Tigers with good learning session at Lebanon’s summer camp

By ANTHONY STEVENS, anthony@virginiamediainc.com

LEBANON, Va., (June 17, 2026) – The Tigers are finding their footing as veteran mentor Aaron Williams takes over the boys’ basketball program. They were in attendance at Charles C. Long Gymnasium on Wednesday and Thursday for Lebanon’s camp.

Honaker opened up against Hogoheegee District rival Holston. The Tigers pulled away for a 47-35 triumph.

“I see a lot of individual ability,” stated Williams. “We have some good athletes. We’re trying to get better and improve in two or three areas each time we play. In the first game against Holston, I thought Colton Lowe’s on-ball defense got our offense started. Colton generated about two or three turnovers, which led to a couple of easy buckets. We went from being down a couple to be-ing up three or four, and then we started making shots. We talked about how our defense can get our offense started.”

The Cavaliers kept it close in the first half.

“We’re not in basketball shape,” said Holston coach Chad Bailey. “Brady (Bailey) is hurt. He sprained his AC joint, so we’re trying to learn to play without him. I thought it was good. I think we just ran out of gas. That’s why we do all the conditioning we do in the regular season. But the kids played hard.”

Holston returns a veteran team. They will be one of the most experienced teams in the district.

“I lost the foreign exchange student and Jo Norman, and that’s it,” noted Bailey. “I’ll have six sen-iors this upcoming season. It makes me look forward to this year.

“There will be a lot of parity in the Hogoheegee. It will still be a strong district, but anyone can beat anyone on any given night, and that wasn’t the case last year.”

Patrick Henry ran away with the district title last season. Chilhowie finished well ahead of every-one else for second place.

The Tigers fell to Tazewell in their second game in the camp. It appeared they ran out of steam against the Bulldogs in back-to-back games for Honaker.

“I saw our body language turn defeated,” declared Williams. “As we got down, it went from bad to worse, and we talked about that. Normally, I’d call some timeouts and give them some reminders, but we have to play through those situations and get mentally tougher.”

Williams is trying to become familiar with his team, which is challenging due to the many activities happening during summer.

“It’s preliminary. We’re just trying to get to know each other a bit,” Williams said. “Get a feel for what we’re going to be doing. We want to understand the urgency and, when we get together next season, learn to make the most of every minute in practice. There’s no magic wand. It’s just about building the right habits and getting better each day. There’s a lot of promise in this team.”

Honaker will play about 10 games this summer and has had a few open gyms and practices.

“I see some individual play that I like,” Williams stated. “We’re going to have to get better at organ-ization, making decisions, and building the right habits. But I see some individual talent that can’t be coached, such as jumping ability, floor vision, and timing on passes. I see a lot of promise in this team. As we get together next season, I’ll have a better idea of what we’re capable of. It’s good for us to just play at this point.”

Williams has hit the ground running after being named coach of the Tigers in April. He is getting some things accomplished in the off-season.

“We’re just trying to build daily habits,” Williams stated. “How to approach practice, have the right spirit, and hustle. You don’t get to your hopes and dreams; you fall to whatever your training is. So we have to build it day by day, with the right approach and precision. In basketball, you’re coaching on the run, so we’re building our dictionary of what words mean and how they carry over to the court.”