Prep Hoops Circuit Preview: Starkville Swish
The spring is here! We have been previewing the teams participating in the PrepHoops Circuit over the last few months.
Below is our chat with Tricky Jackson of the Starkville Swish previewing this upcoming season!
Why did you start your program? How long have you been around?
I have been a travel ball coach for 8 years starting out in Louisville, Ky. Once I moved to Starkville, MS I found the local program Starkville Swish which had 2 teams at the time 13U and 14U. I started the 12U team. Since then I have helped the program grow from 2 teams to 9 teams with 7 boys teams and 2 girls teams. Our goals are twofold- first is to help young players develop the fundamental skills of dribbling, shooting and passing and to prepare them for high levels of competition. Our second goal is to get our players exposure statewide and nationally with the hope that some players will get opportunities to play at the collegiate level. We believe in the principles of hard-work and dedication.
What is the goal of your program for 2019?
My 2019 focus is on my 17U team. I want to get this team first on a good competitive circuit for exposure (Prep Hoops) and second I want to put them on stage in front of as many college coaches as possible. We will be attending live period events in Atlanta and Louisville, Ky. Our mission is this year is simple get 17U team exposure in front of college coaches in the hopes that some of them will get offers. For our other teams like my 15U we will look for competitive events close to home then prepare them for more travel in 2020.
What players should we watch out for?
My 17U team has eight players returning from last year as well as two players that have played on and off with us. Players to keep an eye on are 6”5 power forward/center Zeke Cook who just won the MVP in the MSHAA 6A State Championship game. Along with Zeke we have two of his team mates from that championship teams Trey Jackson and Coltie Young. Trey Jackson is a coach’s dream, best defender in Mississippi in the class of 2020, great court vision, shares the ball well and not only can score the ball but is a great rebounding guard standing 6”3 (Trey also received the Scholar Athlete Award in the Championship game). Coltie Young who is actually class of 2021 lead the team in scoring last summer averaging 16 points per game. Also watch-out for RL Mattix (outstanding point guard that has really improved his shooting) and Mason Gary (the human highlight real) and Josh Mitchell (at 6”7 the block master). Other notables Davanta Martin, Ricky Johnson and new comer Zach Sugars will also impress. The Team is stacked from top to bottom.
Why did you choose the Prep Hoops Circuit?
We chose Prep Hoops because we wanted a circuit that would be as competitive and would have just as much exposure as some of the shoe circuits. With this being promoted by a recruiting service I thought this would be a Great fit for The Starkville Swish. Also after seeing the lineup of teams that plan to attend I new this would be a top notch circuit.