The Senath-Hornersville Lady Lions will be looking to win the Class 2 District 1 championship after finishing as district runners-up four years in a row. [Click to enlarge]

It may seem like football season just ended, but the tipoff of the 2006-2007 basketball season is just around the corner.

The new season kicks off just six days from now (next Monday) with a pair of games, as Campbell hosts Holcomb in boys' basketball while Senath-Hornersville's girls host New Madrid County Central.

While many of the schools in the area are coming off losing seasons, the new season promises to be very interesting to watch.

Some things to watch for:

* New faces on the bench. Several teams will feature new coaches when the season tips off. North Pemiscot, Senath-Hornersville and Kennett's boys' teams all have new leadership, while Casey Bunting will be taking the reins of the Kennett Lady Indians.

At Wardell, Jamie Johnson takes the reins at North Pemiscot after being an assistant coach last season.

"Everything's going really well," Johnson said. "It's an all-new approach over there. The kids seem to be adapting to it very well. We will definitely have a different look."

After a 3-20 season last year, Johnson wants the Mustangs to go back to basic hard-nose basketball.

"We're going to try to get after some people," Johnson said. "We've got a long way to go from last year."

Meanwhile, Kennett will try to rebound from a 6-18 season as Jim Vaughan succeeds Sam Weaver, who took the head coaching job at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark.

* Can the Lady Lions get over the hump? Getting to the district championship game and losing can be a painful experience for a basketball team.

The Senath-Hornersville Lady Lions should know -- they've experienced it four years in a row.

After going 11-13 in the regular season, Senath-Hornersville made it to the Class 2 District 1 title game, only to fall to Naylor by 21 points in the finals.

While Naylor returns three starters from that squad, the Lady Lions return a pair of starters Whitney Odle and Becky Motes. After being one of Senath-Hornersville's top players last year, Odle could be one of the best players in the Bootheel this winter and will play a big role if her squad finally gets that elusive district title.

A lot will become clearer after Dec. 7, when the Lady Lions host Naylor in a rematch of the district final from last season. Naylor is led by All-Stater Hailee Deckard, who is already considered a strong college prospect despite being just a junior.

* Tournaments, tournaments and more tournaments. Gideon and Holcomb will host tournaments the week after Thanksgiving, while Clarkton has its annual holiday tournament Dec. 11-15. The Bootheel and Tri-County conferences will have their respective tourneys later in the season, while Kennett, Hayti and South Pemiscot will head to the 50th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament Dec. 26-29.

Meanwhile, Kennett and Senath-Hornersville will take part in one of the area's best girls' basketball tournaments when they play in the Lady Royals Classic at Broseley Dec. 16-22. Both schools went 1-2 at the LRC last season but almost faced each other with a trophy on the line, as they lost in the consolation semifinals.

* Five games to watch this season. 1) Naylor girls at Senath-Hornersville, Dec. 7; Senath-Hornersville girls at Kennett, Dec. 14; 3) Holcomb boys at Southland, Jan. 9; 4) Senath-Hornersville boys at Kennett, Jan. 12; and 5) Campbell boys at Clarkton, Jan. 23.

As stated earlier, Game No. 1 is a rematch of the Class 2, District 1 championship game. As for Games Nos. 2 and 4, anytime Kennett plays Senath-Hornersville in any sport, it is worth watching. Holcomb and Southland struggled at times last season but look to be improved, while Clarkton and Campbell have been among the Tri-County's two best teams in recent times.

And it all starts next week...

Mike Buhler is the sports editor of the Daily Dunklin Democrat. Contact him at mbuhler@dddnews.com