Jazmin Simpkins lays up the ball during a drill at Baylor School on Thursday.GIRLS' TEAMS TO WATCH1. Baylor: The Lady Red Raiders have depth galore and are among the teams expected to challenge for the Division II-AA East/Middle Region title.2. GPS: The bulk of the talent returns from a Bruisers team that had a winning record and lost by only four to Baylor in the 2014 state tournament.3. Heritage: The Generals have career scoring leader Jada Hubbard to go with a talented young team that's poised to make a region-title run.4. Rhea County: The Lady Eagles return Amber Levi and Jessee Wallis, who were the top scorers on last year's team that was 22-9.5. Gordon Lee: The now Class AA Lady Trojans are strong in the backcourt, but 6-footers Madelyn Lee and Anna Pettigrew could be domineering.
Locally there's at least one group of girls who can rival Baylor's starters this basketball season. It's the Lady Red Raiders' second five.
Depth should not be an issue for the Lady Raiders, who will offer a glimpse at their 2014-15 team Monday night at GPS when they take on Brainerd at 7 in the middle of five periods on the first night of the city jamboree. Another five periods will be held Tuesday with action starting at 6 both nights.
For some TSSAA teams the season begins this week with Hall of Champions benefit games. The Lady Raiders will open their season Nov. 25-26 in the Cleveland Classic at Lee University.
Baylor's list of returning players is a familiar one to its fans, even though the only senior is Selena Popp.
"She's really valuable," Baylor coach John Gibson said of Popp, who has been on the varsity since eighth grade. "She plays as hard as anybody else. She's very unselfish. She sets the tone for how to do things on and off the floor. She's a good leader for us."
Popp is a track-and-field standout who won the Division II state pentathlon championship as a sophomore and finished third in the event last spring. She said she doesn't feel any added pressure to be a leader as the lone basketball senior. She's just happy being part of a team that gives her a little diversion from her main sport.
"I think we all kind of back up each other and hold each other accountable," Popp said. "I love track, but it's nice having a different season. I love the chance to be around this game and these girls for a couple of months. In track we all just kind of meet up at the track. Here we meet in a locker room and have a lot more team bonding."
Point guard Kaleigh Clemons heads a strong junior class with multiple members having started since they were freshmen. Mya Long and Crosby Huckabay are others.
The Lady Raiders also are ready to welcome back a fully healthy Jazmin Simpkins, who suffered a season-ending knee injury halfway through her freshman year. She returned to the court last year as a sophomore but wasn't fulfilling the promise she had showed at the start of her prep career. She feels that time spent in the weight room since last season has helped her regain more balance, strength and stability, but most of all, trust in her knee.
GIRLS' PLAYERS TO WATCH1. Jamee Ward, Brainerd: The junior guard is equally adept at driving to the basket and scoring as she is at making a 3-point shot. She averaged 20 points and four steals for the District 6-AA champions last year.2. Kaleigh Clemons, Baylor: She handles the ball and directs Baylor's offense, illustrated by her average of six assists per game last season. The junior left-hander also averaged 11.3 points per game.3. Akia Harris, GPS: She averaged 16 points per game while also operating the Bruisers' offense from point guard last season and dishing 5.5 assists per game. Her quickness helped her make 4.3 steals per game.4. Jada Hubbard, Heritage: The senior guard is one of the top playmakers in the Chattanooga area. She can get her shot off against strong defenses and uses her elite quickness to penetrate and set up teammates.5. Sandrea Sylman, Central: The guard helped elevate a long-suffering program to the District 6-AA regular-season title last season as a junior with averages around 18 points, six rebounds and four steals per game.
"Last year I was not the same," Simpkins said. "Physically I might have been, but I knew mentally I wasn't. That kind of held me back most of the season. I'm definitely back and able to do things I could do before."
With Simpkins on the mend last season, yet another junior, Abby Hubert, got more playing time in the post. And not only that, she averaged almost 12 points per game, which edged Clemons for the team lead.
Sophomore Grace Wardeberg is recovering from an injury and is expected to rejoin the team in December. Four freshman off the Baylor Middle School team that went 16-2 last season have been promoted to the varsity, which strengthens the bench even more.
One of them is Cheyenne Lindsay, a speedster whose college future is expected to be in softball. To further illustrate the team's athletic ability, Huckabay recently committed to Georgia Tech in softball and Popp is expected to sign an NCAA Division I track scholarship soon.
"Even if it's not basketball," Gibson said, "a lot of kids on this team are going to go on to play sports at a high level."
Given that depth and athleticism, expect a lot of pressuring of the ball and defense leading to offense this season for the Lady Raiders. Getting leads is not as huge of a concern for the coach as protecting them.
"We were 19-9 last year, and of our nine losses, probably five or six we had a lead late and didn't take care of business," Gibson said. "We had inconsistent lulls in certain games, for sure. What we have to do is get better at playing the game and knowing where we're supposed to be at all times. I believe we're closer to that."
And the DII-AA state quarterfinalists from a year ago are aiming this season to get closer to something else.
"I think if we put everything together, we do have the opportunity to win state," Simpkins said. "The talent is here, if we can get on the same page, keep working hard and motivate each other to work together."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.