Inside the Program: 2018-2019 Roswell

Roswell High school has quietly been a one of the most consistent programs in Metro Atlanta over the last few years in terms of team success and moving players onto the collegiate level.  The Hornets are coming off back to back State Tournament appearances with last year’s team making it to the Sweet 16.  Our Kris Watkins was able to catch up with Head Coach Ty Phillips to discuss the Hornet’s preseason program, new gym floor renovations, as well as players to watch.  

What is your focus this preseason and tell us about this past summer?

We had a great summer with tremendous buy-in from our guys.  In addition to daily workouts from 10am-1pm, we played in multiple team camps throughout the region from Atlanta to Macon to Birmingham to South Carolina.  We had several guys excel with their travel teams which continues our program philosophy to help our kids develop in multiple settings.

Preseason we are continuing to improve our strength and conditioning levels.  The 4 on 1 individuals are huge as we have our older guys going 4 days a week shooting before school and doing additional skill work after our afternoon weight workouts.  We are blessed to have a stable staff who know our kids personally and care about their development on and off the court.  Kory Keys was part of Andy Kennedy’s staff at Ole Miss just 2 seasons ago, Tony Bostardi brings over 15 years of head coaching experience, and Charlie Wood brings great passion to our staff meeting our guys every morning in the Fall.

Your new floor design looks awesome! What made you go with that design?

We have such a great history in athletics at Roswell and in our basketball program (state titles in 1971 and 1997).  Our floor was in dire need of a facelift after hosting numerous region and state tournaments since it was last updated in 1999.  Our principal Dr. Robert Shaw and AD Clinton Lawrence were paramount in this effort.

We have done a complete streamlining of the branding of our logos at Roswell and we wanted to get our Hornet front and center.  We wanted to add our athletic slogan “We Are Roswell” and we were able to add a unique honeycomb pattern inside the 3-pt line since we play in The Nest.  J. Tom Zachary Court is named for our former principal who loved Roswell and sadly passed away at a conference back in 1998.  Mr. Zachary’s name continues to be proudly displayed.

Pulling all of these elements together was a challenge but we’ve gotten all positive feedback and we’re excited to play on the new floor this year.  It really means a lot when fellow coaches reach out to compliment the design.

Coming off back to back state tournament appearances including last year’s Sweet 16 run what does your out of Region schedule look like this year as you prep your team for another run at State?

Philosophically we want to play a variety of styles that help us prepare for our region and eventually the state tournament.

We were able to add back our city rival Centennial and we again play our historic rival Milton.  We will play several schools out of Region 5 including adding Lambert back, and we are excited to compete against Arabia Mountain in a home and home matchup.

We have a great field for the 2nd annual Rotary Honor Air Flight Invitational:  Alpharetta, Blessed Trinity, Chattahoochee, Kennesaw Mountain, Redan, Roswell, West Ashley (SC), Westminter

We also have been invited to the 26th Annual Rotary Roundball Invitational in Charleston, SC over the Winter Holidays, a nationally recognized tournament.

You have a lot of pieces back this year from last season’s Sweet 16 run who are some players to watch?

Miles Herron-Sr-5’10-PG

4th year starter, heart, soul, & backbone of our team.  Returning leader scorer & assists.  First team all-region Soph & Junior year.

Kolby Wade-Sr-6’0-SG

3rd year Varsity, explosive 2nd returning scorer that should receive more recognition this year.

Jackson Hensley-Sr-6’1-SG

2nd year in our program, now comfortable with our system & it showed this summer.  Deadly spot-up shooter.

George Pridgett-So-5’10-SG/PG

As Freshman moved up to Varsity at end of year & became key contributor in playoffs.  After strong Spring & Summer will be a major key to our success.

Former Roswell Hornets who have moved on to College Level in recent years

2018

Connor Stark     Erskine College

2017

James Anderson     Cuyahoga College

Jaden Comma     University of Maryland (Football) 

2016

Matt Gonda     Birmingham-Southern College

Jaylen Waters     Georgia Southwestern College

2015

Malik Abdulgader   Piedmont College

Tariq Abdulgader   Piedmont College

Eric Jones    Rose-Hulman Institute

Trent Markwith    Millsaps College

2014

Trey Houston    Hampton University

Anthony Hudson   University of Alabama

Conner McKinley   Birmingham-Southern College

Tyrone Sam   Valdosta State University

Josh Selembo   Georgia Tech (Football)

Devin Smith   Delta College

2013

Bennett Barton   Georgia Tech (Football)

Matt Beneduci   Eckerd College

Sean Brennan   University of North Georgia

2012

Taylor Birchett   University Of Louisiana At Monroe

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