The Greenville High School boys basketball team is two weeks away from its opening game against Greenwood High School, and, with the loss of summer training due to COVID-19, Hornet head basketball coach Delmar Sprouse still is not sure about what type of team he will have this season.
However, Sprouse said he is sure of one thing — his Hornets will give it everything they have.
“They are a very scrappy bunch,” said Sprouse, before practice Thursday. “We don’t have the athleticism that we had in the past, but they seem to be very scrappy and are buying in to what we are trying to do.
“I really won’t know what I have until the first game, but I know right now that they are a really scrappy bunch. They are very determined to prove the doubters wrong. A lot of people have written us off, and saying that Greenville High is finished.”
Much of the success of the Hornets this season will depend on the development of two of his top returning players in junior guard Aaron Davenport and senior forward Dekobe Lewis.
Last season, Davenport was third on his team with a 7.3 points per game scoring average.
“I know a lot of people are doubting us, but we are going to prove them wrong,” Davenport said. “We are really a strong team, and we are going to stick together. I believe we can go all the way.”
Other key players for Greenville will be senior Tre’onte Hall and sophomore newcomer Antonian Johnson.
Although the win total of this team’s group of Hornets remains up in the air, it is definitely certain that all the members of the team are delighted to have a season.
“I am really happy that we are going to play,” Davenport said. “I was scared that I wouldn’t get to do something that I really loved.”
Said Sprouse, “The kids were hoping and praying that we would have a season. It was like a chip on their shoulder because we finished really strong and got to the second round of the state. And, then the corona came along, and when I came back out of shape, we were totally out of shape.”
