Summer Questions Part 5: A Look At Basketball Season And How New Head Football Coaches Will Fare | Sports

Mainly clear. Low around 75F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Mainly clear. Low around 75F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Junior Falyn Lott is one of several key returning players for Memorial as it seeks to defend its 9-5A championship.

Drew Steffe and Memorial are coming off winning the first district championship in program history.

Junior Falyn Lott is one of several key returning players for Memorial as it seeks to defend its 9-5A championship.

Drew Steffe and Memorial are coming off winning the first district championship in program history.

The end of one chapter gives way to the start of another, and such is the case as teams around the state begin preparations for the 2022-23 school year.

For some, that means a fresh start as they look to get back on the winning track, while for others, it represents an opportunity to build on what they accomplished in the past year.

Throughout the summer, Star Local Media will reflect on the year that was for the Frisco area, while also looking ahead to the district’s storylines and subplots for the 2022-23 school year.

1. What local girls basketball teams can contend for district titles?

While there is often a clear-cut answer in many districts, as far as Frisco ISD is concerned, the better question is which team can’t.

During the past decade, eight of the 10 FISD teams have made the playoffs, with four capturing district championships. Many times, a team’s postseason fate has been dictated by the fact that its city rivals were simply better that year.

This past season was another one to remember, particularly in the battle between Liberty and Memorial.

The Redhawks have carried the banner for the last several years, appearing in four state tournaments from 2016-2021, highlighted by their state championship campaign in 2020.

Though one of the youngest programs, the Warriors hit the ground running, making the playoffs in their inaugural season in 2018-2019 and quickly building since.

The two teams split a pair of meetings in tournaments prior to the start of the 9-5A season and Liberty sent a message that it was not ready to pass the torch just yet when it won the first district encounter.

Memorial would avenge that loss in the rematch and those would be the only blemishes on either’s district resume, as they went on to share the 9-5A title.

On opposite sides of the bracket, the two appeared on a collision course in the playoffs and that proved to be the case.

The fifth meeting between the teams carried with it the highest of stakes as they met in the Class 5A Region II final with a trip to San Antonio on the line.

The Redhawks might have had the pedigree, but it was the Warriors’ turn on that day, as they claimed a 43-35 victory to punch their first ticket to the state tournament.

But is Memorial prepared to remain atop the FISD roost?

The Warriors will certainly miss co-most valuable player Jasmyn Lott, but the cupboard is far from bare for head coach Rochelle Vaughn.

Falyn Lott was voted as the 9-5A defensive player of the year during her sophomore campaign, as she averaged 7.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

She will be joined by another first-team honoree in senior Angel Alexander, who led the team in 3-point shooting and recorded 7.2 points per game.

There is also talent waiting to take on bigger roles. Junior Brynn Lusby was named to the second team last season, while also expected to return are honorable mention senior Carmen Box and sophomores Makayla Vation and Senese Rainey.

Liberty graduated three all-district performers, including co-most valuable player Jazzy Owens-Barnett. But the Redhawks do return junior Keyera Roseby, last year’s 6th Woman of the Year, as well as second-team senior Za’naiha Hensley, and given their track record, should not be counted out.

Lone Star has been somewhat overshadowed by its district rivals, Lone Star has built quite the reputation of its own. The Rangers have made six consecutive playoff appearances, winning our district titles along the way, and have advanced at least three rounds deep in every one of those.

With first-team senior Jordan DeVaughn and second-team junior Hannah Carr, Lone Star should be in the hunt once again next season.

2. What boys basketball teams will contend for district titles?

While the FISD girls basketball teams have made a number of deep playoff runs over the years, the same has not been true on the boys side.

In fact, prior to last season, only two teams had ever even reached the regional tournament.

Like the girls team, the Memorial boys set out to make history a year ago and they achieved it.

The Warriors embarked on a dominant run through the 9-5A slate. Not only did they post a perfect 18-0 record en route to their first district championship, they outdistanced the field by five games.

In its first playoff appearance in 2021, Memorial was knocked out in the bi-dsitrict round.

This past year, the Warriors not only notched their first playoff win, they reeled off four more victories to advance to the regional championship game, where they lost a hard-fought battle to Kimball.

But is Memorial still the team to beat?

There will be holes to fill with the loss of defensive player of the year Avery Jackson and first-teamers Isaiah Foster and Mason Wujek, but the Warriors should be in the hunt.

For starters, they return perhaps the best overall player in senior-to-be Drew Steffe. The 6-5 Steffe is coming off a 9-5A most valuable player season that saw him average 16.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

In addition to Steffe, Memorial will turn to second-team senior Leon Horner, as well as senior Cooper Mendel, who was named to the 9-5A all-defensive team.

If 9-5A is going to crown a new champion, keep an eye on Liberty.

The Redhawks navigated the district terrain to finish third last season to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

Liberty should have a solid nucleus back with sophomore Jacobe Coleman, who was named newcomer of the year after recording 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, as well as first-team senior Trenton Walters, second-team senior Jonathan Dupree and a trio of honorable mention seniors in Jayden Daniels, Tristen Kelley and Matthew Bishop.

3. What impact will the new head football coaches have on their teams?

Several football programs are embarking on different journeys this season with new head coaches at Wakeland and Independence, as well as the start of two varsity programs at Emerson and Panther Creek.

For the first time in program history, the Wolverines will have a new leader as Marty Secord announced his retirement last month after guiding Wakeland to a 109-66 record during his 16 seasons at the helm.

Though there is a change at the top, the Wolverines will be led by a familiar face as offensive coordinator Chandler Isom was promoted to head coach.

That stability should help with the continued growth of junior quarterback Brennan Myer, who was named offensive newcomer of the year last season after completing 135-of-222 passes for 1,992 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Wakeland also returns first-team senior tight end/fullback Tripp Riordan, as well as first-team lineman Connor Stroh, but they will need leaders on defense to step up after graduating several key contributors.

The Knights are also in uncharted waters after the retirement of Kyle Story, who had been the only coach the program had known since starting in 2014.

As was the case at Wakeland, FISD promoted from within, as defensive coordinator Nick Stokes, who has also been with the program since it started, will take over as head coach.

Independence has had some ups and downs during the last eight years. The Knights went 11-2 as recently as 2019 but slipped to a 3-7 campaign a year ago.

Independence should benefit from dropping down in classification to 5A Division II, putting it on more equal footing with its enrollment peers, but it did graduate several key seniors, including utility player of the year Reggie Bush.

It is difficult to determine what to make for the two programs who are starting from scratch.

Emerson did play a junior varsity schedule last season, which does give them some experience and they were placed in 3-5A Division II along with Independence and Memorial.

Do not be surprised if Emerson has early success under head coach Kendall Miller.

Miller posted a 29-6 record in three seasons at South Oak Cliff and then turned around a Garland Lakeview Centennial program, leading them to three playoff berths.

Miller has also been at the school for a full year, so expect the Mavericks to be ready in the fall.

Panther Creek will take the field under head coach Clint Surratt, who formerly led Princeton for four years and does have FISD ties as a recent assistant at Lone Star.

Though the Panthers are virtually starting from scratch, they will not be thrown directly into the fire, as during their first two seasons, they will compete in Class 4A Division I.

For continued coverage on the local sports scene, follow Devin Hasson on Twitter: @DevinHasson. Email Devin with sports story suggestions at dhasson@starlocalmedia.com.

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Have the latest Frisco Enterprise news delivered right to your inbox!

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates.

Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email.