MARQUAND RETURNS TOP THREE GUNS

Rob Harlow, Marquand's new basketball coach, has inherited what appears to be a favorable situation.

First-year coach Ken Lunsford led the Tigers to an 18-6 record last season after they had struggled to a 7-13 mark the year before.

And although Marquand lost three starters to graduation, the top three scorers from last year are returning. Also, featuring four players ranging from 6-foot-3 to 6-5 isn't very common for Class 1A teams.

That makes Harlow optimistic, and prompts him to say his team could match last year's stellar record.

"I believe it's a realistic goal, but we upgraded our schedule a little bit," Harlow said. "Eighteen wins would be an admirable goal."

The Tigers will be led by Dusty Stephens, Brandon Settle and Travis Braswell.

Stephens, a 6-3 junior forward, averaged 21 points and 17 rebounds per game last season, Harlow said. Stephens was an all-district selection.

Settle is a 6-1 senior point guard. He averaged 16 points per game and was named to the honorable mention all-district list.

Braswell was the team's sixth man last year. A guard, he was the Tigers' third-leading scorer, averaging 11 points per game.

"I think our strength," Harlow said, "is going to be our ability to shoot the basketball, and we're going to be a pretty good rebounding team. Dusty automatically makes you a good rebounding team. He's just a monster."

Marquand will have a lot of height on its bench. Patrick Whitener is a 6-4 junior and Scott Emmitt is a 6-5 junior. Other reserves are 6-0 junior Charlie DeSpain and 5-9 junior Chris Stroup.

Marquand must first make a few adjustments to Harlow's new system before embarking on another solid season.

"We do a lot of things different than they did last year," he said. "We're going to play a lot of pressure man-to-man defense."

While at its best, Marquand upset Delta for the Mississippi Valley Conference title, it hit a low point at the worst time -- the district tournament. The Tigers were upset by Leopold in the first round.