Dramatic offseason changes have overtaken the Park Hill girls basketball program as they enter a new season.
Hoping to conclude an eight-year drought without a district title, the Trojans have overhauled the program after graduating some key pieces and brought in a new coach and opened new facilities.
Park Hill will be led by Xavielle Brown in his first year as head coach of the program. Brown, a former NAIA All-American at Park University, is familiar with the Park Hill program, most recently coaching at North Kansas City.
Brown guided North Kansas City to back-to-back winning seasons and was named the 2023-24 Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference Red Conference Coach of the Year. His staff consists of assistant coaches Kyleesha Weston, Ryan Foster, Christopher Weston and Kaylee McLain.
The Trojans graduated six seniors from last season, including the team’s lone all-district honoree and leading rebounder in Boston Wand, as well as two of the top three scorers in Wand and Lydia Keller. Replacing those two, plus several other role players, is a challenge for the Trojans to overcome.
“As soon as we started, the theme has been brick by brick,” Brown said. “Understanding that Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
With much excitement around the new gym and weight room, there has also been a learning curve with the introduction of new routines. Brown was impressed with his team’s adjustments.
“Whenever you take over something that already has been established, it’s a matter of taking those necessary steps day in and day out to make sure that we’re going in the right direction,” Brown said. “It’s been sweet and the girls have adjusted because it started quickly.”
The Trojans will look to sophomore guard Audrey Sims, who starred as the team’s second-leading scorer with 11 points per game to earn all-conference first team as a freshman. Sims will be joined by sophomore Jade Tucker, who led the Trojans in assists and steals last season, as well as senior Taylor Finney, who returns as a top-five scorer and rebounder on the team.
A number of newcomers can also make an impact this season. Sophomore guard Maya Richards joins Nikyah Chappell and freshman Ja’Kyla Wright as players who can grow into critical roles throughout the season.
“Our girls have been putting in the work day in and day out,” Brown said. “We always talk about this facility being special.”
The new gym will get its first installment of the Battle of the Hill on Jan. 8, when Park Hill hosts Park Hill South. The Trojans will also compete in the Kearney Classic in mid-January before continuing conference play.
Park Hill will hope to use its revamped home-court advantage early in the year before concluding with five road contests to end the season.