Portsmouth Trojans' Coach Eugene Collins

[Trojan Spirit 76]

New ERA...last season it was only a few kids that didnt show for practice,( same kids on repeat occasions) and they are no longer at PHS... have graduated, moved, etc. so they wont cause that same problem this year. Coach Shoemaker had a lot of difficult situations to deal with last year, and did what he thought was right. There is no point debating what happened last year. I personally think that there wont be those kinds of problems this year with the group of returning kids and kids coming up from the lower grades. I know most of them personally and they dont have the attitude problems and lack of respect that some of last years group had. To Coach Collins, Congrats on getting the job. I know the kids will learn a great deal from you...basketball and otherwise.

[trojandave]

I agree with Trojan Spirit 76.......I think Coach Collins will have a good group of kids to work with this year........I know quite a few of them personally also, and can vouch for what TS 76 is saying.........it will be clearly evident that Coach Collins will show that he is in charge of the program.

[southernohiofan]

really nice addition to the staff with arnzen who else will be on staff?

[biggdowgg]

Had a great talk with Coach Collins yesterday........and he told me.........that former Shawnee State coach Jim Arnzen will serve as his varsity assistant.......THAT IS GREAT NEWS!!!.......

I think Coach Arnzen is a GREAT addition to the staff........Randy Nelson will also be back, and serve as an academic monitor for the team......good to have Randy back as well. Coach Collins has several other possibilites for other coaching positions........

that was my first question to someone, "when Collins was ask,,,,if he would bring in Arnzen......what a great move!!

[trojandave]

southernohiofan: Coach Collins is still considering several people for available coaching positions.......I know there is a need for a JV coach, since Arnzen will be the varsity assistant........Keith Charles is going to be coaching the 8th grade again this year........Ted Newsome and Buck Whitely coached last year, freshmen and 7th grade respectively, but don't know if either will return for next season. I do know that last year's varsity assistant Marcus Bendolph will not be back in 2009-2010.

[marshallman]

Great hire for PHS! I lived for PHS basketball during the times of Hopkins and the great coach Sub. I hope PHS gets back to that level. One for the thumb!

[trojandave]

nooknook78: With the way things are going at Portsmouth with regards to player movement, rumors, and innuendos, projecting a starting lineup for next year's Trojans is almost a stab in the dark........I tried it a short while back, and now it appears that I will look like nothing more than a guesspert.........what you have posted is probably as accurate as possible at this point in time...........but in 5 minutes there may be 2 or 3 names that need to be deleted or 2 or 3 that need to be added..........

I guess I'll wait until the team picture to name my projected starting 5.........

nooknook78.......Check your PM's...........

[trojandave]

There wasn't a good turnout for open gym on Wednesday but one of the main reasons is that quite a few players are out of town........and Saturday at Chesapeake the Trojans will really be depleted due to the absence of about 6 varsity players........several that are out of town, 1 that has a baseball game, and 1 that has an injury that will keep him off the court for a while.........

I plan on going tomorrow, and most likely will see quite a few sophomores getting a lot of action........but even a couple of those kids are not going to be in town this weekend........who we have show up is anybody's guess right now..........

I understand that the Junior High will be playing at Rio Grande on Sunday...........

[sportsfan_1959]

Projected starting lineup
Isaiah Reeves
London Malone
Lenny Collins
Tre Underwood
Dion Mckinley

What about Forrest Johnson??

[trojandave]

sportsfan1959: I think the best thing to do as far as projecting Portsmouth's starting 5 is to wait until the team picture is made..........with so much hearsay, rumors, and innuendos, trying to sort out what's credible and what's not is quite a chore........one minute you hear something and the next minute you hear something that totally contradicts what you just heard..........we were missing 6 of our first 7 at the Chesapeake Shootout because they were out of town, had an injury or had a baseball game.

One thing that is hard to predict is how many sophomores will be on the varsity roster.......at this point in time I would say that Dion McKinley, Lenny Collins, and Seth Bratchett have the best chance of getting significant varsity minutes, and Kyle Ratliff is a possibility also with his 6-5, 240 LB. frame. Bratchett will most likely be the backup point guard to Malone.

Long way to go until the season starts, but right now Dion McKinley could be playing his way into a starting position.......he looked good at Chesapeake. 6-5, 250 LB. Casey Sanders looks to be a real force on the boards and also could get good varsity minutes. He grabbed a bunch of rebounds at Chesapeake.

[trojandave]

nooknook78: You can knock on doors whether you're a coach or not.......if you want to see kids play, let them know.......tell them to show up for open gyms, shootouts, and then tryouts........they have to shoulder some of the responsibility themselves.......you know quite a few of the kids, let them know how you feel.

I would say right now that we will see a few new faces on the roster this year, which will be good to see........Casey and Jalen are two kids who can help us, including Isaiah Reeves, another newcomer.......sophomore Duke Edwards is another new kid in the program.........looking at what we have right now I would guess that we are not real deep with veterans in the backcourt but have good numbers up front........we're going to have more size than I previously thought.

How the backcourt performs will be the telling tale of how the Trojans ultimately fare........if we can get adequate guard play, PHS has the size to cause some problems in the paint for teams. I think the potential is there for the guards to hold their own, with Malone, Johnson, Bratchett, Collins, Reeves, LJ Adams, and maybe another kid or two from tryouts.

