Central High School basketball players run up and down the court during a drill on Tuesday.BOYS' TEAMS TO WATCH1. Hamilton Heights: With talent from around the globe, the Hawks have lined up a schedule featuring three teams in the USA Today preseason Top 25.2. Calhoun: The Yellow Jackets were 26-3 a year ago as the Georgia Class AA runners-up. They pressure hard on defense and have added a 6-5 junior transfer in Landon Rice.3. Central: The freshman class that took its lumps at the varsity level is now a junior class in search of the school's first state-tournament berth since 1997.4. Brainerd: Finding a successor as active as graduated post player Orlando Moore won't be easy, but the Panthers again should challenge for the District 6-AA title.5. Ringgold: The Tigers were a playoff team and return key players in guards Kile Sholl and J.T. Roach, forward Jordan Ransom and 6-7 post Hunter Sosebee.
The last two Marches, Central boys' basketball coach Rick Rogers has taken his players - dressed alike in their warmup suits - to Murfreesboro to watch the TSSAA state tournament. But in March 2015, the Purple Pounders hope to be doing more than just watching.
Many TSSAA teams will get their seasons under way this week playing Hall of Champions benefit games. Some area GHSA teams will get going next week.
Central gets its season started Nov. 25 when it hosts East Ridge in a District 6-AA game, and winning a district championship is the Pounders' first priority this season. Rogers' players have seen the last two championship teams from their district playing on the floor at Middle Tennessee State University's Murphy Center.
"I took them to the state tournament so they could see what it's like," Rogers said. "I think it really opened their eyes. Tyner played in it last year. Howard played the year before. I think they want a taste of it."
The Pounders have three seniors, but a strong junior class is expected to play the bulk of the minutes this season. Many of the same players have been playing regularly since they were ninth-graders.
"I knew the first day they were freshmen I had something special in the wings," said Rogers, who was an assistant coach in 1997, the last time Central played in a state tournament. "They've all stayed together. We haven't lost one of them. The best thing about them is the chemistry. There's no jealousy, no egos. They don't care who scores a point. That makes for a great basketball atmosphere."
One of the juniors is 6-foot-4 Ryan Montgomery, who contributes much of the scoring, rebounding and post defense.
"I'm excited," Montgomery said. "We've got a lot of veterans coming back. We've been together since middle school. We kind of know what to expect from each other."
BOYS' PLAYERS TO WATCH1. Abdulhakim Ado, Hamilton Heights: The 6-foot-11 junior center is not only an NCAA Divison I college prospect but a highly sought one in his class. He averaged 9.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.3 blocks last year.2. Kaelen Riley, Calhoun: The 6-4 junior point guard and football starting QB will have more of a scoring role after averaging 15 points, 6.7 rebounds and three assists for the Region 7-AA and state runners-up last year.3. Marques Tipton, Brainerd: The player who had several high school coaches' attention when he was in middle school is now a senior. He has the game to mix it up inside with the forwards or shoot 3-pointers like a guard.4. Ryan Montgomery, Central: The Purple Pounders are deep, balanced and experienced, but not tall. He can score, but at 6-4 he also has the additional burden of being an inside presence on both ends of the floor.5. Emier Bowman, Dalton: He's probably the most athletic post player in northwest Georgia and is coming off a season in which he led the Catamounts with averages of 17 points and eight rebounds per game.
Point guard and classmate Terron Hayes makes it all go for Central, which reached the Region 3 tournament last season. Other juniors expected to play significant minutes are Rodney Benford, Emmanuel Lane and Jamichael Poole.
"I try to be a distributor," Hayes said. "When scoring opportunities come, they're just going to come. Everybody is on the same page. We just want to win, really.
"We've just got to come to every game focused. It could've been like that last year. Just young-minded is all that is. Everybody has matured. We've still got more improving and more maturing to do."
The seniors -- Brian Billingsley, Kevin McKenzie and Tre Tiller -- also are football players whose season ended Friday in a Class 4A state-playoff loss, so they can now begin practicing with Rogers' team. McKenzie is returning to the basketball team after playing as a freshman and sophomore but sitting out last season.
Rogers said his players have been through enough of his practices over the last couple of years that they now essentially can conduct things by themselves. Their objective for this season is motivation enough.
"Our main goal is to go to state," Montgomery said. "And I don't want to go in my warmup suit."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.