High school basketball preview: Circle Thunderbirds (+video)
Schedule
December – 7-12, Circle tournament; 15, Clearwater; 18, at Andale.
January – 5, Mulvane; 8, Wellington; 12, at Collegiate; 15, Sedgwick; 19, El Dorado (G); 21-23, at El Dorado tournament (B); 22, at Rose Hill (G); 26, El Dorado (B); 28-30, at El Dorado tournament (G); 29, at Rose Hill (B).
February – 5, at Winfield; 12, at Clearwater; 16, Andale; 19, Mulvane; 23, at Wellington; 26, Collegiate.
Boys
Coach: Bo Horyna, third season
Last season: 16-6
Top players
Cal Hartley, 6-0, jr., G
Brendon Horyna, 6-3, sr., G
Cameron Parr, 6-1, sr., G
Cody Eastridge, 6-3, sr., F-G
For the first time in recent years, Circle will not have a true big man returning in the post, having graduated 6-foot-8 Garrett Cannon.
“We’ve got to replace our inside,” Bo Horyna said. “We lost kids that did a lot of dirty work in the middle.”
Still, Horyna is confident that from the two returning starters and newcomers, the Thunderbirds will again contend.
“We’ve got a couple of JV guys who have stepped up,” he said. “We’re not really sure who that’s going to be right now. We have some who played JV last year who are pretty good size.”
Point guard Hartley (an all-league pick last year) and Brendon Horyna (second team) will help the Thunderbirds reload, rather than rebuild, Bo Horyna said.
Hartley (14 points) led Circle in steals, free-throw percentage, three-pointers, two-point field goals and free throws made.
“He can score, and he’s gotten bigger and stronger,” Bo Horyna said. “He doesn’t look a lot bigger and stronger than he was last year, but he is.”
Brendon Horyna (10 points) played especially well on defense.
“If we can find just a few pieces to fill in those spots, gaps from graduation, we should be OK,” Bo Horyna said. “I like what we have coming back.”
Girls
Coach: Brian Henry, 10th season
Last season: 13-9
Top players
Caylie Kifer, 5-3, sr., G
Reagan Wilson, 5-3, sr., G
Emily Dennison, 5-10, sr., F
Kayla Rushing, 5-6, sr., G
Andie Nibarger, 5-7, sr., F
Circle lost four key players from last season, but Henry is enthusiastic over the talent he has returning, including seven letter winners.
Kifer averaged 9.9 points last season and was second-team all-league.
“She was probably our most valuable player last year,” Henry said. “She really spurs on our team. Her athleticism really helps out on defense, which leads to a lot of fast-break opportunities.”
Dennison averaged 5.6 points and 4.9 rebounds and was an honorable-mention all-league. She was solid in the post when senior Leah Metzger was injured, Henry said.
One major reason for Henry’s optimism is that a variety of players got action, giving them valuable varsity experience.
“I think we were able to utilize a deep bench last year (and) a lot of girls got varsity minutes,” he said. “I really feel it’s not going to be a huge dropoff. We’re going to lose some key leadership positions. (Those who graduated) really prepared a lot of girls for this season.”
One newcomer is 5-7 junior Kali Martin, a guard who averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds at Hobart, Okla.
Lionel Tipton
This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 9:36 AM with the headline "High school basketball preview: Circle Thunderbirds (+video)."