I went to the Rio Grande Shootout on Sunday for the junior high kids.......and they did well.......they won 3 of 4 games, including a buzzer beating 3 pointer by Brandon Wedebrook to beat Huntington(Ross).

[trojandave]

Went to open gym yesterday and was encouraged to see 4 of my projected starters playing.........London Malone, Patrick Underwood, Tre Underwood, and Dion McKinley........Tre is a legit 6-4 as is Dion McKinley, who might be closer to 6-5. Tre looked really good at both ends of the court.......he is much improved on offense, can handle the ball, and crash the boards. London looked good too and showed a nice outside touch as well as excellent quickness. Along with Patrick and Dion these 4 kids will give Portsmouth a solid group for Coach Collins to work with.........

Yesterday probably had the best varsity turnout for open gym so far.........also had quite a few sophomores come........Lenny Collins, Kyle Ratliff, Duke Edwards, Benji Carr, and LJ Adams.......quite a few of these kids have been coming regularly......Seth Bratchett came Monday and looked really good at the point.......his ballhandling and shooting have improved a lot and I think he is capable of getting varsity minutes at the point backing up London Malone.

[trojandave]

The Trojans will have 2 upcoming shootouts.......Shawnee State on June 27th......they will play 4 games........and then on July 1st Wednesday they will go to the Ohio University shootout and will play 10 games that day!!........varsity only.......I plan on being there for both shootouts..........

Also, the book on Tory Horne is not completely closed yet........there's still a possibility that he could be coming back to Portsmouth for his senior year.......I'll just leave it at that for right now.........

Tre Underwood is officially enrolled at Portsmouth for next school year........

Unfortunately Casey Sanders suffered an injury at the Chesapeake Shootout which will most likely keep him out for the remainder of summer basketball.......but he will be ready for football, though........

[trojandave]

The Portsmouth varsity fared pretty well at the Shawnee Shootout, going 3-2 for the day........I was very encouraged by some of the play that I saw, and also by the fact that there were about 13 kids that showed up to play, and the first game was at 8:30 in the morning.

The varsity will be going to Athens on Wednesday to play in the OU shootout, playing 10 games.......the first game starts at 10:00........a good number of kids have signed up to play.

Coach Collins has been showing a lot of full court pressure/ half court man-to-man defense so far, and he wants to carry that over to the regular season.

[Trojanbuckeye]

One thing that is hard to predict is how many sophomores will be on the varsity roster.......at this point in time I would say that Dion McKinley, Lenny Collins, and Seth Bratchett have the best chance of getting significant varsity minutes, and Kyle Ratliff is a possibility also with his 6-5, 240 LB. frame. Bratchett will most likely be the backup point guard to Malone

I really hope that Coach Collins can keep Dion and Kyle focused. They both have had issues with not wanting to really try when the mood hits. Seen it too many times with these 2 (especially Dion)

[trojandave]

Went to the OU shootout in Athens yesterday........some highlights........

The Trojans fared pretty well, going 6-4, among the wins were Waverly, Watkins Memorial, Burton(WV), and an impressive win vs. Belpre, which was the last contest of the day.

Portsmouth was playing with Tre Underwood and Wayne Evans for the first time in the starting lineup.......and what a difference these 2 kids make!! Tre was dominant inside at both ends of the court, and the kid plays all out!! His muscular 6-4 frame will be a huge asset alongside the "star of the summer" 6-4 Dion McKinley........these two players together will give the Trojans a better frontcourt than last year, even with the loss of Anthony Williams. McKinley has improved 200% since the end of last season!!

Wayne Evans.......he has returned to Portsmouth and this kid is a BALLER!!......he showed that he can play the 1,2, or 3 position with equal ability.......and he drained 3 after 3, led the break, hounded on defense, and played unselfish basketball.......Wayne is a great addition to our basketball program........he is a 6-1 sophomore but plays 6-3 with his long frame.........

Most of the day the starting lineup was Dion McKinley, Tre Underwood, Wayne Evans, Forrest Johnson, and London Malone.......Adam Bray started a couple of games. Isaiah Reeves is another newcomer to the basketball team and he showed some good skills and has the desire to play hard D. Forrest showed his usual athletic play and London played very steady at the point.

What hurt the Trojans in the losses more than anything else were turnovers.......which are a correctible problem.....especially with a new starting lineup and rotation........but the defense was impressive, forcing a lot of turnovers by the opposition.......Coach Collins employed full court pressure all day..........

13 Trojans made the trip to Athens, which was outstanding considering the long trip and the first game being at 10:00.......all the kids got to play and all of them made some good plays at some point.

I know this may be hard to believe, but from what I saw yesterday, Portsmouth might actually be a more talented team than last year.........

And Tory Horne may be coming back to Portsmouth.......it's still a very real possibility........

GO TROJANS!!

[ohbuckeye2]

I was wondering where Wayne Evans would end up, he is a baller for sure. I enjoyed watching him play as a Freshmen and in some JV games. He will make a great addition to the Trojans.

[trojandave]

Tobias: What I liked also was seeing the bench kids clapping for the players on the court.......I saw a lot of team unity from these Trojans.......I didn't see any egos trying to take over.