Parkers Chapel snapped a four-year drought by qualifying for the regional tournament.
For coach Josh Langley, that accomplishment is one the Trojans have been aiming for.
“Before the season started, we set our team goal to make it to the regional,” Langley said. “For the past three years, we had come up short of that, and our seniors wanted to make sure they accomplished that. To me, the high point was accomplishing that goal that we had set for ourselves.
“Being unable to coach them in the game that would make or break their season in regards to accomplishing that goal was tough, but to see them come together and play one of the best games they played all season defensively and accomplish that goal was the high point.
“The growth this team showed over the course of the season was huge. We experienced it all, and the guys kept learning and coming back for more. I was very proud of them for that. No matter what curveballs the season threw at us, they kept showing up and kept coming to work. I think that says a lot about the character of the young men we have at PC.”
Langley said his team is going to be very busy during the summer.
“Our goals for the offseason are pretty simple,” Langley said. “We want to improve our shooting, especially from the 3-point line, ball-handling under pres- sure and we always want to get stronger and faster as a team. We will be very busy again this summer.
“We are allowed eight days of camps in the summer, and we will take full advantage of that to try and get as many game reps as possible over the summer. Outside of that, the gym will be open four days a week for guys to come in and work.”
Langley said the backcourt should be a strength for the Trojans next year, but there are spots up front that will be up for grabs.
“We return most of our guards, but we lose a couple guys who were able to play that four, five spot that are going to be missed,” Langley said. “We have some guys coming up from junior high who played the same positions, and we have some guys that were just outside our rotation this year that I believe have the potential to come in and make an impact.There are definitely some game minutes that are up for grabs. We will just have to see who steps up and takes them.
“We are going to have to be better in all aspects next season if we want to take that next step. We play in a tough conference that produced three state tournament teams and two Elite Eight teams.”