By Chris Parker
Dadeville girls basketball has a 14-12 record in head coach Curtis McGill’s first season.
McGill has high expectations for this season’s team with all the starters returning.
“Our goal is to compete for a conference title and try to win a district title,” McGill said. “2005 was the last year the girls program won a district title, I believe. We went 14-12 in my first-year last year, which was a 10-game improvement from the year before. Our starters have been together for a while now. With the mixture of upperclassmen and freshmen and with the talent we have now, we have a deeper bench than we have ever had. We have a lot of speed and are very athletic, and we have kids that work really hard and enjoy being around one another. We are hopeful that this could be our best season yet.”
Senior guard/forward Claire Mitchell returns after earning second-team all-conference honors last season.
“Claire Mitchell was our leading scorer and rebounder last year as well as MVP,” McGill said. “She is our captain and leader. She is a very good athlete. She can shoot outside as well with her height post up on the inside.”
Lauryn Sinclair returns for her senior season after not playing last season.
“She didn’t play last year but we are extremely excited to have her back,” McGill said. “She can handle the ball, and she can hold her own under the basket. She rebounds very well. She can score inside the paint as well.”
Addison Orr, junior guard, is a strong three-point shooter.
“When she gets hot from the arc it can spread defenses out,” McGill said. “She is a very good defender and gets a lot of steals.”
Claire McGee returns to run the point as a sophomore.
“She is an excellent ball handler and defender,” McGill said. “Over the summer, she developed her outside shot and shot really well from the three-point line at camp which will be huge for us.”
Charleigh Toler is a returning sophomore guard.
“She ran point some last year but mostly was our strong guard,” McGill said. “She is a good shooter from inside the arc and from the corner. Charleigh plays with a lot of heart and was also a captain on our team last year. She plays great man to man defense and is good at getting steals and frustrating guards from opposing teams with her defense.”
Dadeville also has a deep freshman group including Veyda Green, Lucy Proctor, Macy Kelly, Eve Black and Lexi Clemmons.
McGill on Green: “She ran point for us in junior high the last two years and does a nice job handling the ball. Her biggest strength is her fundamentals of her man-to-man defense, which she prides herself in.”
McGill on Proctor: “She is one of the fastest kids I have ever seen. She plays defense really well and gets a lot of steals that leads to layups in transition.”
McGill on Kelly: “Macy is around 6’0 and adds much needed height to our team. She posts up well, blocks a lot of shots in the paint, rebounds and scores well. She can also handle the ball and shoots well from the outside. She was our leading scorer and rebounder in the eighth grade last year. We are super excited to have her in high school this season.”
McGill on Black & Clemmons: “They play solid defense. Eve is not afraid to get on the floor after loose balls and Lexi rebounds well. (I am) super excited to see how far they come this year; good kids that play hard and are very coachable.”
Dadeville opens the season on Nov. 21 at Sheldon.
