A new day: RHS preps for La Grange

TIGER BASKETBALL

The 2018-19 Rockdale Tigers basketball team will get their first contest of the season against a class 4A school, 5 p.m., Monday at La Grange.

First year head coach Sean Coleman said his team is ready for the challenge.

“Our guys are ready to execute what we’ve been working on these last couple of weeks, and just have some competition,” he said.

This is Coleman’s first time coaching. When he was at the helm. He played professionally for two different teams on two different continents. Monday he’ll hit the court for his first test as the man in charge.

“It’s been an adjustment for me,” Coleman said. “Adapting to the school rules, and just doing things like checking my e-mails. I’ve also never lived in a small town before. But (Rockdale) is a nice, close-knit community, and the people have made me feel welcome so far.”

On the court, it’s been a transition for Coleman’s players.

“The guys have had to get used to the way I do stuff. I’m very detailed in my approach, even with specifics like how to catch a pass, but these guys have adapted very well,” he said. “Practice’s have been going well.”

The 2017-18 Tigers team went 5-9 in district 20-3A, and lost leading scorer Chris Johnson to graduation. He averaged more than 12 points per game in district play. The Tigers have a roster full of upperclassmen from last year’s team.

“This team will have at least ten seniors, and two juniors,” Coleman said. “It’s great to have this many older players on the team, but with so many of them, they’re going to have to battle for playing time.”

The Tigers have six guys returning from last year. Point guard Braden Moore had five district games where he scored double-digits.

Ryker Zinn, Zac Davis, and Mason Monzingo all saw a lot of time on the floor with the 2017-18 Tigers. Keylan Evans got hot near the end of the season with nine three pointers in the Tigers final two district games against Franklin and Rogers.

With Coleman’s approach, Rock-dale’s style of play will be different from the year before.

“Last year’s team shot a lot of threes,” Coleman said. “We’ll shoot, but we’ll also run a structured offense to try to get the ball to as many people as we can.”