timeout!

https://lufkindailynews.com/sports/high_school/pack-basketball-drops-season-opener/article_d6075a34-c05b-555e-9759-64dbf2903185.html The Lufkin Panthers stayed close with a talented Good Vision Academy team before dropping an 82-70 decision in the season opener at Houston Yates High School Friday night. Austin Brown started his sophomore season with 21 points while Cody Blake scored 12. Elijah Mitchell led Good Vision Academy with 19 points and Cam Woodberry put in 16. Other Lufkin scorers were Da’Lynn Newman (9), JaVarius White and Marcellus Parks (7), B.J. Thomas and Jakevion Sanders (6) and Dallas Harrell (2). Lufkin (0-1) will play in the Dallas Mavs Classic starting Thursday.

There whole purpose is getting players into college to play ball. Anyone on that team is there for that purpose. No different than IMG, just not as big and well known. Similar to Faith Family basketball in Dallas. So an 82-70 loss is not too bad for a public school like Lufkin. Lufkin may be close to sub 500 when district starts. But will be battled tested and much better because of it.

Would've been nice to see him used more this year. He has some size to him and can run. The original plan was to go with two big backs when the year started. Instead we replaced Gavin with a small scatback. When we had another guy with more size that could've help fill that role. Done trying to figure out these coaches.

DFW is where is at right now. In football and basketball. I prefer a solid DFW district over Houston. The last two years have been hard for Lufkin. But being that district kept Lufkin coaches feet to the fire. It forced Lufkin to be prepared every week. We will prob end up in some Houston district, along side several sub 500 schools, who are no older than my wallet.

Anything is possible now. Never would've imagined Lufkin playin in a DFW district. Always thought we were a safe bet in Houston area. Now that Longview is likely going 6A, feel like they will want to keep Tyler and Lufkin together. There will be plenty of speculation leading up to Feb. Keep an eye on any rumblings from Matt Stepp. He nailed it last year before the official release. Thinking he has a reliable inside source.

Agree with everything you said PA. Nothing beats the feeling of watching the football program be successful. But I’ve come to appreciate the other boys/girls sports. The PAC has made watching basketball an enjoyable experience here. I can’t brag enough about how nice of a facility it is. Combine that with us having one of the top Sophs in the state. It makes for a nice consolation. I’ll be hanging out at the PAC for several games Nov. 20/21 The Pineywoods Hoopfest is a great way to kick off the home opener. Lufkin vs Duncanville and a perennial from AZ is something to get the fans excited about. The experience will pay off down the road. Not expecting us to beat Duncanville. Although stranger things have happened. Just glad to see our guys have chance to compete with a program like that. Would love to still be talking Lufkin football matchups for this week. But it’s just not in the cards for us. We do have another talented to guy to root. AB will be one of the top recruits out of Texas when he done. Maybe even the nation. This will be a fun season for Panther basketball. I’ll be there watching with some popcorn and snicker in hand.😁

Highlights from Lufkin vs Shadow Creek. Lufkin schedule is brutal. Even the exhibition games have been a challenge. Parks is playing with more confidence this year. As mentioned by McManus in the article. Him and AB will have to carry the team until the rest come along. They won’t get the easy post points with Walker gone now. So it will be a different look. They have some other guys that can play. It may take a while to for McManus to find he’s best rotation. We lost some really good guys to graduation. Kamari, Moody, Tre, Deason, Cam, O’ Hart and of course Walker, all instrumental in the success of the program the last couple of years.

Horrible situation to have been in. He has the support of his family. Hopefully all parties involved will get the help they need to move forward.

I can tell AB been putting in work in the weight room. He will be a load to handle as he his body continues to fill out. Looking forward to seeing him and the rest of the team this year. Walker, Moody and the seniors from last year help lay the groundwork for the guys taking over this year. Glad to see McManus got us in some competitive tournaments. The experience will pay dividends down the road. They won’t face another team as good as Duncanville this year.

I look around see other fans getting excited about the post season. And think back to how that used to be a thing here. We are already 6 year removed from our last playoff run. And even that was just a blip after a 5 year drought. The program is dead right now. And will continue to struggle as long as things stay the same. My gut feeling is LISD is will let Quick stick around another 3-4 years until he retires.

