MORRISTOWN, Tenn. — Bill Carlyle can't recall ever coaching a team as young as what this year's Walters State men's basketball team will be, but that hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for the new season.
Carlyle, who enters his 42nd season as head coach of the Senators and his 56th season of coaching, returns just one player from last year's 21-10 team and just two players who have any experience at the collegiate level, with one of those playing just a handful of games two seasons ago before having injuries cut short his freshman campaign.
The only player returning this season is Miles Thomas, a 6'6 freshman from South-Doyle High School in Knoxville, while Seth Lenard-Battle (6'5, Sweetwater) is the only other non-freshman on the roster having played for the Senators during the 2016-17 season.
Despite the lack of experience and having to teach his team more in the first two months of practice than he usually does during an entire season, Carlyle likes what he sees from his team.
"This team has the potential to be really good, or it could be mediocre," Carlyle said. "I don't know what to think of them right now because they are so green. But I can tell you they have all been willing to work hard and have absorbed a lot of things we have thrown at them to get them ready. Now we just have to see if that translates over to playing games."
Carlyle welcomes a handful of new guards, including Kajuan Hale (5'10, Gainesville, Ga. — formerly of Austin-East High School in Knoxville), Kobe Powell (5'8, Memphis), Josh Dykes (6'2, Crossville), Deontae Davis (6'3, Cleveland), Kendall Winston (6'2, Nashville) and Jaden Lewis (5'10, Spring Hill).
At the forward spot, newcomers include Paris Taylor (6'6, Bolivar), Kamari Barnes (6'5, Tampa, Fla.), Demontay Dixon (6'9, Spring Hill), Westin Reynolds (6'5, Powell) and Jordan Wilkerson (6'4, Evensville), while Tyler Peterson (6'8, Jacksonville, Fla.) and Khiry Shelton (6'9, Columbus, Ohio) give the Senators good size in the post.
"We have a lot of talented players that are young, and they just need to get their feet wet and get experience," Carlyle said. "We may take some lumps early on, especially with some of the teams we play, but it will help get these guys some good looks at good teams and players right away."
The season begins Friday afternoon with a 4 p.m. showdown with Caldwell before facing Combine Academy on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Following those two games, the Senators head to South Carolina to take on Spartanburg Methodist in a tough road game before facing USC Salkehatchie and No. 22 ranked Georgia Highlands the following weekend, making for a busy eight-day stretch to begin the season.
"This first week will be a great test for us," Carlyle said. "We play five games in the first eight days of the season, and then we go into conference play the next weekend before going to Alabama to face two good teams there during Thanksgiving. That will help prepare us for the conference schedule and trying to win a championship."
Carlyle admits his goal is to win the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association title every season as well as the NJCAA Region VII title to make the national tournament, something the Senators have done six times before, and to do so this season, WSCC will have to navigate what looks to be an improved league from top to bottom.
Three head coaches (Dyersburg State, Jackson State and Southwest Tennessee) moved on from last year and were replaced by solid coaches for this season, and Carlyle sees a tough slate ahead for everyone in the league.
"Our league is usually really good, and this year, from everything I am hearing, it could be a tougher conference than we have had in a long time," Carlyle said. "Chattanooga State is going to be really good. Cleveland State will be good again. Dyersburg, Jackson and Southwest all had coaching changes and it sounds as though all will be really good, and of course Motlow State has won the league two years in a row and will be strong again.
"I'm never one to say I don't think my team can win the league, and this year is no different. Our team has the talent to win the league. Now will we get it done? That remains to be seen, but I like the team we have and look forward to getting out there and going to battle with them."