11/27/2009 6:00:00 AM KAHS wary of turnovers at season's start
JEFF MARTIN/Courtesy
Kingman Academy's Levante Thompson goes up and under against Telesis last year. Thompson and the Tigers face Telesis in the season opener for KAHS at 7 p.m. Tuesday at KAHS.
KINGMAN - At the end of each of coach Kevin Morgan's first two seasons as the Kingman Academy High boys basketball coach, he lamented about the high number of turnovers the Tigers averaged per game.
Morgan and the Tigers put in a lot of work in that area since the end of last season, but KAHS will have to bear down on its mistakes after playing Laughlin and Mohave Valley River Valley in a scrimmage Nov. 20 at Laughlin.
"We didn't take care of the ball," Morgan said. "We shot the ball too quickly and we had silly turnovers."
However, there may have been more to it. The evening before the scrimmage, Morgan took his squad out on a retreat. After camping out, the Tigers spent the morning of the scrimmage cleaning some natural springs after hiking three miles in.
After the three-mile hike back out, the team barely had enough time to shower before the scrimmages began.
"They were wiped out from the other activities," Morgan said. "We were tired."
One guard who Morgan was particularly pleased with was Austin Mousley.
"Austin's jumpers looked good and he made good decisions," the coach said. "I was pleased with his handles."
KAHS has changed the way it attacks the basket this year. The Tigers are now more focused on principles than they are running plays.
"I wanted something that was simple, easy and precise," Morgan said. "The guys without the ball have rules."
The Tigers held up well against Laughlin when the Cougars played man defense against KAHS. But River Valley used a zone defense, and that caused the Tigers problems. It took KAHS 12 minutes to score its first basket against the Dust Devils.
"We just couldn't crack it," Morgan said. "There's a lot of movement and motion, but our big guys didn't get the ball very much. We relied on jumpers too much."
KAHS opens the season at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home against Lake Havasu City Telesis, and Morgan is confident the amount of basketball his team put in over the summer will pay dividends.
"We've had some kids that changed the culture on how this basketball program runs, and I'm so proud of them," the coach said. "We worked hard over the summer and went to camps. I'm big on getting better individually."
The Tigers' new offensive look should continue the progress already made by KAHS over the past couple of seasons.
"We'll be all right," Morgan said. "They've put in the time, and you really want to see the benefits of their labor come to fruition on the floor. They've done everything to put themselves into position to be successful."
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Posted: Sunday, November 29, 2009
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Good luck Boys, I'm hoping to hear great things this year!!
