By T. Scott Boatright
There’s no denying basketball is a team sport and that it takes all five players on a court at a given time and every player knowing and understanding their roles and communicating with teammates to create a winning effort.
But it doesn’t hurt to have a player — or the case of Lincoln Preparatory School, a family — that might be especially talented in spanning any gap that could make a difference between a win or a loss.
The Panthers’ Trey Spann is one of those kinds of players, and showed that Wednesday might as he helped lead the Lincoln Prep’s boys basketball team to a 62-49 win at Arcadia High School.
Spann topped the Panthers with 20 points while adding five assists, four rebounds and four steals.
It’s not that Spann is always the leading scorer for the Panthers. Lincoln Prep Antonio Hudson has said at multiple points so far this season that this season’s team might be the best he’s ever coached because of the kind of depth that gives them five or even six players that can lead the team in scoring on any given night.
That was shown Wednesday as Amarjae Young added 15 points, six boards, two assists and steals for Lincoln Prep while Devin Burton added 12 rebounds along with six points, a block, a steal and an assist.
And the kind of depth the Panthers have this season was needed in an always intense rivalry game against Arcadia.
“Our kids and the kids from Arcadia know each other,” Hudson said. “They’ve played together since they were young. Anytime Lincoln Prep and Arcadia play each other it’s gonna be wild and loud. And also fun. We were just glad to come away with the win, because beating the Hornets is always special for a Panther.”
And in his junior season, it’s clear that Spann is becoming special for the Panthers.
“Trey’s been around the program ever since he was in the fourth or fifth grade,” Hudson said. “He had an older brother, Messiah, who came to play here. So Trey has been at practices and been around the program since he was young.
“He knows the expectations of the program and what Lincoln Prep basketball means to so many people. He’s becoming more of a leader. Trey is one of those guys who is a silent leader. He’s not a man of many words. Instead he lets his actions speak for him. I’ve told him that sometimes he’s got to get out of his comfort zone and voice his opinion and speak up more as a vocal leader. But he’s definitely a special kid who never gives us any troubles.”
It’s Spann’s “hoops IQ” that makes him special. And it runs in the Spann bloodline. Trey’s older sister, senior Lady Panther Saniyah, and younger brother Josiah, a sophomore, are also key contributors for Lincoln Prep’s basketball teams.
“Josiah has actually worked his way into the starting lineup,” Hudson said. “In a perfect world, Josiah would be playing JV basketball at this point in his career. We have a lot of guys on this program. But Josiah needs to play in order to get better and gain experience, because we have a lot of seniors that will be graduating, so if he doesn’t get any real playing time now, he’ll be like he’s a freshman or sophomore going into next season when he’ll be a junior and Trey will be a senior.
“So, we’ve made a conscious effort to get him more playing time this season to give him that experience. He can score. He’s one of the best scorers we have on the team and will be something special, too, as long as he keeps working at it.”
The foundation of the Spann siblings’ “hoops IQ” has been put into place by their father Joseph “Scooby” Spann, who Hudson took notice of years ago.
“Years ago I used to play golf a lot at Trail’s End golf course in Arcadia,” Hudson said. “I was a member of that course. And to get there, you have to take Highway 80. So years ago when I was going there to play golf on Saturday mornings or Sunday afternoons, I’d pass by a little house by the caution light in Simsboro, and every morning and evening when I’d pass it, I’d see a bunch of kids out there playing at that house.
“And what was happening was, it was their dad that had them out there playing. He’s done that ever since they were little and he continues to do that now. You have to commend him. In today’s society when a lot of fathers are not present for their kids, what he’s done with his kids has shown up in the pathway they’re still taking. For them, it’s sports and basketball, so I commend their father for all of that.”
Hudson said the kind of fathering and mentoring Joseph Spann and his wife Yamalin are doing will pay off for their children, including Trey. But even with talent and dedication, Hudson said it’s still unclear exactly what direction Trey will take in 2026 after his high school days are over.
“A couple of people from colleges have called and inquired about him,” Hudson said. “But the (NCAA) transfer portal has killed a lot of things as far as high school recruiting goes. So he may have to find a different kind of route — JUCO, prep school or some kind of other alternative route.
“But Trey has a skill set that can take him to the next level. He can shoot the ball and if he can get in the right situation and improve his ball-handling and decision making, he has the foundation to build on. He just has to keep on working at it.”
