The Hogs look to rebound after stellar first season under head coach Sam Weaver.
Arkansas High went 21-8 last season, before making an early exit in the Conference 6A state tournament, falling to Little Rock Hall in the first round.
"We lost nine seniors last year and a lot of production for our team," Arkansas High head basketball coach Sam Weaver said. "We have a major rebuilding situation going on right now. We return one starter in Fabian Phillips and a few juniors who played junior varsity for us last season. They continue to learn everyday and seem to get better as we go, so I'm excited to see what the season holds for us."
Seniors Fabian Phillips, Tachario Easter and Kameron Dockery bring back the uptempo experience in Weaver's complex offensive scheme.
The foundation was set for AHS after a 20-win season and a postseason birth, which Arkansas High hasn't seen in the basketball realm in quite some time.
"One of the drawbacks from that is that those guys were so good, that the new guys are trying to emulate that," Weaver said. "We've stress to the guys that they have to be themselves and do what their capable of doing.
We've played last season down and told the guys they have to do what they can because they don't have the same skill set to do some of the things the guys did last year."
The Hogs will lean on transfer Ajon Gray to replace a dominant post presence from a year ago.
"We've gone a different style of offense this year," Weaver said. "We'll play a 5-out motion offense, which changes our offensive scheme this year. The ability to pass the ball has been our biggest drawback so far. It all goes back to the fundamentals of passing the ball and our players getting to their spots on the floor.
We have to be able to finish in transition and execute our offense. On the flipside, we have to be able get back on defense and get to the free throw line."
Arkansas High opens the season up tonight hosting Bradley at 6:00 p.m.
2017-18 Arkansas High Basketball Schedule
Date=Site-opponent=Time
Nov. 14=Bradley=6:00 p.m.
Dec. 1=Lakeside=6:00 p.m.
Dec. 5=at Lake Hamilton=6:00 p.m.
Dec. 12=El Dorado=6:00 p.m.
Dec. 15=at Hope=6:00 p.m.
Jan. 2=Camden Fairview=6:00 p.m.
Jan. 5=at Magnolia=5:00 p.m.
Jan. 9=Hot Springs=TBA
Jan. 12=at De Queen=6:00 p.m.
Jan. 19=at Lakeside=6:00 p.m.
Jan. 23=Lake Hamilton=6:00 p.m.
Jan. 26=at El Dorado=6:00 p.m.
Jan. 30=Hope=6:00 p.m.
Feb. 2=at Camden Fairview=5:00 p.m.
Feb. 6=Magnolia=5:00 p.m.
Feb. 9=at Hot Springs=6:00 p.m.
Feb. 13=De Queen=5:00 p.m.