 |
|---|
Tornadoes Lean on a Young Core
Entering his seventh year, coach Charlie Williams knew the 1999-2000 season would look different. Ten of thirteen players from the prior 12-13 team had graduated, leaving Williams to rebuild around senior guard Nathan Williams — the coach's own son — and a wave of new faces: junior forward Joe Morgan, freshman center Brandon Mitchell, senior Tommy Cook, and guards Peter Henry and Travis Spencer.
The retooled Tornadoes opened with a win over Fuqua and rolled through their first three games before running into a buzzsaw at their own Holiday Classic, falling to Holy Cross in the championship despite 19 points from Nathan Williams and 17 from Morgan. A trip to the Fuqua Holiday Classic went one win, one loss, and the schedule turned rougher from there as Timberlake dropped a series of close, conference-heavy games through January and February.
Nathan Williams was the constant, closing in on the 1,000-point mark for his career and topping the Tornadoes in scoring most nights — including a 27-point night in a February play-in win over Fuqua that kept the season alive into the VIC quarterfinals against Holy Cross.
League: VIC
Coach: Charlie Williams
Last season: 12-13
Key Losses: Matt Durand, Markus Muhler
Key returning players: Nathan Williams, Travis Adkins
Outlook: Williams, who lost 10 of 13 players to graduation, thinks the Tornadoes will be highly competitive “once we mesh. We've got so many new players, and when they get some experience, we won't have to depend on Nathan (a senior guard who had 26 points in a season-opening win over Fuqua Tuesday).”
Timberlake's new faces include 6-3 junior forward Joe Morgan and guard Peter Henry, along with 6-3 freshman Brandon Mitchell, 6-0 senior Tommy Cook and guard Travis Spencer, a good 3-point shooter.
