The North Greene girls basketball team heads into the 2024-25 campaign trying to figure out how to replace one of the program’s best ever scorers, but with much of its state tournament roster returning and some talented freshmen coming on to the scene fans of the Lady Huskies have a lot to be excited about.
Depth will be among the first things North Greene fans notice is different about this year’s squad. Over the past few seasons the Lady Huskies have not had enough players practice 5-on-5, and when injuries hit there were times they only had six or seven players available on game night. This year with the influx of eight freshmen they will dress 14 players.
“I had forgotten really, how to conduct the practice with that many kids,” Buchanan said. “They have fit in well with the older ones, and the older ones are doing a great job of trying to help them along and figure out some things. At times it has been slow because we have so many young players to teach new things to, but its also been a joy because they seem to be eager to learn.”
The top player returning for North Greene this season is senior center Hannah Miller. A year ago she averaged 12 point and 10 rebounds per game, and once again Buchanan will be looking to her to lead the team on both ends of the floor.
“Hannah Miller has proven herself to be a great high school basketball player on both ends of the floor, just the big difference maker,” Buchanan said. “She has developed into a person that can not only score on you one-on-one, if that’s how you want to guard her. She sees the floor well and passes well out of double teams if you are going to send that extra body at her. The other option is to play zone, and I feel like our other girls around her are capable of shooting the ball well enough to answer that.”
A year ago the Lady Huskies paired Miss Basketball finalist Haley Bailey in the post with Miller, but this season Buchanan feels like he may spread the floor more with four-guard sets because that is where he has experienced players.
Mercy Buchanan and Ella Head are both back in the starting lineup. Senior Loren Blevins is a veteran who will slide into the starting five this year, and senior Kaydence Marshall, who became eligible at the end of last season will now get to start the year on the floor after transferring from South Greene. All are experienced and are players Buchanan trusts.
Mercy Buchanan is back at the point guard spot for the Lady Huskies and will be a big asset for North Greene with her ability to get the team in the right set and keep things moving no matter what the defense throws at her.
“That’s very big, to have a point guard back that knows what you’re trying to do and can get people in the right place,” coach Buchanan said. “It really cuts down on what I have to do. You need to have somebody on the floor that can get people matched up and can communicate what we’re doing. Sometimes I’m pretty far away and it’s really loud, you need that one person that is vocal.”
Head did not start playing basketball until her freshman year, and as a sophomore she became a starter and one of North Greene’s top players. She averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, and if she can make that same type of growth this season Head could become one of the top players in District 1-1A.
“Ella stepped in and really filled a role for us last year. She is one of the best we have at coming off ball screens and being able to knock down shots or attack the rim,” Buchanan said. “She can be really creative off the dribble, and we’re going to really call on her this year. If she progresses as much this year as she did last year, I think she can open a lot of people’s eyes.”
The Lady Huskies will be looking to make up for the 16 points per game they lost with Bailey’s graduation. That will not come from one player, but they will look for Blevins and Marshall to be bigger pieces of the offense this season.
Off the bench North Greene has some young pieces that Buchanan feels like have promising futures. That starts with guard Cadie McDevitt and post Josie Graham. Buchanan expects both to be immediate rotation players and could even earn starter minutes.
“In the rotation we’ll have some freshmen playing a lot of minutes, maybe even up to 20 minutes a night before it’s all said and done,” Buchanan said. “Just how quickly they can adapt to everything in the high school game will determine that. But we’re excited about a couple of them. They’ve been playing really well.”
Another freshman that will bring size and depth to post rotation is 5’10” Kallie Dobson. Also among those looking to earn playing time in the paint are Destiny Seaton and Madison McClain.
Among the reserve guards are sophomore Veronika Abrosikov as well as freshmen Heidi Trentham, Kinlea Eastep and Teaganne Vakkur.
A year ago North Greene finished behind Cloudland as both the District 1-1A and Region 1-1A runner up before defeating Midway to advance to the state tournament for the fifth consecutive season. Buchanan expects to be in the mix for the league title once again, and once again he expects Cloudland to be a formidable foe. He also expects Unaka and University to be improved, making the league as a whole more competitive.
