Pioneers put through their paces

By ROB NUNLEY / Sports Editor for the Southern Standard

Reese Bishop and Johnathan Morris were the big winners in the Pioneer basketball team’s recent week-long evaluation.

Chris Turner, who is taking over as the Pioneers’ head coach this year, held an evaluation camp for the varsity and freshman squads, to get a feel for what talent he will be working with in the upcoming season.

“We’ve used this system with other programs I’ve worked with, and I wanted to get an idea of the kind of athletes that are on this team,” Turner explained. “I wanted to see what they can do, and where they need to improve.”

Several different shooting and ball-handling drills encompassed the evaluation process, with players working toward a combined score. The highest scorers from both the freshman and varsity squads were named “Top Gun” winners for the week.

Bishop was the varsity “Top Gun,” amassing 122 points. Ross Marlowe finished second with 117 points, while Ricky Curtis was third with 114.

Among the upcoming Pioneer freshmen, Morris turned in 97 points to win a close race for the “Top Gun” award. He was followed closely by Tyler Blair, who tallied 96 points, and Ethan Womack who had 94.

Both “Top Guns” also claimed a second individual award. Bishop was the varsity 1-on-1 winner, while Morris was the freshman free throw champion, connecting on 78 percent of his attempts.

Marlowe was the varsity free throw champ, while Brandon Adcock earned the varsity coaches’ award. Saul Simpson took home the freshman 1-on-1 championship, with the coaches’ award going to Blair.

Through a week of working with his new team, Turner said he came away feeling impressed.

“There’s some talent here, especially with some of the younger players,” he said. “I’m really impressed with the sophomore class.

“Based on what we saw during the evaluation, I’m confident that we can make some good things happen this season.”

PHOTOS INFO:
Warren County High school basketball coach Chris Turner is holding his first-ever Pioneer Pride Basketball Evaluation Camp this week, with over 50 young ballplayers participating.
Top photo, Turner addresses the campers near the conclusion of Monday’s first day of activity. Above, Cody Fults has his vertical leap measured. At right, Tyler Glenn moves upcourt during a drill which timed players as they dribbled from one end of the floor to the other.
The camp employs a system Turner used with previous programs —?and also used to evaluate the current Pioneer freshman and varsity teams earlier this summer. (Rob Nunley photos)