By Kevin Price For GCS Athletics The Glynn Academy basketball teams opened up their new seasons last Saturday and already have a couple of games under their belts. But as the Red Terrors get ready to take the court again this weekend and the GA girls go back into action early next week, here’s a look at both Glynn teams. GA Boys The Terrors won their opening two games in the Hugh McBride Classic hosted by Jeff Davis, knocking off Ware County 60-31 last Saturday and Southeast Bulloch 69-20 on Monday. Veteran coach Terrance Haywood said the Terrors didn’t really play well in the opener against the Gators, but he was much more pleased with his team’s showing in the runaway win over Southeast Bulloch. “I think Ware was missing at least three players who were still with their football team in the playoffs,” Haywood said. “We were 0-for-13 from the three-point line, but we did play solid on the defensive end. “Against Southeast Bulloch, we did play really well. They have a solid team. They beat us this summer, but we made them play our style and made them uncomfortable in what they like to do.” The Terrors started the new season without four starters from last season including all-region performer Tyson Rooks who was the 912 Sports Player of the Year for larger schools in its Southeast Georgia coverage area after averaging 17 points and seven rebounds as a senior. Rooks is currently playing football at Illinois. Glynn posted a 19-9 record last season and reached the state tournament before falling tough with a 62-60 loss at Westlake in the first round. The only returning starter back this season is senior point guard Tyi Ivey, but fellow senior guard Shane Payne did start several games while playing a bunch last season. Junior forward David Prince also started several games but primarily was the first player coming off the bench for Glynn as he also logged a pile of minutes while playing in that role. GA’s starting lineup will change based on whether the Terrors plan to open a game with a smaller lineup or a bigger first-five, and that decision will largely be based on the opponent and how Glynn wants to match up to begin a game. Others who will see plenty of playing time for the Terrors are seniors Jeremiah Watkins, Charles Smith and TJ Haywood in addition to juniors Zach King and Corey Fisher and sophomores Alex Packard and Jayden Ellis. The Terrors plan to make playing strong defense a point of pride again while generating enough offense to win games. “That’s who we are, our makeup and what we’ve gotta be,” Haywood said. “We’re going to mix up our defenses and try to keep teams off balance.” Haywood expects the region opponents to all be formidable once again as the league lost last year’s league champion Statesboro as well as Richmond Hill and Bradwell Institute while picking up defending Class AAAAAA state champion Grovetown, Evans and Lakeside-Evans and keeping Brunswick, Effingham and South Effingham. Glynn plays again on Saturday in a Thanksgiving tournament in Jacksonville. “It’s defintely a rebuilding year for us,while we try to replace what we lost,” Haywood said. “But we’re just gonna go out, play as hard as we can and try to put our kids in the best position possible to win. “We’ve got a great group of kids who are going to play hard and give us everything they’ve got.” GA Girls The 2022-23 season will be a rebuilding one for the Glynn girls, too. And, they will do so under new head coach Myosha Leeper, a former standout player for the Lady Terrors who helped Glynn to the state semifinals in 1995 while playing under legendary coach Theresa Adams, a member of the Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame. Leeper had been coaching at Needwood before getting hired at Glynn to replace Sharnesha Smith who stepped down as GA’s head coach after last season to return to Camden County where she was a star player in high school. Leeper is happy to be back at Glynn. “I am beyond excited to be coaching at my alma mater,” she said. “Playing and graduating from here under the tutelage of Coach Adams holds great memories and has helped shape the person that I am today.” The Lady Terrors also have already played two games like the GA boys as they too played in the tournament held in Hazelhurst. GA fell 42-22 last Saturday to Wayne County before dropping its second game Monday against Ware County by a 55-31 final tally. Glynn goes to Richmond Hill on Tuesday before hosting Tattnall County next Saturday for the home opener when the basketball court will be officially dedicated to Coach Adams as it will bear her name going forward. “It’s a privilege to honor Coach Adams,” Leeper said. Last year, the Lady Terrors finished 13-14 overall while going 8-6 in the region and making the state tournament. But among the departing players were seniors Akirria Mountain and Paris Smith, the leading scorer and rebounder, respectively. Glynn’s team this season includes Ahzya Brunson as the lone senior. The roster includes two juniors - Delanie Noe and Sophie Speirs - plus sophomores Kyra Page, Harper Willis, Deoni Hacker, Janiyah Spaulding and Amauria Douglas. The team also includes four freshman, and they are Faith Jernigan, Aniyah Wright, Mar’kuecia Burton and Martin Davis. “My squad is young,” Leeper said. “We are experiencing some growing pains. Once we put it all together the successes will come. “We are getting better daily and have to fix the small things that are costing us games like boxing out, rebounding, having fewer turnovers and making those easy shots and free throws. “Not winning is not in my DNA, so I take each loss personally. Even though we are in this situation, I am proud of the way the girls are steadily working hard and improving. By us being so young, our future looks bright. As I keep reminding them, it’s not where you start, it’s how you finish that matters.”