A look at the Andover Trojans basketball teams
SCHEDULE
December – 2, Maize; 6, at Andale; 9, at Eisenhower; 16, Valley Center; 20, McPherson.
January – 3, at Andover Central; 6, Maize South; 10, at Ark City; 14, TBA at Koch Arena; 19-21, Salina tournament; 31, at Goddard.
February – 3, at Salina South; 7, Eisenhower; 10, Ark City; 14, Andover Central; 17, at Valley Center; 21, at Maize South; 24, Goddard.
BOYS
Coach: Chad Wilmott, fifth season, 50-37
Last season: 9-12
Top players
Chase Oberg, 6-3, sr., G
Jacob Herrs, 6-2, sr., F
Nathan Hammar, 6-2, sr., F
Nick Kellerman, 6-4, sr., F
Andover has nine seniors on its varsity team, which is by far the most Wilmott has ever kept in his five seasons.
“It’s pretty much unheard of,” Wilmott said. “We have a lot of experience coming back and a lot of those guys have two years of varsity experience.”
The Trojans lost six games by single-digits last season, a record Wilmott thinks will even itself out this season with more experience.
“Hopefully we can take those experiences and lessons learned from last season and apply that to this year,” Wilmott said. “We’re hoping some of those close games will end up in the win column this season.”
Andover doesn’t have the towering posts it has had in the past to effectively run Wilmott’s preferred high-low offense.
Oberg (6-foot-3), Herrs (6-2), Hammar (6-2), and Kellerman (6-4) all are long and athletic. Jacob Wilson, Travis Lenz, Michael Bell, Will Valentas, and Andrew Gagnon will also contribute off the bench.
“We’re not big, but we’re long,” Wilmott said. “We are going to do a few things differently this year and make sure we take advantage of that.”
GIRLS
Coach: Clint Cornelsen, first season
Last season: 3-18
Top players
Shanti Henry, 5-7, so., G
Isabelle Reynolds, 6-0, jr., F
Kylee Gaddis, 5-6, so., G
Hayley Jones, 5-6, jr., G
Kaitlyn Seabrook, 6-0, sr., F
Not only did Andover suffer its first losing record in six years, but it finished with just three wins.
Cornelsen injects new life into the program and the Trojans return the majority of their experience from last season. They’re hoping that translates into wins this season.
“You can’t just snap your fingers and expect to win,” Cornelsen said. “You have to put in the work and the effort and that’s what these girls have done. These girls are hungry to improve on that record and get Andover back to a winning record.”
Henry is an explosive guard who averaged eight points as a freshman and is the team’s leading returning scorer. Gaddis is another reliable option on the wing and Reynolds brings athleticism in the post.
Jones and Audrey Wolf will play major minutes, while Hannah Showalter and Shannon Young will play key roles as reserves.
“We want to speed things up a little compared to what we’ve done in the past,” Cornelsen said. “We want to get out and run and not make mistakes turning the ball over. We want the ball to be going forward, not backward.”
Taylor Eldridge
This story was originally published November 29, 2016 at 2:46 PM with the headline "A look at the Andover Trojans basketball teams."