New gym, new start for Viqueens

The basketball season is fast approaching and the Community Viqueens will begin the new season with a new school, new athletic facilities and a fresh roster after losing four seniors from a team that finished 17-14 a year ago.

Gone are All-District 9-A performer Jessica Thompson, Heather Small and Marissa Jones, all four-year starters that competed in the Region 5-A tournament in three of the four seasons as Viqueens. Fan favorite Alyssa Fann has also graduated and her leadership will be greatly missed both on the floor as well as in the locker room.

Those players played a huge role in the 66 wins that the Viqueens amassed over the course of their careers.

On the surface it would appear to be a daunting task to replace players that placed an indelible stamp on the Purple and Gold program but coach Allison Layne is excited about the challenge of building from the floor up with the talent that remains.

"A lot of things have changed about the way that we will approach the game this year," Layne said. "For the last several seasons our strength was shooting from the perimeter and our game plans were executed accordingly.

"This season we will be a lot more outside-in oriented with Megan Busbee in the middle and Courtney Vassar playing down low as well. We can still shoot the ball from the outside though and teams will have to respect that as well so we feel good about our offense."

Aubrey Boyce returns as the point guard after an outstanding junior campaign when she led the team in scoring and has worked hard in the offseason to hone her skills with the knowledge that her coach is depending heavily on her as well as Vassar to provide some veteran leadership to her young teammates.

Vassar sets the pace defensively for the Viqueens, who will benefit from the presence of the 6-foot-2 Busbee on the inside and the quickness of Boyce, Michaela Jones and Georgia Ralston to fill the passing lanes and harass the opponents ballhandlers.

Ralston was a force on the boards in the 2008-09 season and has benefited from a rigid offseason workout regimen to add to her considerable skills

Make no mistake about it; the Viqueens will be young and inexperienced with a roster made up of three seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and four freshmen.

"We will have some inexperienced players, but I am really pleased with the way that they have stepped up in practice everyday," Layne said. "In past seasons we were top heavy talent wise so the older players weren't as challenged as they could have been, but this year we have very competitive practices because our roster is pretty evenly distributed skill wise.

"These kids are hungry for basketball and it shows every single day. It is very refreshing to see these kids compete against each other for a job. Several of them will get some prolonged playing time as the season progresses and they make the adjustment from middle school ball to the speed and physical aspects of varsity play.

"We are thrilled that the season is finally upon us and we are very excited about our prospects for the season. We think that we are going to play an exciting style of basketball and we look forward to getting started."

Community opens the season with Hall of Fame contests on Tuesday in Cornersville and next Friday at Richland. Tip-off for both is slated for 6 p.m.