ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝

With no seniors on the roster, the Bulldogs return every player from last year’s squad and add several new contributors. McKinney says that continuation—and the unavoidable youth that comes with it—will shape the identity of this season.

“The biggest thing for us this season is just playing the long game as we don’t have any seniors,” McKinney said. “We’re going to return everybody. We are a young group, an inexperienced group… We need to be a better team by the end of the year than we are right now. I think we will be. It’s just going to take some time.”

Red Boiling Springs competes in a district McKinney calls “one of the best around,” home to perennial powers Jackson County and Pickett County—both state title contenders almost every year.

“There will likely be a team from our district who will win state, and that’s just how it is,” McKinney noted. “We will be inexperienced, but I think we will get better as the season progresses. There’s no substitute for experience.”

The Bulldogs will rely heavily on their size in the post, led by 6-3 center Josh Laws, a transfer from Lafayette who brings untapped potential.

“He doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he has skill and we are trying to develop him,” McKinney said.

Alongside him will be 6-2 center Gage Haskins, who became eligible late last season.

The backcourt, McKinney admits, remains a question mark. Sophomore Michael Murphy will shift from small forward to point guard after starting every game last year.

“It’s just going to be tough, but it will help him down the road,” McKinney said.

Sophomore Hayden Gentry has shown significant improvement, while Brandon Halliburton, who returns to basketball after not playing last season, adds shooting range the Bulldogs desperately need.

“He’s one of the purest shooters I’ve seen,” McKinney said. “If he’s open, he will typically make shots.”

With the majority of the roster consisting of freshmen and sophomores, McKinney says his players are facing a level of responsibility most underclassmen never experience.

“Most freshman and sophomores are playing JV games and clapping on the sidelines, but our guys are thrown into it and it’s a trial by fire,” he said. “One thing I have been pushing is taking ownership.”

The Bulldogs open their season at home against Oak Ridge Christian, a team that defeated them last season. They will then compete in the Monterey Thanksgiving Tournament, where a second-round matchup with York Institute is expected to test the young group early.

“We have a tough schedule,” McKinney said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the growth of this team over this season,” McKinney said.

The Bulldogs have transitioned to a more motion-based offense designed to encourage movement and ball sharing. McKinney said the team showed encouraging signs in a recent scrimmage.

“We had good ball movement and were able to put up some baskets,” he said. “Our guys are starting to learn and see the game differently.”

Still, the focus remains on building the fundamentals—passing, catching, shooting, ball-handling, rebounding—and learning from inevitable mistakes.

Wins and losses may not tell the whole story for the 2024-25 Bulldogs. For McKinney, improvement is the barometer.

“It’s really more of the fact that we need to be a better team by the end of the year than we are right now,” he emphasized.

With youth, size, and a long-term vision, the Bulldogs enter the season determined to take steps forward—one game, one practice, and one lesson at a time.