High school basketball preview: Maize Eagles (+video)
Schedule
December – 3, at Valley Center; 8, Arkansas City; 11, Hutchinson, 15, at Derby, 18, Campus.
January – 8, Salina South; 12, at Salina Central; 14, 15 or 16, TBA at Koch Arena; 19, Eisenhower (G); 21-23, at Dodge City tournament (B); 22, Andover Central (G); 26, Eisenhower (B); 28-30, at Topeka Seaman tournament (G); 29, Andover Central (B).
February – 2, Newton; 5, at Hutchinson; 9, Derby; 12, at Campus; 19, at Salina South; 23, Salina Central; 26, at Newton.
Boys
Coach: Chris Grill, seventh season
Last season: 14-9
Top players
Jacob Schultz, 6-5, sr., F
Jared Ledbetter, 6-3, sr., G-F
Drake Spence, 6-6, sr., G-F
Grant Bugbee, 6-2, jr., G
Troy Baker, 6-7, sr., C
With three players between 6-foot-5 and 6-7, Maize has a variety of options both defensively and offensively. Adding to the options is their versatility.
“I think we could work our offense and find a matchup we like and expose that matchup somehow,” Grill said. “I guess it comes down to coaching these guys and finding a way to use it to our advantage.
“Those guys are quick and athletic and can move. I don’t know if we have the quickness we had with the guards last year, but we’re athletic in height and length.”
Schultz handles the ball and passes well, and he also moves well in the lane. Ledbetter isn’t as tall, but he’s a similar player and can shoot from the perimeter.
Spence has guard tendencies, but he has improved his footwork and gotten more aggressive, which Grill said should increase his confidence and output. Baker, who transferred from Mulvane, is more of a traditional center, but he can jump well.
“These guys are tall and athletic, and it allows you the opportunity to have all on the floor at the same time,” Grill said. “Even if you’re up against quicker players, you can play different styles of defense — and they they have to match up with us when we’re on offense.”
Sophomore Dalyn Johnson will likely run the point, which he played at times as a freshman. Grant Bugbee, who got hurt late in the season, is a solid shooter.
Girls
Coach: Jerrod Handy, seventh season
Last season: 24-1
Top players
Taylor Holmes, 5-9, jr., G
Halee Roland, 5-6, sr., G
Brecken Roe, 6-0, jr., G
Caitlyn Stewart, 5-5, jr., G
The Eagles will look a whole lot different from a season ago. Gone are All-Stater Keiryn Swenson and All-Metro selection Daley Handy. Both played all four seasons and led the Eagles to the Class 6A title game two straight years.
Gone also is Brianna Johnson, a junior guard, who has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament tear each of the past two seasons, and is choosing to heal instead of play. And junior guard Jacey Handy will also miss the season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in July.
Jerrod Handy isn’t moping, though.
“We’ll look different, but we still have speed with Taylor Holmes and Caitlyn Stewart, two of the fastest girls I’ve coached. Halee is a good shooter, and Brecken Roe is strong as far as scoring and her defense,” said Handy, whose Eagles have finished in the top four in 6A the past four seasons
“Those first girls know what it’s like, and they have a lot of expectations after playing with the team last year and the year before. Experience-wise, we’ll be good. Depth is a little questionable, at least early.”
Johnson and Jacey Handy were point guards, but Stewart should be able to step into that role, even though she hasn’t played it on varsity.
Maize plans to play fast offensively and should get help from its defense.
“I’m really excited about our defense,” Handy said. “… We’ll be very versatile, like we have been in the past — full-court, half-court, and we’ll play some zone and play some man. I like doing it that way. It creates some situations where the teams have to prepare for us.”
Joanna Chadwick
This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 8:39 AM with the headline "High school basketball preview: Maize Eagles (+video)."