Carroll Academy boys basketball coach Tommy Acy won’t have to think long about his starting lineup.
Acy returns all five starters from last year’s squad. Acy said the team has been busy this summer preparing for next year and recently wrapped up the summer at the Madison-Ridgeland Academy team camp.
“We went to the MRA team camp and played pretty good,” Acy said. “As long as we didn’t play an early morning game, we were fine. I don’t know if they were still asleep or what but we didn’t play well first thing in the morning. But after that, we played pretty good.”
Acy said the Rebels got a shot at one of the state’s powerhouses in the Thursday tournament.
“In the single-elimination tournament, we played Clinton Christian in the first round and beat them. They were one of the fastest teams there so that was a good win for us. Then we played MRA in the second round. We jumped out 11-2 on them and their coach called a time out and got on them pretty good. They come back and beat us by 12 but it was a really good game. We scared the big dogs a little bit. As long as anybody doesn’t get hurt in football, we should be okay. We are returning all five starters so we have big expectations for this team.”
Leading the way back for the Rebels is 6-foot-4 post player Reese Fulton, who was an All-MAIS selection last year and the district MVP. Fulton is joined by seniors Logan Taylor, Morgan Mims and Austin Smith along with junior Brett Harper.
“Reese is getting some college interest,” Acy said. “That’s one of the reasons we went to the Delta State team camp so those coaches could get their eyes on him. As long as he can stay healthy, he should continue to get more interest. That’s why when you have kids playing multiple sports, you just hope they don’t get hurt.”
Acy said the team has worked hard in the offseason to improve their shooting and will continue to shoot in July, but not scrimmage.
“We struggled shooting it from the outside last year,” Acy said. “Luckily, my three guards have been working on their shooting. They realize if they hit a couple of shots from the outside, it opens up inside from Reese. And then Reese shot the ball really well from the outside this summer. He hit no telling how many from the outside this past week.”
