The Southland Rebels boys basketball program enters its 2021-22 campaign looking to develop new leaders after losing most of its varsity starters to graduation.

“We graduated four of our starters last year,” Southland coach Charles Stormes said. “We have three guys returning who rotated into the fifth starting spot last season. All three of those guys have a little bit of varsity time but after that, we are pretty young.”

Southland has two seniors, one junior, three sophomores, and five freshmen on its high school roster.

“Everybody on our roster is going to have to contribute at the varsity level this year,” Stormes said. “We are going to try to be competitive every night. I think we could be a middle of the pact team in our conference. The Tri-County is very strong this year but we hope to find a way to be competitive with all of the teams in it.”

The three upperclassmen on the squad are senior post player Eric Worley, junior guard Josiah McMinn, and junior forward Colton Finkbeiner.

Stormes said: “Eric Worley probably got more minutes than anyone returning from last season. Josiah McMinn also got some varsity time and improved as the year progressed. Colton Finkbeiner also logged a lot of minutes last season."

Stormes expects incoming freshman Jeremiah McMinn to handle the ball-handling responsibilities as the point guard.

“Jeremiah, Jo’s brother, will be our point guard,” Stormes said. “This will be his first go-around playing high school basketball but he’s a quick learner and a good athlete. He’s also really fast.”

Rounding out the high school squad are sophomore Logan McCay, sophomore Juan Reyes, sophomore Loyd Snider, freshman Trace Gibson, freshman Conner Morgan, freshman Kalnen Baugus, and freshman Douglas Resendez.

“We’ve got a little bit of size and athleticism,” Stormes said. “I just think depth is going to be an issue for us. One of our freshmen is going to miss the first six weeks with an injury. Our sophomores have never played high school basketball but they are going to have to come in and help right out of the gate. We just have a lot of guys trying to gain some experience fast.”

Southland will have the opportunity to play in front of its home fans frequently early on. The Rebels have four home games and will host the first annual Southland Battle at the Border Tournament before the Christmas break.

“We are having our own Christmas Tournament this season,” Stormes said. “We decided we wanted to try our own tournament and mix in some Arkansas schools. Cooter, North Pemiscot, Westwood Baptist, KIPP Blytheville, Delta (Ark.), and Jonesboro Homeschool are slated to compete in it with us."

Southland’s first varsity contest is Nov. 29 when it hosts North Pemiscot. Southland beat North Pemiscot 76-58 and 95-50 last season but Stormes expects his squad could be in for a much tougher battle this time around.

“I think North Pemiscot’s last win actually came against us,” Stormes said. "We’ve been able to beat them the last few years but I really think it’s going to be a dog fight this year. I think they’ve got more guys coming back than us but we hope to find a way to make it competitive.”