No one likes playing games more than Southside coach Stewart Adams.


But the first-year boys coach was happy to be in the lab last week preparing for the brutal stretch of games in the 6A-Central.

“We needed it,” Adams said. “After the Coke Classic, it’s kind of a good time of the year to evaluate your team and figure out if this is what we want to do the rest of conference.”

The Mavericks (5-9) open 6A-Central play Friday on the road against 10-2 Conway. The Mavs travel to Cabot (10-3) Tuesday and return home Jan. 17 to play 8-3 North Little Rock.

Adams is hopeful the rest will give the Mavericks an edge heading into league play.

“I know a lot of teams scheduled games in-between (Christmas tournaments), but we had a few injuries in the Coke Classic where we needed to get healthy,” he said. “We haven’t had our lineup since the Van Buren game.”

When healthy, the Mavericks’ starting five includes leading scorer Mykale Franks at the point and Dawsyn Smith and Elijah York at the off-guard position. Smith, in particular, was a key loss during the Coke Classic.

He missed time after sustaining a concussion during the first half of the Mavericks’ loss to the Pointers.


“He had like eight points in the first half of that game,” Adams said. “Without him, and some other guys, we were able to take a look at some players who may be able to help us.”

Inexperience, depth and Division I players notwithstanding, the Mavericks will do their best, Adams said, to shake up the league.

“You start looking at film on these guys; you’re trying to find the easy one (to beat) — there’s not one,” the coach said. “There are no average teams. Probably four or five teams in our conference are capable of winning the state championship.”

That group includes Northside, Adams said.

“Northside finished fourth (6A-Central) and ended up winning the state title,” he said. “We know what we’re up against.”

Southside girls coach Robert Brunk said the Mavericks are still not close to being 100 percent healthy.

“Sadly, no,” he said.


Brunk, the first-year girls coach, said the team is without three starters who have started at one point or another this season.

He added he hopes to get everyone back before the end of the season. The Mavericks have lost all 12 of their games this season and 39 straight over two-plus seasons.
