Richmond senior guard Brian Love works the ball up the court during a drill Monday night at practice. The Raiders open their season tonight on the road at Southview.
But first-year coach David Laton won’t mind that one bit.
The Raiders will be waiting for three players - senior guard Tedarrius Wiley, senior forward Kasheim Reid, and senior point guard Quayshawn Dumas - to finish their football duties.
And since the North Carolina Class 4AA playoffs just started last Friday, that could be awhile.
“I hope we don’t have them for a few more weeks,” Laton said.
For now, Layton will dress a few more players from the junior varsity.
Key returning players for Richmond include 5-10 senior guard Brian Love; 6-5 senior forward-center JIde Reddick; and 6-7 junior center Will Freeman.
The Raiders have been practicing officially since Nov. 2 and scrimmaged Durham Riverside this past Saturday.
Laton hopes his Raiders will have a balanced offensive attack.
“We’ll run some, and we want to find the right mix between perimeter shooting and an inside game,” Laton said. “We’ll do what fits us best.”
The Raiders will have a long nonconference campaign to iron out the kinks. They don’t open Southeast Conference play until Friday, Jan. 8 at Hoke County.
Laton said he’s looking forward to the Raiders’ return to the old Southeast Conference alignment. Other conference schools include Pinecrest, Lumberton, Hoke, Scotland and Pernell Swett.
Pinecrest has been strong the past few seasons, and Laton expects the Patriots to be the preseason favorite again.
In addition to Richmond, Lumberton, Hoke and Swett have new coaches, so the rest of the conference - including the Raiders - will be somewhat of a wild card.
As the Raiders prepare to take the court for their 2009-10 opener, Laton wants to see if his focus on fundamentals these past few weeks will pay dividends.
“It all starts with fundamentals,” Laton said. “We want to be fundamentally sound on both ends of the court.”
Richmond Senior High School
2009-10 Men’s Basketball Schedule
11/17 at Southview 7:30 p.m.
11/19 Anson 7:30 p.m.
11/24 at South Robeson 7:30 p.m.
12/3 at Whiteville 7:30 p.m.
12/7 Douglas Byrd 7:30 p.m.
12/8 Union Pines 7:30 p.m.
12/15 South Robeson 7:30 p.m.
12/16 at Cape Fear 7:30 p.m.
12/18 at Trinity Christ. 7:30 p.m.
12/28-12/30 Holiday in the
Pines Tourney at Pinecrest 7:30 p.m.
1/6 Southview 7:30 p.m.
1/8 at Hoke 7:30 p.m.
1/12 Purnell Swett 7:30 p.m.
1/15 Lumberton 7:30 p.m.
1/22 at Pinecrest 7:30 p.m.
1/26 at Scotland 7:30 p.m.
1/29 Hoke 7:30 p.m.
2/2 at Purnell Swett 7:30 p.m.
2/5 at Lumberton 7:30 p.m.
2/9 Pinecrest 7:30 p.m.
2/12 Scotland 7:30 p.m.
2/15-2/20 SEC Tourney TBA
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