Lady Bulldogs enter '08-'09 hoops season with no fear

PETTICOAT JUNCTION -- Coming off a 20-3 season with a team that included enough youth to fill a Hannah Montana concert, it isn't difficult to decipher the expectations for Silver Bluff High School's girls' basketball team.

"They have to be pretty high," said Bulldog head coach Robert McKenzie. "We were 20-3 last year and had an opportunity to go deeper than we did. The only starter we really lost was Maria Dunbar. She will be missed, because of her shooting, but honestly we have gotten better at every position."

Leading the way in the paint will be senior forward Cellonda Crawford and sophomore standout Jamie Foreman. Both averaged double digits in both points and rebounds last season, and McKenzie said they only improved while competing in AAU basketball over the summer.

Providing some extra help, and perhaps some minutes of relief, will be Foreman's sister Kaylin, who McKenzie said has "probably shown the most improvement of any player on the team. She has gone from an off-the-bench kind of player last year to what I feel will be one of our top contributors.

"In the post we are really solid, and if we are basing our success on the post we should make a run at a state championship," added McKenzie. "But we still have to get some better guard play and replace Maria."

That assignment will likely go to Khadajah Simpkins, a freshman who came to the program ready for varsity action.

"She really has the same knack for scoring that Jamie Foreman has," said McKenzie. "Her focus is on how she can get to the basket or how she can help another player get to the basket. She is going to play some point guard for us. I didn't know what we were going to do in the offseason, but she was the answer."

Silver Bluff should get an early gauge on just how strong this team will be in the coming weeks. A difficult non-region schedule will not only test the Bulldogs but also help prepare them for the talent they are likely to face on a possible playoff run.

"I am really looking forward to our schedule as a whole," said McKenzie. "I think it will be very difficult to do what we did last year and go through our non-region schedule undefeated. We are playing a very good Strom Thurmond team, a good Batesburg-Leesville team and a much-improved Midland Valley team. We didn't have that type of competition last year, and I think, in the long run, it will help us. I think we can learn a lot more to playing a tougher schedule."

The early murderer's row and the lessons learned last season should help Silver Bluff make a much deeper run in the playoffs this season and perhaps even give them a shot at bringing home a title.

"I think they were forced to learn to not lose their confidence (during the playoffs last season), said McKenzie. "They have learned to not shy away from competition but to go head-first into it. I think that will help us a lot, especially in the playoffs. They have grown up, and they aren't afraid anymore."

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