The Jackson County Blue Devils girls basketball team enters the new season with experience, depth, and a clear mission: Compete for a state championship.
After finishing 12-12 overall and 4-6 in District 7-1A play last season, head coach Jim Brown said his returning veterans are ready to take the next step.
“When you’ve got some experienced kids, it makes the process of teaching and coaching much easier,” Brown said. “There’s a lot of things that they can take care of. When you got a really young team, the coach pretty much has to do everything that’s frustrating to think of every little thing that has to be taught.”
The Blue Devils lose just one senior in Isabelle Beaty, but return four seniors who have played meaningful minutes since their freshman season. Brown said that continuity is already showing up in the gym.
“We’re excited about this year,” Brown said. “I think we got some good depth and some great leadership in those seniors.”
Jackson County spent the summer taking on strong competition across the Upper Cumberland. Brown said while preseason practices have gone well expect to see a faster tempo and more shots from beyond the arc this winter with his guard-heavy roster, one that competes at both first and second teams during scrimmages.
“It’s difficult when you got years your first five overwhelms your second unit,” Brown said. “It’s been a lot of fun at practice, and things are going well so far.”
Brown said that balance and energy has the Blue Devils team setting familiar goals.
“This team has the expectation of competing for a state championship,” Brown said. “I think anything less than that is going to be a little disappointing for us, but at the end of the day, you got a handful of teams that are probably good enough to win it and if one of them happens to play better than you on that elimination day, then so be it. But we’ve got high expectations this year.”
Jackson County will seek a ninth appearance in the state championship this season.