Patriots Start Rebuilding Project Under First-Year Coach

By Don Meador,
Sports Writer

A rebuilding project is underway for the Allen County-Scottsville Patriot basketball team. After a dismal 3-25 record last year–on the heels of 7-23 and 7-20 seasons–Jeremy Garrett was selected in May as head coach and tasked with leading the Patriots forward on the court.

Garrett comes to AC-S without any high school head coaching experience but is well experienced in coaching at various levels. Garrett was an assistant coach last year at Webster County, a former middle school coach, and has coached at the travel ball level. The new coach also brings youthful fire and vigor, evident by his plunging into a challenging summer program just weeks after taking the coaching position.

“In terms of the summer, I felt like there were definite highs and lows,” Coach Garrett said. “It took us about two weeks to get use to one another and the team to get use to the new coaching staff. Our summer schedule by far was not easy. A lot of the teams we played had success the previous year and were a top-10 team in their respective regions. The biggest thing is that we improved from week one of summer at the Greenwood shootout to the end of the summer at the Barren County shootout. ”

Garrett adds that preseason practice “has been great in terms of the kids grasping the new ideas and figuring our identity.” As is the case most years at AC-S, October and early November practice did not include several players who were committed to fall sports. However, with the football season ending November 15, Garrett was quickly able to bring his entire team together to prepare for the opening of the season on December 2.

The Patriots will rely on five seniors–Chase Ross, Jackson Morris, Carson Wimpee, Weston Adams, and Robert Robledo–to provide leadership both on and off the floor.

“Chase (Ross) and Robert (Robledo) are the returning leading scorers,” Garrett noted. “Both Carson (Wimpee) and Weston (Adams) are coming back from injuries and I think they are looking forward to getting back into the flow of things. Jackson (Morris) was a big addition that I wanted to ensure came back for this season. He did so much for us over the summer that helped give us a much more balanced offense from all angles. I look forward to seeing him and Chase in the same line up together. Robert is another senior that I have been impressed with this summer and preseason. He came back from an injured ankle from week one of summer. He missed over half of the summer games but he provides a lot for us and I think he is a totally different player then what he was last season.”

Ross has been a mainstay in the AC-S line-up since his freshman season. The 5’11” guard has appeared in 83 games–and has started in all but one game. Ross has scored 637 points in his career, leaving him 363 points away from becoming the 13th 1,000-point scorer in Allen County-Scottsville history. Ross’s career high scoring night was a 27-point effort against Warren East last February. Last season, Ross led the team in scoring, averaging 10.4 points per game.

Robledo can also put the ball in the basket. Last season, the 5’10’ guard averaged 9.0 points per game. His career-high was a 25-point night last January against Greenwood. Robledo has appeared in 70 games at AC-S and has started 23 times.

Morris has played in 64 games for the Patriots and made 34 career starts. The 6’1” forward has amassed 376 points and 197 rebounds as a Patriot. His career high in points is a pair of 15-point nights against Westmoreland and Apollo with his career-high rebounding game was nine versus Franklin-Simpson as a sophomore. Last season in nine games, Morris averaged 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds.

As noted by Coach Garrett, Wimpee and Adams were hurt last season. However, both have the potential to contribute this season. Wimpee averaged 3.6 points in 17 games while Adams missed his entire junior year.

Coach Garrett is expecting solid contributions from the younger players on the team. The roster features six juniors including a pair of transfers–Kyler Pedigo and Marques Gaffney.

“Kyler Pedigo, who comes from Warren East, is one of our most vocal leaders on the team,” Garrett said. “He tries to coach as a player which helps provide another voice outside of the coaching staff. Having him and Robert Robledo as our top two guards is going to be something special. Kyler shoots the ball extremely well and makes some of those athletic shots that your typical player can’t do. Another transfer we got is Marques Gaffney. He provides a lot of height that we do not have and athleticism.”

Pedigo played in 29 games at Warren East, averaging 8.3 points and grabbed 3.1 rebounds as a Raider. Gaffney comes to AC-S from Knox Central.

Returning junior Tyler Turner also brings much to the Patriots. Last season, Turner appeared in 27 games, averaged 6.9 points, and 4.2 rebounds. Already, Turner has caught the coach’s eye.

“One of the biggest things I wanted to see out of Tyler this summer was to step up as a leader and shoot with confidence,” Garrett explained. “We had preached to him to attack the rim more and be more aggressive this summer and he took that initiative to do that. He’s one of those guys that wants to compete and it shows.”

