NEWBERN &045; The Sunshine Tigers have a reputation as one of the powerhouse basketball teams in the area, and rightfully so. The group went 26-4 last year on the way to the regionals in the state playoff &045; where they fell to St. Jude.

This year the group is hoping to again post a strong performance and make it deep into the post season. And with the players from last year returning the goal is pretty achievable.

Joes said his group has put in work in the off-season, largely in the summer where the group worked on areas needing focus for the upcoming year. The group also got to test their mettle during the summer &045; playing several schools they wouldn’t normally get the chance to face.

Jones said the group scheduled the bigger schools, specifically looking to improve against large post players. He said the reason for such a move was his team’s exeunt from the state playoff last season against St. Jude.

Jones said St. Jude had several big post players, which his team struggled against. He said his team had not had much experience against a teams with such talent, and he wanted to get the group acclimated before this year’s campaign.

The group will get their first test of teamwork today in the Thanksgiving Tournament at Francis Marion High School. The group will see at least two days of play against some of the best programs in the area. Jones said the group will then know where they are compared to last season’s group.