This group of St. Pius basketball players have been together for a while, most of them dating back to their time in middle school. They could hardly wait to get back in the gym in June and start preparations for what could be a special season.
“This is a senior-led team,” coach Aaron Parr said. “They play extremely hard, they share the ball and they play good defense. It’s a good combination and it’s an exciting group.”
The Golden Lions are off to a 10-1 start in their first season in Class 5A. They are pursuing a spot in the Final Four for the fourth time in five years and continue to chase the elusive state championship. St. Pius was runner-up in 2017 and 2018 under Parr’s direction.
Parr, a St. Pius product who is in his 10th season as head coach, pushes his team to do three things: be the hardest-playing team, move the ball and play “fearlessly with a lot of confidence.”
The Golden Lions showed such ferocity at the recent Next Level Hoops Fest in Nashville. They were beaten by Ensworth (Tenn.), whose roster contained a player recruited by Kentucky and another recruited by Kansas. They defeated Center Hill of Olive Branch, Miss., and Ravenwood of Brentwood, Tenn., and brought home a wealth of experience.
This year’s St. Pius team has a veteran backcourt in senior point guard Brookes Kahlert and shooting guard Trey Acklin. Kahlert, who has signed with Rollins, is an exceptional passer – basketball guru Sandy Spiel ranked him as the best passer in 5A – and a good shooter. Acklin, one of the best defenders on the team, has worked hard to upgrade his offense.
Wing Callum Petersen is shooting 45 percent on 3-point tries and junior Eamon Kenah has emerged as one of the team’s leading scorers. Jack Verrill is a 6-foot-8 senior has gotten stronger and has shown improvent from last year, his first on the varsity.
The Golden Lions were 23-8 last year and lost to Cross Creek in the Class 4A Final Four. In getting elevated to Class 5A, St. Pius landed in a very tough basketball league. Region 5 includes DeKalb powers Southwest DeKalb and Lithonia, as well as King, Decatur and Chamblee. It’s a deeper, tougher conference.
“Going up to 5A is a more difficult challenge,” Parr said. “With those DeKalb teams, every night you’re going against great athletes and great coaches who have been around for a long time. It’s going to be a lot of fun to complete with those teams and I think we have a group that can compete.”
St. Pius will host Stone Mountain on Tuesday and has big weekend with home games against Southwest DeKalb on Friday and Lithonia on Saturday.
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