High school basketball preview: Northwest Grizzlies (+video)
Schedule
December – 4, at West; 8, Carroll, 11, Heights; 18, at Kapaun; 19, East.
January – 5, at North; 8, Southeast; 12, at South; 14, 15 or 16, vs. TBA at Koch Arena; 19, West (G); 21-23, at Topeka tournament (B); 25-30, at Mulvane tournament (G); 26, West (B).
February – 2, at Carroll; 5, at Heights; 12, Kapaun; 16, at East; 19, North; 23, at Southeast; 25, South.
Boys
Coach: Bryan Chadwick, second season
Last season: 6-15
Top players
John Short, 6-3, jr., F
Michael Duncan, 6-6, jr., F
Jalen Smith, 6-1, so., G
Dawson Kohlman, 6-2, jr., G
It has been a decade now since Northwest won its last state championship in 2006, which could have been a launching point for the program.
Instead, the Grizzlies weren’t able to maintain that high standard and have spent several of the last 10 years trying to get back to the top of the City League.
In his second season, Chadwick is determined to change that.
“We’re going to play to win and that’s easy to say, but sometimes kid don’t realize what that means,” Chadwick said. “That means we’re going to play the right way and we’re going to be a family and be a team. All of those things are going to help us win and help us create a better culture for them.”
Northwest will still be extremely young, as its core is now juniors and sophomores.
“That’s a good and a bad thing,” Chadwick said. “It means we’re still going to take some bumps and bruises, but it also means they’re going to have a lot of battles. That’s going to pay dividends for us.”
Next season the Grizzlies think they can be special, but they want to see progress this season after posting six wins last season.
“We want to represent a winning high school basketball program,” Chadwick said. “We want to be one of those teams that’s always in the state tournament and competing for a City League title.”
Juniors Short, Duncan, and Kohlman return, as well as sophomore Smith. It’s a group that Chadwick thinks can shoot the three, run the floor, and rebound.
“They really are buying into playing great defense and being vocal and trying to play together,” Chadwick said. “They have that want-to and the desire and that’s something we’re really trying to hone in on this season. They’re doing a great job so far.”
Girls
Coach: Deitric Sanders, second season. 4-17
Last season: 4-17
Top players
Haley Cooper, 5-10, sr., F
Shaunece Grant, 5-6, sr., F
Isabella Soliz, 5-5, jr., G
Cori Carson, 5-6, so., G
Lucy Herter, 5-11, so., F
The positive spin from Sanders’ first season was that a lot of players received experience at the varsity level.
The downside was that it came as a result of an injury-marred season that featured 14 lineups with the Grizzlies winning four games.
“We have a lot of upperclassmen and a lot of experience coming back, so I’m looking forward to them all growing a little more this season,” Sanders said. “Now they understand what it takes to play at the high school level.”
Cooper and Grant are the team’s seniors, while Soliz, Carson, and Herter all return with a wealth of experience from last season.
Cooper (5-foot-10) and Herter (5-11) make up the team’s only height, as Sanders expects the team to transition to a more perimeter-based approach.
“They’re a little bit more athletic this season, so we are going to try to run the floor a little bit,” Sanders said. “We’re going to be a smaller, quicker team, which is good, but it also means we’re going to have to rebound the heck out of the ball.”
Sanders wanted to establish his system last season, but all of the injuries prevented the team from ever finding any semblance of a rhythm. There were halves, even some games, where the Grizzlies played like he envisioned, but never in long stretches.
Northwest plans on finding that groove this season, as long as it can stay away from the injury bug again.
“That’s what we’re hoping,” Sanders said. “I’m excited to see this group continue to mature. We’re going to have to make sure we’re doing all of the little things, like working hard and getting after loose balls, to be successful this season.”
Taylor Eldridge
This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 11:18 AM with the headline "High school basketball preview: Northwest Grizzlies (+video)."