ZALMA PLAYERS SHORT ON VARSITY EXPERIENCE

Zalma's basketball record the last three years is 13-55, with 10 of those wins gained two seasons ago. The Bulldogs went 2-22 last season and lost all five starters to graduation.

On paper, things may seem bleak for the Bulldogs. But don't mention the word "rebuild" to coach John Martin. He says it doesn't properly apply to his team.

"I'm not going to call it a rebuilding year, but more of a learning experience for us, simply due to the lack of varsity experience," Martin said. "Hopefully that will build for when these kids become seniors."

Zalma's JV team posted a solid 12-10 record last season. That's what keeps Martin from mentioning the "R" word.

"This bunch had a good JV season last year," he said. "And a couple of these kids have seen some varsity action as sophomores last year. I'm hoping that will help out a little bit."

Two juniors, 5-foot-9 Gandy Wade and 5-11 Josh Smith, have the most experience on the team.

"The Wade boy and Josh Smith, they saw some time at the varsity action last year. Basically what I did with them was split time last year -- JV and varsity," Martin said.

The team's only senior is 6-0 Robert Thornburgh. Thornburgh played half of last season.

With Thornburgh, 5-10 Timmy Burchett and 5-11 Ben Wallace should receive a lot of playing time.

Rounding the team are 5-11 junior Bobby Gowen and 6-0 sophomore Chris Canoy.

More players could be added to the varsity squad. Martin said he was unsure of the status of players who had quit the team or missed practices.

As far as the players who have definitely committed to playing, Martin said his team won't be slow.

"We're going to be quick," he said. "We'll try to utilize that. We don't have any size. I've just got a couple kids over 6 feet."

And as far as wins and losses, Martin doesn't have any figures in his mind as to what would constitute a good season.

"I really don't have any expectations. We're just going to go out and play hard every night," he said.