By Gene Stanley/Sports Correspondent
Everyone who has ever watched the Gadsden City boys – or any basketball team coached by Reginald Huff, for that matter – knows to look for a very fast-paced, up-tempo game.
Run, run, run, then run some more is the Titans’ credo. That may not be quite as evident this season, but there’s a very reassuring reason why.
“We have a lot of size this year,” Huff said. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to run as much as we have in the past because of the size. Not only size, but height.”
With a starting lineup that, even with a 6-1 Kevin Wise at shooting guard, averages more than 6-6 per player, the Titans will have the opportunity to oversize a lot of teams that are used to being outrun by Gadsden City, which went 26-5 last season and lost a subregion game to Shades Valley by one point after hitting only 12-of-30 from the free throw line.
Don’t sell Wise short, however.
“He’s our 3-point specialist and has a lot of range,” Huff said. “And he’s very physical and strong for his height.”
From one end of the height spectrum to the other, Trey Kalina, a 7-0 sophomore who moved in from Texas last year, is still learning Huff’s system.
“His knowledge of the game is growing fast,” Huff said. “He’s quickly adapting to the speed at which we like to play. The high-tempo game is new to him, but he has a great outside shot and is a good passer, as well as being able to block the lane.”
Jeff Garrett will start at point guard. The 6-6 junior is a complete player who is averaging 14 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks, four steals and five assists per game.
Garrett, as well as 6-8 Rakim Lubin, is being looked at by a lot of college programs.
Lubin is the Titans’ leading scorer in the early going, averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds per game.
“He’s a machine when it comes to scoring,” Huff said. “And he can do it all. He can score from just about anywhere on the court. He’s strong inside and outside.”
The second-leading scorer is 6-5 Chris Turk, who Huff describes as a strong slasher who likes to take it to the hole.