[11/5/03]Things are looking up for Porters Chapel Academy this season.

Way up.

The Eagles have four players who are 6-foot-3 or taller, and only three sophomores Blake Purvis, Tim Warren and Josh Rodgers who are under 6 feet tall.

The extra height will give PCA a large presence in the post and hopefully allow them to build on last year’s 10-17 record.

“We’re going to be one of the larger teams in the district as far as height,” PCA coach Kevin Griffin said. “It’s just a matter of getting our inexperienced players a lot of reps in practice and working on the fundamentals of the post.”

Despite the extra size, the Eagles are lacking in game experience. Center Joseph Ivey, one of the best players in school history, graduated and took his 17.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game with him. Two other starters, Humphrey Barlow and Ryan Hoben, opted to focus on baseball and are skipping basketball this season.

Senior point guard Chip Lofton returns, and will lead Griffin’s Princeton-style offense for the second straight year. The system attacks man-to-man defenses by using cuts and passes, and takes some time to fully implement.

“Last year we got our feet wet with the basics of the Princeton offense, and this year we’re going full-fledged into it,” Griffin said.

Griffin’s system also relies on solid post players, something he feels he has a lot of.

Michael Warren and Allen Cassell both saw some playing time last year, and sophomore Dan Ivey was a dominant player in the junior high ranks. In addition, 6-foot-6 newcomer Josh Gain has been in impressive in preseason practices.

“This is his first year playing, but he went to a camp with us and averaged 15 or 16 rebounds per game. He seems to understand how to play down there in the post,” Griffin said of Gain.

If the post players do develop, the Eagles could have a good year. Several teams in Conference 5-A are rebuilding, and none were truly dominant last season.

“We’re losing three key players from last year … but I feel we’re definitely going to be just as good and more experienced than last year,” Griffin said. “I feel like we have a shot at competing for the district title, because our district is so down this year.”