by Ashton Eley.

Freshmen boys basketball won the Central Arkansas Junior High Conference regular-season championship, and they did it with only eight players.

“I do not think that any Bryant team has gone through a season and won every invitational tournament, the conference championship and the conference tournament championship all in the same year,” coach Jim Pennington said. “It took all eight of these young men to do what we were able to this year.”

The team started summer practices with 16 players and by the start of the season only 13 players remained on the team. After winter break, the team dwindled down to eight, the “fearless eight.”

“Some of the players weren’t committed and didn’t come to practices,” shooting guard Brandan Warner said.

Eight players on the team made it difficult to practice because there weren’t enough people to scrimmage and work on game play.

“We had to barrow some junior varsity players so we could scrimmage,” K.J. Hill said.

Another problem the team of only a few faced was the physical toll of games, but Warner said coach made sure that was not an issue.

“We ran a lot. We had to run line drills,” Warner said. “Coach P didn’t give up or let us quit.”

Guard John Winn also said that is was Coach who made the difference.

“He got us prepared,” Winn said. “He had a game plan and we did it. We couldn’t have done it without him.”

Pennington said it was a group effort built on mutual trust.

“I have to give these guys credit for trusting me in the things we did on offense and defense. In return, I trusted them to do what we needed to do to be successful,” Pennington said. “You’re not going to win if you do not trust each other. They believed in me and I believed in them.”

Hill said the team bonded off the court as well as during practice.

“Coach took us out to Larry’s,” Hill said, “and all the players had ‘slumber parties’.”

Fewer players may have been a challenge, yet many players said it brought the team closer together.

“Each young man took the role I gave them and were total team players,” Pennington said.

Pennington had only good things to say about his players and wouldn’t let one go without getting the recognition they earned.

“Hill is a tremendous player and his abilities allow you to control the game. He can score and handle pressure situations, as well as be a very intelligent player. He understands the game,” Pennington said, “Winn is a total package. He was a tremendous defender and hustler and one of our best ball-handlers. He can score but chose to do other things to help us win. Warner was our three-point shooter and really came on at the end of the season. He was also a good leader for us. J.C. Newborn and Ryan Hall were our post players. When they played well, the team played well. Marcus Withers was our sixth man and played both inside and outside and had some great games for us. Brett Fisher and Austin Green came in and gave the starters a rest and really made us better in practice.

“We are truly ‘one for all and all for one’.”

The coach and players said this year was about more than just basketball to them.

“The best part was just going out there and having fun with my teammates,” Winn said.

“It is my hope that these young men learned more than just basketball this year,” Pennington said. “I hope they learned to be better people as well as players.”