Habersham Basketball Tips Off New Season

It’s a new year for both the Raiders and Lady Raiders basketball programs, as both look to make large strides in the 2016-17 season in a new region.

Coach John Hood enters his eighth season as head coach of the girls, while Don Ledbetter is in his tenth in control of the boys program. Habersham will play in its fourth different region in six years, going from 8-AAAA to 6-AAAAAA to 7-AAAAAA, and finally to 8-AAAAAA.

Lady Raiders

Last season the girls went 10-15 overall, and 3-15 in region play. Outside of region play in 2015-16, the Lady Raiders were outstanding. Senior Lainey Gosnell returns this year after a stellar junior year that saw her average 19 points and 10 rebounds per game. Gosnell is a four-year starter who has already eclipsed 1,000 career points. She was an all-state selection last year, and has since committed to Appalachian State.

Returning starters Kiley Blackburn and McKenzie McDuffie also help solidify a team that has the pieces needed to put together a good run. The region might be more manageable for the Lady Raiders, but powerhouse teams like Gainesville and Winder-Barrow (state runner-up in 2016) will prove to be tough to displace this year. Seven Lady Raider seniors will look to lead this team.

So far, the girls are off to a hot start with a 55-8 win over Johnson on the road.

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Raiders

Coach Ledbetter’s Raiders went 5-20 last year and 3-15 in the region, finishing in 10th place. The Raiders are looking to punch a ticket to the state playoffs, which is something they haven’t done in many years. A step in the right direction would be hitting double-digits in the win column for the first time since the 2011-12 season (18-7 record).

Habersham only returns one starter, but they have a height advantage inside with junior Caleb Hodges and senior Austin Frady. Senior Michael Babers will use his athleticism to help on the wing as well.

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