With four of five starters returning from last year’s regional semifinal team, the Union City girls will enter the 2024-25 season with great expectations.
School Communications Director Mike Hutchens said lofty goals will remain the focus of the tradition-rich Tornado boys despite heavy graduation losses from last year.
Set to open their respective seasons Tuesday night, Union City’s two squads share the same aspirations of a deep postseason run.
“We had big expectations last year, too, and we came up just one play short,” said Mason Storey, who returns arguably the top two players in the district this year in Debrionna Jones and Sh’Nyla Moss for his second season at the Lady Tornado helm.
“I think the girls took that to heart. We’ve set some lofty goals for the upcoming season, and they’ve done the work in the offseason to make that a real possibility. We’ve gotten a lot stronger. We look more athletic. And we’ve put in a shooting program that has benefited us at several positions.
“Hopefully, all of that will set us up for something special and a deep postseason run.”
The boys team will not alter expectations despite losing four starters to graduation. Included among that quartet was Mr. Basketball finalist Malaki Brooks. Gone also are No. 2 scorer Joseph Lattus, defensive specialist C.J. Davis, and big man Jack Tully.
“Our expectations are always to win the district title and be playing our best basketball when it matters most in February,” claimed Shane Sisco, the winningest coach in school history heading into his 26th season with 574 victories. “This year is no different.
“We’re going to look a lot different from what we looked last year, and we’ll look a lot different from Nov. 19 when we open the season until we begin the district tournament in February. In fact, I believe we’ll be much improved from the start of the year until early January when we begin district play.”
Both coaches will put their teams up against a demanding pre-district schedule, hoping to ready them for top-flight competition come tourney time.
Among Union City’s foes in the first two months of the season are South Gibson County, Dyer County, Milan, Trinity Christian Academy, and Gibson County. The two programs will also participate in multiple holiday events against solid competition.
“We have an extremely difficult schedule,” confirmed Sisco, who regularly pairs his teams against more athletic and stronger competition. “We always want to play a competitive schedule, no matter who we bring back.”
Storey concurred.
“Just the physicality and the athleticism we’ll see in our non-district games, those are the types of opponents who’ll prepare us for who we’ll see in February and March,” the coach said.
Union City opens its 2024-25 Tuesday night at home against Humboldt.
(photos: Mike Hutchens – School Communications Director)
