With two of the best players in the state returning, the Vicksburg Gators are eyeing a third straight trip to the Mississippi Coliseum and the state tournament.

Kelsey Howard, the reigning Vicksburg Post Boys Player of the Year, is back along with one of the nation’s top juniors, Mychal Ammons. The Gators, who finished 22-10, were the only team to beat the overall state champion Callaway Chargers in the postseason. Howard keyed a 69-63 victory at Callaway with a game-best 29 points.

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Veteran coach Dellie C. Robinson is glad to have Howard and Ammons back to anchor the Gators for this season which starts Saturday at Yazoo County with a classic game against Velma Jackson.

“We look pretty solid, especially with Kelsey and Mike. But I think we may have the same problem as last year — can we handle the ball?” Robinson asks.

Dominique Brown, a junior, split time last season with Darius Williams and Roosevelt Harris in the point guard role. Willams graduated but Brown made strides this summer to earn the starting job. Robinson then wanted to see how the 6-foot-3 Howard, normally a wing, would handle the role. He plans to use both in the point guard spot this season.

“Dominique has done a good job, but I want to see Kelsey play some at the point, too. Kelsey has really improved his ballhandling skills.”

Last year, Howard led the Gators with 16.4 points per game. He made 53 percent of his shots inside the 3-point arc and also nailed 82 percent of his free throws. Ballhandling, though, was a question. With that resolved, Robinson says Howard should land a Division I scholarship next spring.

“Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State and Jackson State have shown a lot interest. UAB has also come in. Kelsey had a really good summer with us and played in the high school all-star game.”

Then there is Ammons, who as an eighth grader, starred on the United States 15-and-under national team, helping the club win a FIBA world title. As a sophomore, Ammons was No 2 in his class in the state and No. 11 in the nation as a small forward. Three games into the season, Ammons suffered ligament damage to his foot and missed 14 games. He still averaged 13.4 points per game, but was never quite right.

“We look to play Mike more inside this year, because he’s the biggest guy we’ve got,” Robinson said.

The Gators lost 6-7 Denzell Erves, who led the team in rebounding. Erves is now playing at Xavier University in New Orleans.

Robinson is counting on newcomer Josh Gaskin to fill the void left by Erves.

“Josh Gaskin is 6-4, but he can jump out of the gym. He’ll play in the post and give us some rebounding and if he gives us some scoring that would be great. We’ve also got Chris Miller back,” Robinson said.

Miller, a 6-2 senior forward, came on at the end of the season and was playing substantial minutes in the Gators’ playoff push when they won three straight to reach the Class 4A Tournament.

Entering her fifth year with the Missy Gators, coach Barbara Hartzog is emphasizing the team concept.

The Missy Gators return three starters from last year’s 10-15 club, led by senior guard Alexus Stirgus.

“We’re really trying to sell a team effort. We’ve been working hard and this group seems to feed off each other’s success,” Hartzog said.

The Missy Gators got off to a 3-2 start last year, winning all three games by a basket or less. The team, however, struggled in division play and was beaten badly by eventual Class 4A champion Yazoo City in the division tournament.

Graduated off last year’s team was three-year starter Kamiko Martin. Hartzog says she hasn’t settled on Martin’s replacement, but she likes her roster.

“We feel like everybody has a role. We got Shavareda Farris, who we lost last year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. We also got Anquanette Harried back,” Hartzog said.

Stirgus will be counted on to lead the Missy Gators at either guard spot.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com

Vicksburg High

*Division 4-6A game

Nov. 7    11 a.m.    Velma Jackson (Yazoo County Classic)

Nov. 10-14    TBA    Vicksburg-Warren County Classic TBA

Nov. 17    7:30 p.m.    at Madison Central

Nov. 24    6 p.m.    at Canton

Dec. 8    6 p.m.    Raymond

Dec. 12    6 p.m.    Warren Central*

Dec. 18    6 p.m.    at Greenville-Weston *

Dec. 28    TBA    at Northwest Rankin (Papa John’s Christmas Invitational)

Jan. 9    6 p.m.    at Warren Central *

Jan. 12    6 p.m.    Greenville-Weston *

Jan. 15    TBA    at Clinton *

Jan. 18    TBA    TBA (Martin L. King)     

Jan. 19    7:30 p.m.    at McComb

Jan. 23    TBA    Northwest Rankin at Warren Central (Red Carpet Classic)

Jan. 26    6 p.m.    at Natchez

Jan. 29    7:30 p.m.    Clinton*

Feb. 2    6 p.m.    Yazoo City

Feb. 5    7:30 p.m.    at Brandon