A look at the Southeast Golden Buffaloes basketball teams
SCHEDULE
December — 1, South; 9, East; 10, Carroll; 13, at West; 16, at Kapaun.
January — 3, North; 6, at Heights; 10, Northwest; 12-14, vs. TBA at Koch Arena; 17, at South (G); 19-21 at Topeka West tournament (B); 24, at South (B); 26-28, at Free State tournament (G).
February — 3, at East; 7, West; 10, Kapaun; 14, at Carroll; 17, at North; 21, Heights; 23, at Northwest.
BOYS
Coach: Melvin Herring, fifth season, 55-36
Last season: 20-5, second in Class 6A
Top players
Israel Barnes, 6-4, jr., G
Richard Reed, 6-5, so., F
Johnny Murdock, 5-10, so., G
Micah Jacques, 6-3, fr., G
Shawn Warrior, 6-4, fr., F
Even though Barnes returns for his junior season, the Buffaloes are, in a sense, trying to replace him.
Barnes was a superior second option for Southeast as a sophomore, complementing senior Jerrick Harding, who led the City League in scoring (28 points). Barnes averaged 20.6 and the two blended well and carried Southeast to the Class 6A championship game.
Now the star is Barnes, and Southeast, stocked with relatively unproven players, is looking for the best fits around him.
“Before Israel got here, Jerrick had all that weight on him,” Herring said. “Once Israel got here, it took that off (Harding), where he could just play. We kind of want to do the same thing with Israel, we want to be able to balance the floor out. We’ve got pieces, they’re just young.”
Herring mentioned Chase Williams, a 6-foot-4 junior, as a possibility to fill Southeast’s backcourt. Reed is a versatile player who played often as a freshman.
Aside from them, the Buffaloes may rely on Murdock, along with freshmen Jacques and Warrior, from whom Herring promises toughness.
“This is a different ballgame,” Herring said. “It depends on how fast they mature, it depends how much they jell with Israel. That was the thing with Israel and Jerrick, they complemented each other. They understood each other, in a good way. It just depends how fast (the freshmen) mature, how fast they pick up that experience.”
GIRLS
Coach: LaToya Randle, seventh season, 48-73
Last season: 2-19
Top players
Wynter Rentas, 5-11, sr., F
Alecia Verge, 5-7, sr., G
Gina DeFazio, 6-0, so., F
Krissandra Pollard, 5-6, jr., G
The Buffaloes may be operating on a four-year plan, but Randle has enjoyed the progression.
“I’m loving the leadership from our seniors,” Randle said. “I think it was a long time, a long process, as far as getting them acclimated to the system that I wanted to run. They are responding really well.”
The system is more of a philosophy, less about running the right plays than about each player understanding her role. Randle has seen the confidence of her players grow, and now they approach defense and rebounding with greater care and precision.
The players who have gone through the process and are, theoretically, nearly finished products are seniors Rentas and Verge. They’re the Buffaloes’ leaders who happen to fill plenty of team needs.
“One of them (Verge) happens to be a guard and the other is a post player,” Randle said. “I always tease them and tell them they’re kind of the surrogate moms of the team. I’ve seen them flourish and they learned how to be great followers first. Now they’re just leading their team and they’ve been very vocal, helping each and every one of them.”
The Buffaloes have also added championship pedigree to their leadership council. Pollard played her first two seasons for Class 6A-champion South and brings a different level of experience.
“She provides us with a magnetic energy,” Randle said. “Very contagious, very inspiring to the other girls in practice. She brings it every day, so that has definitely changed our lineup.”
Jeffrey Lutz
This story was originally published November 22, 2016 at 6:42 PM with the headline "A look at the Southeast Golden Buffaloes basketball teams."