NTL BOYS BASKETBALL: ATHENS' LISTER LOOKING FORWARD TO 2022-23 SEASON (8 PHOTOS) (2022-11-29)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ATHENS — Athens boys basketball coach Jim Lister, entering his third season, is chewing at the bit as he puts the finishing touches on the preparation for the 2022-23 season.

“It’s been a long offseason,” he said. “It’s great to be back, and I’m looking forward to this season.”

Lister has had plenty of bodies at his disposal in the preseason, possibly too many.

“Our numbers are very good.

We’re sitting at 25 kids right now,” said Lister. “We have one more scrimmage with Corning Wednesday, then we’ll have to make some roster cuts to get it down to at least 20.”

The Wildcats have already had one scrimmage against Horseheads.

“I thought the (Horseheads) scrimmage went really well,” said Lister. “I thought our kids played with a lot of intensity.

“We played good defense, and we shot the ball well,” he noted. “We did a lot of things well.

“Honestly, I was really pleased with the scrimmage,” added Lister.

Athens opens the 2022-23 campaign at home Dec. 7 against Cowanesque Valley, then will play in the Johnson City Tip-Off Tournament Dec. 9-10.

The Wildcats’ non-league schedule also includes games at Dallas, and Horseheads, and a home game against Tioga.

“We have a good mix in our non-league schedule,” said Lister. “We play some good New York schools.

“I went back-and-forth on whether we should go down South and play some of those schools … but there’s a lot of good basketball up here, especially in New York,” he noted. “If we can play those schools, I’d like to do that. It worked out for us.

“We have a full 22-game schedule, and it’s all going to be very, very competitive,” added Lister.

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IN PHOTO 1: Athens sophomore Kolsen Keathley. … PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.