Independent basketball preview
SCHEDULE
December – 2, Conway Springs; 4-9, Circle Tournament; 13, at Douglass; 16, vs. Remington (G).
January – 6, at Belle Plaine; 10, Chaparral; 13, Trinity; 16, Medicine Lodge; 24-28, Sedgwick Tournament; 31, at Garden Plain.
February – 3, Cheney; 7, at Conway Springs; 10, Douglass; 17, Belle Plaine; 21 at Chaparral; 24, at Trinity.
BOYS
Coach: Bobby Wesley, first season
Last season: 16-7
Top players
Caden Springer, 6-0, sr., F
Tanner Smith, 6-0, sr., G
Luke Boline, 6-1, sr., G
Blaine Wood, 6-0, sr., G
Wesley is embracing the challenge that comes with being new.
Both the newness that comes with being a first-time head coach, and leading a group of players who will need to replace all five starters from a team that reached the substate championship a year ago.
“It’s fun,” Wesley said. “It’s challenging, but overall it’s just exciting. We’re just starting to get a feel for the team as a whole, everyone’s personalities.”
Wesley, who spent last season as an assistant for a Collegiate team that won the 4A-II state title, is following the path that most coaches do when trying to build experience, working on the fundamentals with the Panthers.
“All we’ve been focusing on is defense and rebounding,” he said. “We’re going to keep growing in those areas. We’re a small team, but we’re pretty quick, and we’re going to want to get after it.
“We’re looking for some big progress in a short amount of time, but we want to have some fun this year. The guys we have right now are a good group, and we’re going to get our own tradition started.”
GIRLS
Coach: Chris Porter, first season
Last season: 14-8
Top players
Riley Jackson, 5-11, sr., F
Beets Petrakis, 6-0, sr., F-G
Abbey Kolbeck, 5-9, sr., G
Anna Riedmiller, 5-4, sr., G
Lea Coccetella, 5-10, jr., G
The expectations around the Panthers aren’t easy to ignore, unless you’re first-year coach Porter.
“I know people are expecting a lot,” he said. “I heard it, but I don’t buy into it until we play some games. I’m pretty set on what’s going on right now, today, and I’m ready to talk about [first opponent] Conway Springs. Not how good we could be, or substate or state.”
Coach-speak, sure, but when a team is bolstered by six seniors and an entire returning starting lineup, it’s not hard for it to buy in to that hyper-focus needed to be successful every time they take the floor.
Those five starters — Jackson, Petrakis, Kolbeck, Riedmiller and Coccetella — all averaged better than 5 points per game, and combined for 32.4 for a team that reached the substate semifinals before falling to state-bound Garden Plain.
They also provide a base that makes getting better even easier for the entire team.
“The biggest thing is they all pretty much have three years of varsity practice,” Porter said. “I don’t have to take time to explain things in practice as much, so we can get a lot more done.”
David Rung
This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 9:31 AM with the headline "Independent basketball preview."