a key factor in taking his team to the next level as a senior in 2019-20.
Clarksdale boys coach Farrington Hill is the second longest tenured basketball coach in Coahoma County.
Hill’s teams usually start slow, but finish strong and have been a regular in the postseason the past few years. That is a credit to Hill’s coaching.
No matter what happens or what talent is on the team, he does not lose focus and always believes his team has a chance.
Lady Wildcats coach Greg Wilson took his team from worst to first in his second year.
I expect it all to come together next year behind the leadership of guard Patrice Broomfield, who has excelled since freshman year and just completed her junior season.
Lee Academy coach Michael Peckham completely turned the culture around for both the boys and girls around in two years.
The boys lost a lot of athletes, but still made the playoffs, while the Fillies made some unbelievable strides.
Anna Byrd has been a true leader for the Fillies on the court and I expect her presence out there to continue being a major factor in the program headed in the right direction.
The reason I have such optimism for next season is the success we had in 2018-19.
That success came from hard work, good coaching and good athletes.
We will be recognizing those things at the Press Register with our all-area team in the near future.
Stay tuned.
