MOULTRIE — Colquitt County basketball coach Joe Parker and Kirven Davis will use tonight’s scrimmages against Cairo at the Gladys Espy Memorial Gymnasium to evaluate the talent of their 2006-2007 basketball teams, but don’t expect anything less than a regular-season game effort.

“We are going to use it as an evaluation tool and try to make some adjustments before we play on Nov. 28,” Packers coach Kirven Davis said. “We’re going to approach it like a game.”

Lady Packers coach Joe Parker will take a similar approach when his team tips off against the Syrupmaids tonight.

The girls game will begin at 5:30 p.m.

The boys game will follow. Admission is $5.

Parker will send out what is expected to be the starting five that will open the regular season a week from today against Ware County in the Charles Cooper Memorial Tipoff Invitational at Lowndes.

The Lady Packers will have a veteran lineup of Taquella Coates and Tiffany Troupe up front and Nicolle Thomas, Nikki Hudson and Laquita Smith in the back court. Freshman Shay Lovett will get plenty of playing time at guard and Ashley Patillo will see time at the post.

Hudson is the team’s only senior. Troupe, Smith and Coates are juniors. Thomas and Patillo are sopomores.

The rest of the varsity roster includes sophomores Tiffany McBride and Carly Moore and freshmen Lori Sherling, Umeika Henry, Persephone Taylor and Kinyama Moore.

Troupe, Smith, Hudson, Thomas and Coates all played large roles last year when the Lady Packers went 21-10, reached the state quarterfinals and finished No. 6 in the final Associated Press Class AAAAA poll.

But after the top five, there is virtually no varsity experience and Parker is hoping to see progress from some young players who will have to play this season, especially Lovett and Patillo.

“This game will probably help me as much as it will them,” Parker said.

Parker is high on Lovett, who had an excellent summer, and Patillo, who will have to fill in at the post.

“And Kiyama and Henry are both good athletes,” Parker said. “And we’ll stick Sherling in here and there.”

While Parker will have most of his players at this disposal, Davis will be welcoming three players who just finished playing football last Friday.

Orion Ponder, Channing Hudson and Duke Banks, all of whom are likely to start this season for the Packers, will have to work into basketball shape.

When asked if the three would play against the Syrupmakers, Davis did not say no.

The three football players will be among nine seniors that Davis is likely to keep on the roster as the Packers try to improve on last year’s 14-14 record.

Nick West, Rashawn Melvin, Dannie Hunt, Andrew Wallace, Quincy Roberts and Nolan Whyte are the other seniors.

Wallace will be starting for the fourth season. Melvin is likely to fill in at Ponder’s point guard position tonight, but could be used as a shooter as the season goes on.

The juniors on the roster are Eugene Woods, Nathan Cashwell, Chantting Stevenson, Matt Cannon, Rashad Edmonds and Zorri Tatum.

Trendon Jones, Eric Key, Jamiel Tyson and Brian Berl are the sophomores.

The freshmen are Nathan Hill, Dominique Pressley, Lawhe Wingfield, Jeremy Downs, Cameron Erving, Quin Roberson, Amel Magwood, Tyrell Wright, Derrell Ward, Jamari Grier and Sam Cokely.

“These guys have had a year with the new system,” said Davis, who succeeded Keith Hall last year. “But we’ll have some guys in some new places.”