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MORRISTOWN, Tenn. – After two sub-par seasons on the hardwood the last couple years, veteran Walters State men’s basketball coach Bill Carlyle and assistant
coach Darrian Jones went back to the drawing board before putting together this season’s recruiting class.

When evaluating the returning talent and looking back at past team’s successes,Carlyle felt he needed to get back to a team that more resembled his high octane offense and hard-nosed defensive teams of the past. With this year’s signing class of 14 players, he feels he has a team to do just that.

“When you look back at our teams that were the most successful, we have been able to run the floor on offense and score from anywhere, and we have played tough defense,” Carlyle said. “We kind of got away from that the last couple years and it has hurt us. Now we feel like we are back where we need to be roster wise.”

The talented group coming to Morristown this fall is high on talent but short on size, but Carlyle said that the overall athleticism of the group will make up for the size difference.

“I feel like we have done a really good job in recruiting and are bringing in a group of kids that can really play,” Carlyle said. “We addressed some need areas and have a lot of athletes in this class. We don’t have a lot of size, but we have athleticism, speed and more importantly scorers.”

Filling roles at guard will be Dyer County’s Fred Yarbrough and Cedarius Taylor, 
Franklin (TN) County’s Blake Stephens, Franklin (NC) County’s Jeb Brewer, Memphis Sheffield’s Jaquize Harmon, Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett’s Tyler Ailshie and Memphis Overton’s Darrius White, who averaged 26.7 points per game to lead the Shelby County area.

“The guards we were able to sign will immediately help us with our production on perimeter shooting and distributing the basketball,” Carlyle said. “We have some scorers, some really good point guards and several guys that can play different positions on the perimeter.”

At forward and post will be Warner Robbins, Ga., native Denard Williams, Tampa product Elgrin Wilson, Gatlinburg-Pittman graduate and Hutchinson Community College transfer Morrease Barber, Hardin Valley’s Tevin Gunn, Lebanon product Cameron High, Jacksonville native Kelvin Key and Tallahassee Godby High graduate Willie Holloway. High was the leading scorer in the Nashville area last season.

“Despite not having the type of size we normally have down low, we have guys that are athletic enough to get up and down the floor,” Carlyle said. “Our goal is to get into more of a transition game with more dribble drives and get away from as many set plays, and the speed and quickness of some of these guys will help us do that.”

The 14 recruits will join returnees Tony Wilkerson, Anthony Sanders, Dedron Pillow, Leland Robinson and Jeff Simpson to form what Carlyle believes could be a contender in the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association.

“As always, I’m looking forward to seeing how this team looks on the floor when you put them with the guys that we have returning,” Carlyle said. “I feel like we have a good chance to be competitive in the conference this season, but it’s all going to depend on how well the team gels and comes together. If they can do it quickly, they have a chance to be really good.”