Cooper basketball season opens Friday

By LANCE FLEMING / Staff Writer

Greg Gober sure knows how to get a quick gauge on his team.

First up tonight is Lubbock Monterey, a perennial playoff team and a team that will suit up Dee Wilson, expected to be one of the top players in this part of the state.

Then Saturday the Cougars will go to Arlington to take on a Martin team that starts a front line that goes 6-7, 6-8, 6-5 across. The 6-8 player is forward Greg Davis, who has already signed with the University of New Mexico.

"We've got two tough games right off the bat, so it's going to help a lot," said Gober, who is entering his third season as the Cougars' head coach. "We'll see how fast we can bounce back."

Cooper will host Monterey tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Cougar Gym, then will play at Martin on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Monterey is 0-1 after a 71-70 overtime loss to Odessa Permian, while the Warriors are 1-0 after a 65-45 win over Fort Worth Southwest.

But the Cougars have weapons of their own, most notably senior post Brandon Schmitz, a unanimous all-district selection last year. He basically took over for the Cougars last year late in the season and raised his game even more in the playoffs.

His play helped the Cougars reach the Region I-5A tournament for the third straight season.

"We've got to have Brandon playing the whole year the way he played in the playoffs last year," Gober said. "One of our goals each year is to try to continue and improve and at least get to the level of the previous year's team. Last year we didn't do that (losing in the regional semifinals), so we've got some work to do."

Aside from Schmitz, the Cougars return point guard Aric Garrett (6-2 senior), forward Tony Roach (6-3 senior) and guard Chris Cherry (5-9 senior). Cherry is still playing football, and his spot is being filled by 6-4 junior Kyle Scott, the nephew of former Hardin-Simmons great Harvey Catchings.

Tim Hutchison, a 6-2 senior forward, rounds out the Cougars' starting lineup.

Cooper vs. Lubbock Monterey

-- When: 7:30 p.m. (JV at 6 p.m.)

-- Where: Cougar Gym

-- Records: Monterey 0-1; Cooper 0-0