Juniors DeAnte Grainger and Jonah Hamby are expected to help the Patriots as well. Both saw limited varsity action last season but, coach Garrett, believes the pair will fit nicely into the Patriot offense and defensive game plan.

“DeAnte Grainger helped a lot this summer, especially with some of the schemes that I like to use defensively,” Garrett added. “DeAnte fits those schemes well. His defense is one of the best in the region. Jonah Hamby is one of the most improved players over the summer. Jonah hit the weight room hard and buys in to what we are doing. He is the perfect role player this team needs.”

Junior D.J. Fields is a late addition to the roster, coming from cross country. Garrett also points to sophomores Jax Coffey and Braden Spears as a pair that will “have a lot of opportunities to get some minutes and provide a spark off the bench for us.”

Garrett adds that the Patriot defense will be a strength while a lack of size will be a weakness.

“Over the summer, we showed that we can guard a lot of teams,” Garrett said. “That’s especially with teams that are bigger than us. This team has done a good job adapting to new sets and new adjustments that they may not be used to. We also have a lot of depth. I think one of our biggest weaknesses is our lack of size. We are not a very “big” team. There are some bad habits that sometimes these guys kind of go back to, so trying to get away from that is imperative to a successful season.”

According to Garrett, the Patriots should be a fun team to watch up and down the court.

“I think our team is going to look different,” Garrett explains. “I want my offense to be organized and fluent, but also, fast pace. We have installed sets and plays for every aspect of the game whether that is early offense or secondary offense into set plays in the half court. Our defense will represent who we are playing that night. That’s a part of those adjustments that we have been discussing all offseason.”

The new coach continues to learn about the teams in District 15 as well as Region 4. However, weeks of research has left Garrett with an opinion about the upcoming season.

“I think the district is going to be tight and very competitive,” Garrett points out. “Barren County is very disciplined and well coached. I think Warren Cunningham has done a great job with his team.  Barren County doesn’t beat themselves and they execute the simple things that helps them win games. They are bringing back Tate Spillman and Brey Bewley. They also brought in Joshua Decker from Edmonson County.

Warren East returns a lot of guys back. They have Kaleb Prince back as their leading scorer. Prince has the capability of making big plays in big moments. They return Brenden Bratcher and Dane Parsley. They also received an Edmonson transfer in Wyatt Gravil. Glasgow is also returning a lot as well. They will be returning Jerrick Martin, who is an extremely athletic player as well as Josiah Driver and Jeremiah Driver. Glasgow made a run last year with winning the district and advancing into the second round of the regional tournament. They are definitely a team that can cause some match up issues with various teams. If I had to select a district favorite, I would say Glasgow but I think Warren East can certainly state a case for that spot as well. Like I said earlier, I think it’s going to be tight and I do think AC-S has a chance to get our names in the discussion of cutting down those district nets and advancing to Diddle for the regional tournament. Our guys have set goals and they know what they need to do to achieve those goals. Region 4 is never easy having all of the Bowling Green teams in the region. There is just so much talent in Region 4. I think the favorite will always be Bowling Green and Warren Central year in and year out. I think Greenwood has a solid squad back as well. I think for us, it’s just going to be about competing every game to prepare us for District.”

As Garrett settles into the role of guiding AC-S basketball, the new coach asks the Allen County community to check his team out by attending as many games as possible. On the basketball side of the program, the Patriots are reaching out to interlock the team with the community.

“I would hope the community would come and support us,” Garret said. “One of the biggest things that I have been wanting to focus on since I have arrived is making sure our basketball program is community based. I want our guys going to the middle school games to support our feeder programs. Many of my basketball guys have been to all football games supporting those guys and other sports programs. We ran a 5K together as a team and those are just the little things that show the character of our guys that we want to support the community as a program.”

The Patriot bench will look somewhat different as well. Joining Garrett as assistant coaches are Cole Arvin, Trevor Dennis, and Preston Wimpee. Arvin assisted last season. Dennis played basketball at Bowling Green under former AC-S coach D.G Sherrill while Wimpee learned the high school game under former AC-S coaches Brad Bonds and Casey Napier.

AC-S starts their 51st season of basketball with an overall record of 674-716. The Patriots are seeking their 13th District 15 title but their first since 2021. The Patriot program also seeks their 23rd winning season.