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NWI TIMES: Boys basketball, the 2011-12 Gary 21st Century Cougars
Scouting the 2011-12 Gary 21st Century Cougars
Last year: 6-14.
Inside the Cougars
Leading returning scorer: Mykel Mayes, 14 ppg
Leading returning rebounder: Robert Eatman, 8 rpg
Newcomer to watch: Louis Brown, Jr., C. At 6-foot-5, Brown will give the Cougars some post presence and should be counted on to score inside points.
Breakdown
Ready for the postseason
The Cougars have been waiting for this season since they entered the IHSAA three years ago. They'll finally play in the postseason, entering Class A, Sectional 49 in March. While that will bring new challenges for the charter school, coach Rodney Williams is looking forward to seeing what his team can do.
"We're excited to be in the sectional," Williams said. "We want to go out this year and be competitive, No. 1. We took our lumps the first couple years because we had young guys. Now these young guys are juniors and seniors, so our expectations of them are going to be pretty high this year."
A different mentality has arisen with the Cougars now that they'll get a crack at the postseason. Players are more serious about the game than ever before.
"We want to win, that's definitely our mentality," said senior forward/guard Jeremiah King. "We always challenge each other. It's a competition."
The Cougars will face many established programs throughout the season, including a Dec. 13 contest against Lew Wallace, as well as a trip to the annual Gary Holiday Tournament featuring the Hornets, West Side and Roosevelt on Dec. 27-28.
"We're expecting some improvement this year," Williams said. "If these guys just play like they're coached to play, they'll have a successful season.
"We're an up-tempo team, so we'll look to fast break as often as we can. We'll look to push the ball."
Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/boys-basketball/boys-basketball-the---gary-st-century-cougars/article_9501ded3-fc79-56e4-9751-f4ceae125a8c.html#ixzz1fWd8ETa1
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