Brentwood High Season Preview
Brentwood Bruins
As smart and poised as the Bruins were a year ago they will be more intelligent with the halfcourt choices in 2018-2019. David Windley is the only major contributor gone from that 25-7 team.
FRONTCOURT: Ben Mills is springy in the lane if a little thin. His scoring is generally quick and quiet. There are more foreboding bigs, but few will score as efficiently as Ben. Harry Lackey defends the paint quite a bit in halfcourt sets. He also gives the frontcourt defensive rebounding help.
Senior Cole Massey played sparingly in the playoffs for Brentwood, but he will be required to provide bench minutes and effort this season. Massey is a 6-foot-2 power forward behind Mills in the depth chart.
BACKCOURT: Replacing David Windley (Washington University freshman) will be surprisingly easy with Jack Thurman an accomplished passer providing Preston Moore a second initiator.
Harry Lackey is the wildcard. Now a junior the 6-foot-6 Harry can deeply impact a game with his passing and slashing. Lackey missed a few games late last season. When he was out the team became a little more predictable to defend.
David’s younger brother John Windley certainly lacked the on-court leadership of his elder brother last season. He delivered scoring when fed. Of all the players on the team expect John’s role to grow the most. He gained strength in the off-season and powered through bigger defenders to score in traffic during AAU. He will be a handful as a sophomore.
KEY TO SUCCESS: Slowing opponents and recovering in transition will make Brentwood nearly impossible to defeat in their district. Quick guards are a challenge for Brentwood. Many of BHS’ best players are big for their position by high school standards and several have slow, plodding feet defensively. If Brentwood can keep opponents from surging out on the break, then they will be incredibly successful.
MOST IMPROVED: John Windley. After taking over #10 from David, John is ready to be a worthy scoring threat. John’s power in the lane will frighten district defenders.
Bruins’ Top Ten. Here are ten important games for Brentwood.
- Ensworth (11/13)
- @ West Creek (11/23)
- Nolensville (11/27)
- @ Franklin (11/30)
- @ Ravenwood (12/14)
- Hillsboro (12/15)
- @ Nolensville(12/22)
- Centennial (1/8)
- Franklin (1/15)
- @ Centennial (2/8)
For Starters
- F Ben Mills
- G Harry Lackey
- G Jack Thurman
- SG John Windley
- PG Preston Moore
2017-2018 Record: 25-7
Head Coach: Greg Shirley
NEWCOMERS: Sophomore guards Macen Render and Griffin Burke are new to varsity. Macen stands 5-foot-10 and Griffin is a 5-foot-8 point guard. Very few minutes will be available to either, but both will dress each game. Expect John Windley to be the lone sophomore contributor.
OUTLOOK: Franklin and Centennial figure to be challenging district opponents. Franklin lacks the depth of Brentwood, but Reese Glover gives everybody problems. With four starters back from a 25-win team Brentwood deserves “favorite” status.