High expecations for Marion Patriots in 2024-25 season
New coach leads the way as daunting 5A East play gets underway
By Chuck Livingston
Marion School District
Sammie Lewis sits at his desk inside Fidelity Bank Arena and diligently looks over his computer screen where he's updating his detailed scouting reports.
Lewis has a couple of notes on the opposition's entire roster, highlighting the team's better shooters, rebounders, defenders, and other pertinent information.
“We just need our guys to know which guys are most dangerous and what they do best,” said Marion's first-year head boys basketball coach.
“I'm a big detail guy, and I need to prepare and prepare my team the best way we can.”
Lewis's attention to detail is one of the defining hallmarks of his coaching career thus far, right along with winning.
He won a state championship as a standout high school guard at Jonesboro, before returning home to serve as an assistant coach for legendary JHS coach Wes Swift.
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Sammie Lewis sits at his desk inside Fidelity Bank Arena and diligently looks over his computer screen where he's updating his detailed scouting reports.
Lewis has a couple of notes on the opposition's entire roster, highlighting the team's better shooters, rebounders, defenders, and other pertinent information.
“We just need our guys to know which guys are most dangerous and what they do best,” said Marion's first-year head boys basketball coach.
“I'm a big detail guy, and I need to prepare and prepare my team the best way we can.”
Lewis's attention to detail is one of the defining hallmarks of his coaching career thus far, right along with winning.
He won a state championship as a standout high school guard at Jonesboro, before returning home to serve as an assistant coach for legendary JHS coach Wes Swift.
As a Jonesboro assistant, Lewis was up close and personal for a Golden Hurricane threepeat as Jonesboro earned state titles in 2021, 2022, and 2023 upon moving up to Class 6A.
His background made him Marion's top candidate in the spring, and Lewis quickly accepted the post.
“Marion to me is just like Jonesboro,” said Lewis in April. “It's a great place to live and raise a family. There's a ton of talent, and the administration is committed to excellence.”
Lewis has his team off to a rousing start in his first foray as a head coach. Marion is currently 12-4 overall with a No. 10 overall ranking in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Overall Top 10 ranking of every classification in the state, and the Patriots reside at No. 4 in the Class 5A Super Six ranking. MHS also earned the No. 10 spot in this week's ScoreBookLive.com Top 25 ranking.
In the non-conference schedule, Marion earned holiday tournament titles in Cabot and Highland, picking up victories over state powers Lake Hamilton, Springdale, and North Little Rock along the way.
“We have some young guys and they're still learning and getting better,” said Lewis.
“Right now we want to get back to that everyday grind, find some consistency. We like our team right now, and we just need to keep pushing and keep our focus on the game that's right in front of us.”
Lewis inherits a program on sound footing for the 20242025 season. Marion finished 19-5 a season ago with a conference runner-up finish, but for the first time since 2021, the Patriots lost in the first round of the state tournament. Marion senior Mikell “Twin” Lewis has been a rotation mainstay the past two seasons, earning all-conference honors a season ago.
So far this year, Lewis has elevated his game to the tune of averaging a team-high 11.5 points per game on 54.2 percent shooting with 4.9 rebounds per game.
“He's taken on a much larger role this year than he has in the past,” said Lewis. “He's really thrived in that role so far this year, and we thought that he would. The sky is the limit for Twin.”
Senior Rylan Johnson impressed the past two years for the junior varsity and has broken out so far this season for the varsity, canning 48 percent of his attempts from three-point range.
“We saw a lot from him this summer,” said Lewis. “He's really earned his minutes, he does the right things out there, and he can really shoot.”
Mykal Knighten has impressed in the non-conference slate with good defensive positioning and leadership.
Junior LaDaryl Robinson, Jr. enters his third varsity season after earning all-conference honors each of the past two years. Robinson has added weight this off-season and has averaged 9.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game during the non-conference portion of this year's slate.
“He's playing really well right now,” said Lewis. “His motor is running, he's playing hard.
He's really blocking a lot of shots right now. The scoring will come from that, but he's always big for us on defense.” Junior Chandler Randle has been one of the team's breakout players at the halfway point, averaging 10.4 points per game on 40 percent threepoint shooting and pulling down 4.9 rebounds per outing.
“Chandler is a gym rat who shows up every, single day and who works hard,” said Lewis. “He's been phenomenal.”
Junior Jalen Neal was one of the top performers last year on the JV and “blew us away this summer,” said Lewis.
“He's the reason that we've been in these last few games.
He can rebound, defend, and score the ball. It's really clicking for him right now.”
Junior Dexter Higgins, Jr. earned some varsity reps last year and has fluidly distributed the ball this season, scoring 5.1 points per game with a team-high 4 assists per game.
The floor general “bears a lot of the load,” said Lewis. “He's steady and smart with the ball.”
Jackson Black (6-6), another junior, was the top post presence last year for the JV, and he has shown a post presence in '24-'25.
Juniors Zayden Walker and Hayden King have appeared in most of the non-conference games and have made hustle plays.
Sophomore combo guard Korbin Littlejohn has shown rare scoring ability and good defensive chops, while classmates Karylal “Duck” Hyland, Daevion Bailey, and
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Jaylon Ford have appeared in most games this year.
Marion opens its 5A East schedule on Thursday, January 9 at West Memphis, and the Patriots return home to play their first home game since November 12 on Tuesday, January 14 in a highprofile showdown with Nettleton.
5A EAST HOME OPENER EVENTS
Marion's 5A East home opener on January 14 against Nettleton could set the tone for the conference season, and the gameday atmosphere will follow suit.
Marion's band will perform at home basketball games this season, beginning with Nettleton. Bright Futures Marion will be selling clear bags branded with the Marion logo, which will be on sale during the game.
Basketball games will be fun for students this winter with different themes for each opponent and full concession stands available.
Public address announcer Tyler Bennett enhances the in-game entertainment with music, player introductions, and energy.
2025 MARION GIRLS CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
January 10 at West Memphis January 14 vs. Nettleton January 17 at Searcy January 21 at Paragould January 24 vs. Batesville January 28 at Valley View January 31 vs. Greene Co. Tech February 7 vs. West Memphis February 11 at Nettleton February 14 vs. Searcy February 18 vs. Paragould February 21 at Batesville February 25 vs. Valley View (Senior Night) February 28 at Greene County Tech
WATCH THE PATRIOTS
Every Marion conference basketball game will be broadcast on MarionPatriots. com, on the Marion Patriots Activities Network YouTube channel, and on the MPAN mobile app.
