Since he took over the position in June, Alcovy boys basketball coach Darrell Johnson has wasted no time as he looks to get the Tigers back to the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17.

Despite the loss of two-time All-Cov News Most Valuable Player Nick Durham and other players such as Jaqari Smith and Khamani Thurman, Johnson saw the team’s potential the moment he stepped into the building on Highway 36.

“Coming through the doors, I saw a group of guys that can definitely do something in this region and make some good noise,” Johnson said. “I saw a lot of fire in the guys. [They are] guys that just want to go and compete.”

Over the summer, the Tigers competed in numerous events and had success in Johnson’s games under the helm.

The Swish Scouting and Pro Movement Tournaments were just two of the events that the Tigers competed in.

Before the team took part in those events, Johnson opened the summer with his first win as the team’s head coach when they defeated former region-foe Rockdale County at Salem High School.

“Over the summer we did a lot of different things,” Johnson said. “Different showcases and trying to get the guys seen playing against good competition. [We] played against a couple teams that went deep into the state playoffs. We wanted to have good chemistry together because the guys we have are young chemistry-wise. That's what we focused on during the summer and even the offseason now. Building that chemistry and building those bonds. Trying to get the guys to know each other because a lot of them have not played on the court together.”

Through these events, Johnson began to get a feel for what players will lead the charge for the Tigers in 2025-26.

Johnson noted players such as sophomore Mekhi Hamlin and seniors Kellin Hendrix and Jakori Pinelle as three of the team’s top standouts through the summer.

“My sophomore guard, Mekhi Hamlin, has really stepped up and shown that leadership stance in terms of him wanting to be at the helm of things,” Johnson said. “My senior Jakori Pinnele and also another senior, Kellin Hendrix — they have all stepped up to the plate to truly say, ‘Hey, we want to take this team and make this season matter.’ They are trying to get everyone else locked in and focused on the same type of outlook and mindset. Those guys are truly paving the way with a couple of new people behind them. Antione Graves and Kortize Foust, those guys are truly being pillars of what this program can do this year.

“We got a good caliber of guys around, and a lot of youth too that have shown promise and are able to be good assets to step on the floor.”

The team will be young and many players will start at the varsity level for the first time, but Johnson noted how the team’s willingness to step up to the plate has been there from the start.

“[It’s] their hunger,” Johnson said. “Their hunger in the gym. Their hunger to learn more and be receptive to change. We all have to adapt to changes — coaching changes, personnel changes, teammate changes. It is just them growing  and adapting and understanding that what’s happened in the past is the past. We can only control what is in front of us now and what is coming towards us because at the end of the day, they are the ones putting on the jerseys and have to compete.”

When it comes to Johnson’s coaching staff for year one, there is a mix of familiar faces with new ones.

Assistant coach Roger Whitehouse is new to the Tigers’ staff in 2025.

Whitehouse played college basketball at the University of Florida and has recent stops as an assistant coach at Camden County High School and Worth County High School.

One mainstay on the staff is assistant coach Jordan Willis, who served as the assistant on previous staffs and is also the team’s JV coach.

For Johnson, the familiarity with not only the program but the development of its players is what makes Willis a key part of the team in 2025.

“Coach Willis is amazing to have,” Johnson said. “To be able to be here as long as he has been. He knows the guys, he knows the layout. He is very personable with the guys. He is definitely a huge piece for my coaching staff, he has been a pillar. It’s amazing to have him be a part of this staff and he is going to lead us varsity-wise and lead the JV team and everything. [It’s] just his overall concept of the program, he is like, ‘Coach, whatever we got to do is what we are going to do.’”

With the school year underway, conditioning has already begun for Alcovy basketball as the team looks to make a splash in a tough region with foes such as Winder-Barrow and Habersham Central.

While the season is months away, Johnson shed light on what people can expect to see from the Tigers this year on the court.

“Tenacious. Grit. In your face. Uptempo,” Johnson said. “My goal is to lead off with a defensive minded presence and establish that front. Make the offense run smoothly and make teams really have to work against us whether they are big or small. In the words of Deion Sanders, ‘We Coming.’”