Kelly's new coach wants to pressure teams with speed

Nathan Wills wants to turn his Kelly Hawks loose.

He's ready to run.

"I think it's going to be kind of surprising this year," he said. "Kelly has always had a bunch of big, hard-working country boys. This year really, we don't have as much size as in the past. We have a lot of athleticism. We're a lot faster than I think they have been in a long time and we're going to try to use that to our advantage."

Wills takes over for Cory Johnson, who will serve as an assistant for the Jackson boys team. He said he preaches the importance of defense and how a stingy defense sparks the offense.

"I don't like to waste a lot of time in practice working on offense," he said. "I try to work hard on defense and try to get some points off turnovers and pressure and not have to spend a lot of time working on setting screens and things like that."

When the Hawks get the ball, Wills doesn't want to waste time.

"Let's get it and go, push it up the floor," he said. "Let's score as fast and as often as we can. That's what I like to do. We've really been working on transition offense and transition defense in practice, using the whole width and the whole length of the floor."

The Hawks return just one starter, Josh DeBrock, and will need to find someone to fill the shoes of Spencer Ayers, who was all-Scott-Mississippi Conference the past two seasons.

"I think coming in, being the first year, I try to keep things real basic," Wills said. "I want to instill things that will translate on the court. We talk a lot about having discipline, just in school. That will translate into good discipline on the court, hard work and dedication."

Wills said his players committed to the program during the offseason, showing up for conditioning and open gyms. He hopes the players continue to buy into his philosophy.

"I have been really pleased with how the transition from one coach from a different style of play has been as good as anyone could expect," he said. "The kids have responded very well to what we're trying to do, how we're trying to play."