2016 Fairfield Lions Preview: Will the Lions use experience to advantage in pursuit of improvement?
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lions are coming off a season where they played in the sectional final and had 11 wins. They have a total of seven seniors on their roster. The expectations are higher for the Lions in the 2016-17 season, and that is the way they want it.
The Lions will look to a group of seniors that have vast varsity experience, plus three juniors, one sophomore and one freshman, to add to their 11-win total from a season ago, but to also help them in their quest to get back to the district round of the postseason tournament.
Fairfield’s seniors are Mason Cain, Jesse Current, Jensen Daulton, Zach Drabik, Wyatt Evans, Kadyn Lamb and Klay Walker. The juniors include: Tucker Ayres, Quinton Beatty and Cody Gragg.
The lone sophomore is Austin Setty, and the freshman new to the program is James Bentley.
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One plus for the Lions is they have six players who are at least 6 feet tall, and from a team that went 11-13 overall, they did lose their leading scorer from last season in Ethan Putnam, who helped lead the Lions to the sectional finals last season with a last-second 3-pointer against Manchester.
Even with the loss of Putnam, with the experience on the Lions’ roster, head coach Everett Snyder has high expectations for this current group, including winning Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference.
“I have high expectations for the team this year. We have several seniors coming back that have a great deal of experience at the varsity level,” he said. “We’re also adding five players from last year’s junior varsity team that went 20-2.
“Every year, our first goal is to win the small division of the SHAC and make a deep tournament run. If we can put team play as a priority and come together quickly, I think that both of those goals will be attainable.”
One aspect the Lions want to improve on is their defense and rebounding.
“Defense and rebounding are two areas that we need to improve the most. We have to sit down and force teams to take lower percentage shots and then be in position to rebound,” Snyder said. “In order to push the ball offensively, we have to make sure we rebound well, especially on the defensive end. Because of our lack of size, rebounding will be a key to controlling the game and setting the pace of the opposing teams.”
With the high expectations comes the hard work necessary to reach the goals set. For the Lions, that began this past summer, though at times they didn’t have their entire team. This preseason is key for the Lions to see where they stand at the start of this season.
“Summer was hard to evaluate because we often were missing players who were on vacation or had other obligations,” Snyder said. “So far this fall, we are still looking at different combinations of players and evaluating who plays well together and who can help promote our identity.
“With that goal in mind, we don’t always worry as much about winning every quarter of a scrimmage, as we do in evaluating player combinations.”
Three of the players who Fairfield will need to play at a top level are Daulton, Evans and Walker, all being three-year varsity players for the Lions. There are also Current, Lamb and Cain, who saw significant varsity playing time last year and will contribute significantly this year.
“As expected, most teams want to be peaking late season and at tournament time, and that applies to us as well,” Snyder said about the progression he wants to see from his team. “We have several games early in the season that will determine how we finish in the league and set the tone for what kind of season we will have overall. We have to be prepared to win those early season battles and improve as the season progresses.”
As for the SHAC, it will be quite competitive as always, and the Lions want to be in the thick of things this season.
“Peebles and Lynchburg Clay will be the top teams in (Division I), but I can see Eastern Brown improving as the season progresses,” Snyder said. “We, North Adams and Manchester should be battling it out in the small division, but the other teams in the league can possibly be a threat night in and night out.”
The Lions will look to a group of seniors that have vast varsity experience, plus three juniors, one sophomore and one freshman, to add to their 11-win total from a season ago, but to also help them in their quest to get back to the district round of the postseason tournament.
Fairfield’s seniors are Mason Cain, Jesse Current, Jensen Daulton, Zach Drabik, Wyatt Evans, Kadyn Lamb and Klay Walker. The juniors include: Tucker Ayres, Quinton Beatty and Cody Gragg.
The lone sophomore is Austin Setty, and the freshman new to the program is James Bentley.
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One plus for the Lions is they have six players who are at least 6 feet tall, and from a team that went 11-13 overall, they did lose their leading scorer from last season in Ethan Putnam, who helped lead the Lions to the sectional finals last season with a last-second 3-pointer against Manchester.
Even with the loss of Putnam, with the experience on the Lions’ roster, head coach Everett Snyder has high expectations for this current group, including winning Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference.
“I have high expectations for the team this year. We have several seniors coming back that have a great deal of experience at the varsity level,” he said. “We’re also adding five players from last year’s junior varsity team that went 20-2.
“Every year, our first goal is to win the small division of the SHAC and make a deep tournament run. If we can put team play as a priority and come together quickly, I think that both of those goals will be attainable.”
One aspect the Lions want to improve on is their defense and rebounding.
“Defense and rebounding are two areas that we need to improve the most. We have to sit down and force teams to take lower percentage shots and then be in position to rebound,” Snyder said. “In order to push the ball offensively, we have to make sure we rebound well, especially on the defensive end. Because of our lack of size, rebounding will be a key to controlling the game and setting the pace of the opposing teams.”
With the high expectations comes the hard work necessary to reach the goals set. For the Lions, that began this past summer, though at times they didn’t have their entire team. This preseason is key for the Lions to see where they stand at the start of this season.
“Summer was hard to evaluate because we often were missing players who were on vacation or had other obligations,” Snyder said. “So far this fall, we are still looking at different combinations of players and evaluating who plays well together and who can help promote our identity.
“With that goal in mind, we don’t always worry as much about winning every quarter of a scrimmage, as we do in evaluating player combinations.”
Three of the players who Fairfield will need to play at a top level are Daulton, Evans and Walker, all being three-year varsity players for the Lions. There are also Current, Lamb and Cain, who saw significant varsity playing time last year and will contribute significantly this year.
“As expected, most teams want to be peaking late season and at tournament time, and that applies to us as well,” Snyder said about the progression he wants to see from his team. “We have several games early in the season that will determine how we finish in the league and set the tone for what kind of season we will have overall. We have to be prepared to win those early season battles and improve as the season progresses.”
As for the SHAC, it will be quite competitive as always, and the Lions want to be in the thick of things this season.
“Peebles and Lynchburg Clay will be the top teams in (Division I), but I can see Eastern Brown improving as the season progresses,” Snyder said. “We, North Adams and Manchester should be battling it out in the small division, but the other teams in the league can possibly be a threat night in and night out.”