Some things never change, even for Don Palmer, entering his 48th season of coaching girls basketball.
“I’ve always told my kids if you’re not nervous about playing (a season opener), then maybe you shouldn’t be playing,: he said Friday on the eve of the Hartland girls basketball team’s season opener.
The Eagles, who reached the Division 1 quarterfinals last season, take on Grand Blanc in a showcase at Arbor Prep High School near Ypsilanti today. The game is scheduled to start at 4:50 and will be broadcast on The Livingston Post. Click here for a link.
Palmer lost only three players. two of them starters to graduation last year, and of this year’s scheduled starters, four (Leah Lappin, Amanda Roach, Gracey Metz and Lauren Sollom) are four-year varsity players.
“That’s got to be worth something,” he said.
But, Palmer added, the Eagles will have their work cut out for them.
“I had a chance to scout them,” he said of Grand Blanc. “They’re very, very athletic, very, very quick and they’re talented. My fear is their best offense is going to be that missed shot. We’ve got some size, but they’ve really got athletes who can get up the floor quick, and I’m concerned about that. They’re going to be tough to stop initially.”
Hartland has some size on the inside, with 6-3 senior Kate Jacobs and sophomore Sarah Renkowski, the first cousin of Lauren and Whitney Sollom.
“Their mothers were the Hall sisters, who drove me nuts when I was at Milford,” Palmer said.
Jacobs is in her first season as a starter after backing up Gustafson last season and Whitney Sollom (now at Michigan) the two seasons before that.
“I think those kids are going to get better as it goes, but are they ready right now? I don’t know,” Palmer said.
The Eagles play a tough nonconference schedule. with their home opener against Saginaw Heritage next Friday and games with Detroit Country Day and Kalamazoo Central the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
“I might have overscheduled, but If we’re not ready for our league by the time we play these games, then we’re never going to be ready,” Palmer said.
He was referring to the KLAA West, where home-and-homes with Brighton and Howell await. and a tough crossover game with a KLAA East contender at the end of the season. The Eagles are the defending KLAA champions.
That game, at the end of February, is an eternity away in high school season terms. Today, it’s the opener that matters.
“We’re looking forward to it and we’re just excited to put the uniforms on and see what we can do,” Palmer said. “What they do best is run, and we can run, too. At some point, we’ll have to slow the game a bit, but you can’t tell them not to run, because you’ll be doing them a disservice.”
The first test comes today.
