For the Alcovy men’s program, the expectations couldn’t be higher. After being knocked out in the second round of the Region 8-AAAA tournament last year, the Tigers are greedy for more.

"Our goal is always to win the region tournament and make it to state," head coach Eugene Brown said. "Once we get there we will change our expectations. We didn’t make it last year so we have turned it into a driving tool."

Gone is leading scorer Clahar Worrell. But the Tigers have plenty of seniors coming back to help fill the void.

The Tigers are filled with experience as they are returning seven seniors and nine juniors. Leading the way for the Tigers will be guard Jamison Smith, Jordan Butts and Brad Williams.

"We are going with a two shooting guard system this year," Brown said. "We are looking for both Butts and Williams to shoot the ball well, while Smith leads and directs the team on both offense and defense."

"We have a quick team this year and we are full of depth," Brown said. "Everyone is playing at the same level and it gives us more quality players up and down the roster."

The Tigers who look to be full of senior leadership have also added -foot-5 Darius Miller and freshman football standout DeVon Edwards.

"Miller is a great inside post presence for us, and Edwards is as skilled in basketball as he is in football," Brown said.

The Tigers who went a disappointing 11-13 overall and 8-7 in region play, are looking to burry last year's dissatisfaction.

Unable to finish games down the stretch, Coach Brown is working hard to address these problems.

"We are trying to figure out our finishers," said Brown. "We were unable to do that in games last year so we are working hard on finishing ball games."

Eager to get things underway, the Alcovy men get tip off their season Dec. 2 at Phillips Arena at 7 p.m.