Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Troup boys basketball team is looking to build on one of its best seasons in recent memory. The Tigers took their lumps early in the 2023-24 season before eventually finishing as region runner-up and making their first playoff trip since 2020 and hosted their first playoff game since 2019. Now, the team has the eyes set on making it even further under second-year head coach Vacher Hammett.

“We have a solid returning starting five that you know played all last year for us,” Hammett said. “We also have two other returning players that are some impact players.

“We’re gonna be competitive, very competitive. I hope we get out the box early and get some momentum going into the playoffs, last year we didn’t get off to a great start.”

Troup lost eight games by five points or less last season. It was a struggle to close out games early in the season, but the team found a way down the stretch to win tight games which Hammett hopes will carry over into this season.

“We had a tough schedule and we lost a lot of close games,” Hammett said. “We didn’t figure out a way to close games until late in the season.We were trying to change the culture and get adjusted to winning and playing hard, and they figured it out going into the playoffs. That tough schedule was very beneficial for us and matured us going into the playoffs.”

The Tigers are returning practically the entire team from last year’s run to the playoffs. The team is still chalk full of youth with just two seniors as main contributors — DeJaylen Campbell and Jay Johnson. Campbell, the team’s starting point guard for the last two seasons, is poised to be a real leader for the team in his senior season.

“He is the guy that I look to with his senior leadership, and he’s playing the point, but we have a lot of leaders on this team,” Hammett said.

The junior class is where the heartbeat of the team lies. Jaylen Brown, Dee Moreland and Desmon Cunningham were part of the core the last two seasons and will have to be again this year if the Tigers make a deep run. 

Brown in particular had a special sophomore season and has elevated his game to new heights heading into the season.

“He’s come in this year through the summer and fall, and he’s not vocal, but he leads by example on the floor, so he’s upped his game over the summer and the fall,” Hammett said. “I can see it like when last year he might have come in like fifth to six in sprints. He didn’t really push it. This year he’s at the front of the line. He’s first even when we were doing five on five. He treats it as if it’s a real game. He takes it seriously.” 

“His IQ is high, and his intensity this year is at an all time high,” Hammett added. “He set some goals for himself, and I think he’s gonna get there because he’s putting in the work. He’s a different kid from last year.”

Moreland and Cunningham have been on the gridiron for the football team since the summer, so the team has had to make some adjustments in summer ball and early practices. Their absence has led to some younger guys having to step up and run with the first team.

“We blended in some young guys, and we went and played down at Columbus State and played at LaFayette this summer and through it all we were undefeated even though we didn’t even have everybody.”

Gavyn Gates, another junior, had a breakout sophomore season last year and will be a key part of the team as one of the starting guards or the sixth man off the bench. 

Troup will be adding a new junior to the fold this season in Vakiel Hammett, the son of Vacher. The younger Hammett transfers in from Lafayette Christian where he averaged 10 points and seven rebounds as a sophomore.

“He brings us some athleticism. He jumps well, rebounds well, he can shoot, shoot the perimeter shot, he can play guard. He can play either forward position,” Vacher said. “He’s already gelling with the guys and they have welcomed him with open arms.”

The team will also be adding other football players to the roster once their season wraps in the coming weeks. 

The Tigers will be in for a gauntlet of a region this year. Region 2-3A will feature a test every game. The region features the reigning 3A state champions in Sandy Creek as well as Fayette County, who beat Troup in the region championship last season, as well as a sweet 16 team in 4A from last year in Spalding. The gauntlet does not stop there as Whitewater made the Elite Eight in 4A a season ago and Upson-Lee won its region en route to a Sweet 16 of the 3A state playoffs last year.

“I think based off last year that Sandy Creek and Fayette County will be the front runners, but we are going to be very competitive,” Hammett said. “A lot of it also depends on who they lost and who they added.”

Hammett also expects LaGrange to rebound after the team missed out on the playoffs last season.

The anticipation is high and the season is nigh. Troup will scrimmage Northgate on the road next Thursday before officially tipping off the season against Valley (AL) on Nov. 19.