Smackover basketball coach A’Darius Wallace’s first season had its ups and downs.
The Bucks won seven straight games that included winning West Side Christian’s Winter Warrior Tipoff along with the Parkers Chapel Holiday Classic during Christmas break.
The streak gave Smackover a 10-6 record entering 2024, but the Bucks came up empty the rest of the way and saw their season end with a loss to DeWitt in the district tournament.
“We’ve got a lot of room to grow,” Wallace said. “For the most part, it wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t the outcome I wanted, but the future that’s coming is pretty promising.”
Wallace said he is looking forward to his first full offseason with the Bucks.
“A base plan of basics, developing a habit of shooting a lot of shots, dribbling and being comfortable with the ball,” Wallace said of what he wanted to accomplish before the school year ends.
As far as the rest of the offseason is concerned, Wallace said the time will be spent on getting his offense and defensive schemes polished.
“We’ve got some time to actually work with them and get some terminology and cohesiveness and try to get some type of identity,” Wallace said.
Although the Bucks had a tough ending to the season, Ethan Tarver is slated to return, and Wallace said the future looks bright with the growth of the junior high team.
“There will be a lot of guys who we can build on,” Wallace said. “Our junior high kids won two games last year and they won 10 games this year, so that’s a big step. We’ve got Tarver coming back, but a few other guys are going to have to step up and take on big roles. It’s a process.”