Prince Edward County High School’s varsity boys basketball team entered the 2017-18 season with only two players that possessed varsity experience, but Head Coach James Scott is seeing potential in his young squad.

The Eagles are off to a 3-6 start.

“I’m pleased with the team,” Scott said. “We’re working hard. It’s too early to give up. Practice is going well, and the kids are still focused, and they believe in themselves.”

Prince Edward’s wins have come against Nottoway High School, Altavista Combined School and Amelia County High School.

“All the teams we’ve played (have had) a winning record, and the teams in our district, we lost to the ones probably in the top three teams right now in the district,” Scott said.

The teams he was referring to were Randolph-Henry High School, Bluestone High School and Cumberland County High School, which are in the top four with Goochland High School.

Seven players from the 2016-17 Eagles team graduated, including standouts like Zarius Jones, Kevon Braxton and Quantavis Nash, while junior guard Mark Patterson transferred to Cumberland.

The 2017-18 Eagles feature one senior, nine juniors and three sophomores.

Standouts on the team so far have included junior guard Tajh White and junior forward Jair Haskins.

Scott highlighted White for his defense, something he was known for on the gridiron as well.

“He plays inside and outside,” Scott said.

As for Haskins, “he hits the boards, and he boxes out,” Scott said. “He’s the team leader as well.”

The coach highlighted several up-and-comers on the team, including junior shooting forward Rah’Quan Payne, junior center A.J. Lewis, junior point guard Rodney Sprague and sophomore guard Harry Rust.

Prince Edward does not have a lot of height this year, but Scott said, “I work around it. It is what it is.”

The Eagles host Nottoway on Friday at 7 p.m.

Giving his expectations for the remainder of the season, Scott said, “We’re going to continue to play defense, keep the turnovers down, and if we can stay in the middle of the hunt, we’ll be fine. We’ve got to just keep hanging around. We can’t just drop off. If we can stay in the middle of that race, we’ll be just fine.”