Well said PA. Nothing will change until the program is under new leadership. The fans will just be forced to put up with this staff.

Did Lufkin ever release the enrollment numbers??

😎😁

I'm in all on the defense. I would like to see them switch to a 4-3 next year. Alexander is too good to be playing backup to Zion. Still don't understand why the Murphy kid at LB didn't get more playing time. He made plays every time he was on the field. Reminds me of Mandela Roberts with that quick burst to the ball. I don't know what Quick plans are for next year. But I would have Murphy starting at one of the LB positions, Hoop in the middle, and I would like to see Carson Jones get a shot at a spot. I keep telling people that kid is head hunter. I believe the entire secondary returns and now you can move Hood into the starting lineup at DE. Lufkin isn't lacking for any talent on defense. We had opportunities to win all of our games in the 4th qtr, except Longview. Nothing we could've done to walk out of that place with a win. The other games were winnable. We just need better OL play and play calling. McNorth was the only game outside of Longview our defense just fell apart. I hope the kids do well next season. I'm not holding my breathe though. We will be entering year 13 with Quick and not much has changed in most of those years. My guess is we will still have OL issues.

Longview is the closest comparison for Lufkin. And they never have the problems we seem to always have. At least during the Quick era. Haven't seen a LV practice, so I can't speak on that. Only what I've seen in person and on game film. The OL is solid on all levels when I watch them. All the way down to the freshmen games I've seen. That tells me the expectations are set early on. Anyone who saw Lufkin JV Thursday, wouldn't notice much difference between the OL play Friday. Lancaster blew past linemen in both games. The JV could barely get punts off because of it.

I heard we will. Don’t know the teams though.

Yep..lol. I remember when I first noticed it. I was like wait a minute..I thought we was young the year before. And then it kept happening. 😅

We have seen this movie a million times and know how it ends. Lufkin in a competitive district prob misses the playoffs next year. I know this staff all too well. Green is losing his workhorse back, that he has leaned on for 3 years now. And still was unable to crack a playoff spot. So he won't have a get out of jail card. And I suspect will struggle getting the offense moving. Despite some of his flaws, TJ was a 3 year starter and worked hard at the position. Just wasn't always put in the best position to be successful. Johnson will have to take his lumps early on. I would feel better about him, if he had more meaningful playing time this year. In retrospect, he prob should've spent another year on JV getting some reps. A great off season could set him up for good year. I think it will take some time though. Breaking in those two positions alone will be a challenge. I think Lufkin could get a spot in a really weak district. Which really wouldn't mean much. If you facing a team from a really competitive district like the one we are in now. Best case scenario is prob one and done next year. I think the defense will be much improved. But you have to be able to score points at some point. Not sure the OL problems get fixed over the next year.

And we only beat the two worst teams in district.

I'm familiar with the are. You can't coach size. But your guys could definitely benefit from being a bit stronger, faster, and better conditioned. All things that can be improved to a degree. Longview is usually undersized on the line when they face those DFW schools too. But hardly see them getting whipped on the line like us. Those guys are tough as nails in the trenches and use speed and technique to out maneuver bigger lines. Out saw it last year when they played Mansfield Timberview. Mansfield fans thought they would just steam roll over Longview because they were so much bigger. Longview was also smaller than McKinney on the line and they held up. So it can be done with the right people in place. Lufkin just need to start over.

And what was up with all the false starts? Beating Lancaster is hard enough without the penalties. Lufkin done much better when the began to go to some of their other skill players. Preston still showing us how underutilized he was for most of the year. Kevo and Murphy also played well. That trio could've been something special this year with a more creative offensive coordinator.

Was just saying this. The Longview game was the only one we completely fell apart. We were in all the rest and had opportunities to win. Lack of proper coaching and direction has held Lufkin back.

So many issues with the program. And now a possible 4th consecutive missed post season is on the table for Quick. Lufkin O-line has to be addressed or this program will stay in the dumps. It was the same yesterday at the JV game. The line just letting guys blow past them. Not much resistance at all. We also just look physically small when compared to most of the other teams we play. We need a strength and conditioning coach.

Gary not holding back tonight. lol