Lady Panthers embracing competitive culture under Austin McIntyre

One thing you can easily tell while watching a Perry girls basketball game is that Austin McIntyre brings an intensity to the bench and demands the same from his players.

He’s constantly on his feet pacing the sideline and yelling out play calls and adjustments and the occasional frustration with his players doing the wrong thing. Even what you see today is calmed down from the summer.

But that kind of intense demeanor has produced a team that competes and works hard, which McIntyre says helped win them their game against Northside on Monday.

“I think our strength is our work ethic, our competitiveness, that kind of thing,” he said. “Our girls, they believe when they step on the court they can compete with anybody. And sometimes it falls our way, sometimes it don’t, but I think that’s our strength. Our mentality and our mindset.”

The one shortfall in McIntyre’s eyes is that they just don’t have enough experience. They have two seniors and several underclassmen getting heavy minutes, which can be evident at times.

But that doesn’t stop some of those players from displaying the competitiveness McIntyre seeks. Freshman guard Rhazyiah Oliver, for example.

Oliver was a part of Perry Middle School’s 8th grade championship team that brought a suffocating defense to the final game, and you can tell watching Oliver play.

She drew Perry’s lone charge against Northside and is consistently willing to put in the effort defensively and chase after loose balls.

“She’s come in, she’s been one of the sixth men, she’s been doing good off the bench,” McIntyre said. “She’s a good high school guard. She’s having to play a lot of minutes early as a freshman, so sometimes you’ll see the glimpse of [a] freshman basketball player and then a lot of time you see the glimpse of what she can be…She’s going to be a really good player.”

Sophomores Allie Dean and Jasmine Lawrence are others who’ve caught their coach’s eye.

“We’re just a young team, and those two girls do a good job,” McIntyre said. “Allie has been knocking down her shots, Jasmine, she’s been being big in the post…Our main thing with all of them [is] just making sure they’re doing the little things right and being confident in themselves.”