JOURNAL STAFF
The Shreveport Mavericks begin training camp today in preparation to defend their 2022 The Basketball League National Championship won in Albany, New York, last season.
Things started with a free-agent tryout camp Saturday at the Boys and Girls Club on the Fairgrounds in Shreveport. Maverick coach Steve Tucker deemed the camp a success with four players earning opportunities with the Shreveport Mavericks.
Players were to report on Sunday with training camp going forward today.
“For me, it is all about routine. Preparation is the real key and if we take care of details, we will put ourselves into a really good position,” said Tucker.
“We have improved ourselves immensely in key positions. Subtraction has led to addition, and with that, we have gotten better,” added Tucker. “Add proper preparation into the equation and I believe we have a team up to the challenges waiting ahead.”
The Mavericks return some key components from last season in leading scorer Paul Parks (23.0 average per game) and point guard PJ Meyers (11 points per game, and six assists per game). Meyers was the MVP of the TBL finals last July when the Mavericks took down Albany.
Other returning players that were all big contributors to last year’s success include Josh Montgomery, Tavin Cummings and Bilal Richardson.
Top newcomers include former LSU Tiger Tim Quarterman and a couple of former LSUS standouts in Jeff Boyd and Kadavion Evans, who played two years at Louisiana-Lafayette and was a two-time All-City guard at North Caddo High School. Evans also played in the TBL last season with the Enid Outlaws.
The Mavericks will open the season on March 1 at the Gold Dome against Potawatomi.
Here is a look at the training camp roster:
Depth Chart
POINT GUARDS
PJ Meyers (5-9, 180)
Jesse Hardin (6-3, 180)
Marcus Wallace (6-2, 180)
Vincent Jackson (6-3, 175)
SWING GUARDS
Kadavion Evans (6-2, 180)
Tim Quarterman (6-6, 180)
Jeff Boyd (6-5, 170)
SWING FORWARDS:
Paul Parks (6-4, 200)
Josh Montgomery (6-5, 215)
Tavin Cummings (6-6, 205)
POWER FORWARDS:
Jay Hedgeman (6-9, 225)
Winford Ross-Holmes (6-8, 220)
CENTERS:
Chris Davenport (6-9, 225)
Bilal Richardson (6-9, 265)
