Albany area basketball teams working hard in summer league play

ALBANY — Barely a week has passed since the school year ended, but local basketball teams are already on the court with summer basketball leagues.

The Dougherty Trojans hosted four other teams Friday and Saturday in Albany for summer league games to give young players important game-type experience and to allow coaches a quick look at what they will be taking on the court when basketball season begins in November. Dougherty, Monroe, Lee County, Taylor County and Fitzgerald all brought teams to Albany for two days of competition. Dougherty and Monroe each ended in the Elite Eight this past season while the Lee County Trojans made it to the Final Four in Class AAAAAA.

“Based on the run we made last season, our guys are pretty excited about this upcoming season,” said Dougherty coach Bakari Bryant. “Last year, due to COVID, we didn’t get to have a summer league. I’m trying to instill into our players that championships are built in the summer and won during the season. You want to win, but at the end of the day, it’s not about wins or losses. It is about experience and development over the summer.”

The summer games consisted of two 20-minute halves with limited timeouts and a single free throw when fouled, scored two points. Otherwise the normal basketball rules applied even if the jerseys were too big for some players and everyone had on different colored shorts and shoes. For the most part, it wasn’t about winning, but getting the opportunity to be on the court in game situations and giving coaches the opportunity to evaluate.

“The great thing about coaching at Dougherty is the athletes,” Bryant said. “We have a school full of them, but when it comes to basketball, you need two or three basketball players with basketball IQ and mental toughness. I see that in my young guys coming up. We were limited in the point guard position last year, but things are going to be a lot different this year..”

Bryant pointed out that his team was missing 6-foot-8 forward Zion Gardner and 6-2 shooting guard Elijah West.

“The present and future at Dougherty High School is very promising so you better hold on tight,” Bryant said. “Albany basketball is headed back in the right direction.”

Lee County head coach Kirven Davis watched intently from the sidelines as his players battled during the two days. The Trojans are looking to replace some valuable talent who graduated last week and signed basketball scholarships in point guard and team leader M.J. Taylor and Brandon Bush. Taylor was also in the stands watching his former teammates.

“I thought we competed hard,” Davis said. “ Our young guys got valuable game experience and Joe Frazier is trying to establish a leadership role due to the graduation of M.J. Taylor. We are working hard on team chemistry and toughness.”

In one of the early games Saturday, Davis watched as Dougherty pulled out to a huge lead in the first half against his Trojans. Dougherty led by as many as 18 in the first half, but Lee County closed the gap to two points in the second half before Dougherty pulled away for a 48-39 win.

Monroe coach Micheal Hoffpauir also was pleased with his team’s performance. In a Saturday game against Fitzgerald, the Golden Tornadoes opened up a 23-6 halftime lead using a trapping defense that Fitzgerald couldn’t get through. They ended up taking a 38-29 win.

“It was good to see the guys get out and compete against other competition,” Hoffpauir said. “We’ve been in the weight room since Spring Break and the guys have been ready to transfer and test their new abilities on the court. We executed well and more importantly, played very well as a team.

Lee County will be hosting summer league games on June 9 and 10 and Monroe will be hosting on June 15 and 16.

Joe WhitfieldJoe Whitfield