2018-19 Whiteoak Wildcats Basketball Preview
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
It was a new attitude and a new era for the Whiteoak Wildcats last season under first-year head coach Blake Kibler, and what a one-year turnaround it was for the team from Mowrystown. Last year, the Wildcats went from a team that hadn’t had a winning record in four seasons to a team that finished two wins over the .500 mark, with their first winning record since going 12-11 in the 2012-13 season.
This season, with Kibler in his second year at the helm, the Wildcats are not only poised to continue what they began last season, but others have noticed as well as the coaches of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference have predicted the ’Cats to win the Division II portion of the conference. That type of respect going into this season proves the Wildcats made strides last year.
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Finishing 13-11 last season, the Wildcats were 5-8 in games played in the SHAC, giving them a third-place finish in conference play. This year, they will hit the court with not only the conference title prediction from others, but the Wildcats have set the bar higher for themselves and want to prove that the prediction can become a reality.
When asked if the prediction of being the top team in the “small school” division of the SHAC added extra pressure, Kibler said yes, but that it is something he embraces for his team.
“I like having the added expectations, but there will be pressure,” Kibler said. “Last year we were projected to win four to six games, and we won 13, so the bar is higher now. The bar wasn’t as high last year. If we would have won six or seven games, that would have been great, but the bar is set really high for us this year. We are going to keep reminding the kids we aren’t the same team we were two or three years ago.
“What is big for us is last year we were projected for last in the small school, and this year we are projected first, and that speaks volumes about how far we’ve come in the past year as a program.”
Whiteoak will have 15 players on their varsity roster this season, including nine seniors, three juniors and three sophomores.
Seniors for the Wildcats are Traeten Hamilton, Atlee Carr, Zach Rand, Ryan Roberts, Chase Butler, Logan Cummings, Jacob Campbell, James Taylor and Nate Frazer.
Juniors are Hunter Ruckel, Brayden Yeager, Deavin Cumberland, Mason Lehr and Kyler Emery. Sophomores are Josh Hughes and Nick Bailey, and the lone freshman is Bradley Ashbaugh.
“The seniors are good leaders. A lot of kids are involved in FFA, baseball and National Honor Society, so they are a good group of kids and good leaders,” Kibler said. “They will be successful at anything they do after high school and not just on the basketball court.”
Of the players returning to the Wildcats, Hamilton was the second-leading scorer for WHS last season. As a junior one season ago, Hamilton scored 220 points in 22 regular-season games, averaging 10 points per game. His highest-scoring game of the regular season was a 25-point effort, but he totaled 10 games of double-digit scoring within the 22-game regular season.
Also returning are Rand, who averaged 8.5 ppg., and Yeager, who scored points in 13 different games last season, along with Roberts, Butler and Carr.
Another player back on the Whiteoak roster after a one-year absence is Ruckel. Two seasons ago, Ruckel played for the Wildcats, and last season he played for Eastern Brown. While at Eastern Brown during his sophomore season, Ruckel averaged 10 ppg. As a freshman at Whiteoak, Ruckel averaged 8.2 ppg., with 180 points scored in 22 games of the regular season.
“Hunter is a special player. He’s going to do a lot of good things and is very coachable,” Kibler said. “He’s in the gym night-in, night-out working on his game. He shoots 500 shots a day, and he really wants it.
“Traeten Hamilton will have a good year. He is brutally aggressive, real physical and athletic. Zach has really worked on his game this summer, and he’s worked on his outside game. Brayden will be nice in the post, and Atlee did a nice job defensively and he’s working on improving on the offensive end.”
Kibler said not only are the players excited for the upcoming season, but they have great support from the community. With the success of last season, again, the expectations are high for everyone compared to one year ago, which also adds excitement.
“We already have a lot of community support … the community is very excited, the school is booming and a lot of good things are happening at the school,” Kibler said. “A lot of people are looking forward to the basketball season this year.
“The expectations this year are different. The team knows what to expect and what our routine is in practice, and they understand that we aren’t the same team we were two or three years ago. It is a whole different ball game, and they want it. They are hungry. That is the main difference for me.”
Where did that change of culture come from? Part of it was Kibler being in his first season as head coach of his alma mater, but there were also the moments when they won in overtime against a non-conference foe, and even better, winning at the buzzer on homecoming in a game against a conference rival.
“We knew it would take one game, and we were right there in a lot of ball games, but we just could not finish it,” Kibler said. “The breaking point was we beat Bethel-Tate in overtime, and then what really got it for us is when we beat Fayetteville on homecoming at the buzzer. That just sent a message, and it started to build that winning mentality.
“The kids and the coaching staff – everyone was so involved with the community and getting out and trying to get everybody involved. It helps to have some hometown blood. I have a lot of history here, and Coach Knoblauch and a lot of our coaching staff are from here. Everyone was excited, but building winners … it took just one game.”
Now comes the fun part – meeting and even exceeding expectations. To achieve that goal, the Wildcats have changed parts of their game from last season, partly because of new faces in the starting lineup following graduation of top players.
Graduated from last season is Trever Yeager, who averaged 12.6 ppg, 6.7 rebounds per game and 4.1 assists per game and was an honorable mention All-Ohio selection in Division IV.
“Defensively last year, we could play a lot of man and stuff like that, but this year we are going to have to play zones and get more creative on the defensive end,” Kibler said. “On the offensive end, we are a lot stronger. We will be able to put the ball in the hoop, but defensively, it is something we have been working hard on improving.
“Last year, it was we were good defensively, but we couldn’t put the ball in the hoop. This year, it is we can put the ball in the hoop, but we can’t guard as well. We also want to run a little more this year.”
This season, the non-conference schedule consists of games against Felicity-Franklin, Glenwood New Boston, East Clinton, Westfall, Washington, Piketon, Northwest, Bethel-Tate and Portsmouth Notre Dame.
This season, with Kibler in his second year at the helm, the Wildcats are not only poised to continue what they began last season, but others have noticed as well as the coaches of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference have predicted the ’Cats to win the Division II portion of the conference. That type of respect going into this season proves the Wildcats made strides last year.
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Finishing 13-11 last season, the Wildcats were 5-8 in games played in the SHAC, giving them a third-place finish in conference play. This year, they will hit the court with not only the conference title prediction from others, but the Wildcats have set the bar higher for themselves and want to prove that the prediction can become a reality.
When asked if the prediction of being the top team in the “small school” division of the SHAC added extra pressure, Kibler said yes, but that it is something he embraces for his team.
“I like having the added expectations, but there will be pressure,” Kibler said. “Last year we were projected to win four to six games, and we won 13, so the bar is higher now. The bar wasn’t as high last year. If we would have won six or seven games, that would have been great, but the bar is set really high for us this year. We are going to keep reminding the kids we aren’t the same team we were two or three years ago.
“What is big for us is last year we were projected for last in the small school, and this year we are projected first, and that speaks volumes about how far we’ve come in the past year as a program.”
Whiteoak will have 15 players on their varsity roster this season, including nine seniors, three juniors and three sophomores.
Seniors for the Wildcats are Traeten Hamilton, Atlee Carr, Zach Rand, Ryan Roberts, Chase Butler, Logan Cummings, Jacob Campbell, James Taylor and Nate Frazer.
Juniors are Hunter Ruckel, Brayden Yeager, Deavin Cumberland, Mason Lehr and Kyler Emery. Sophomores are Josh Hughes and Nick Bailey, and the lone freshman is Bradley Ashbaugh.
“The seniors are good leaders. A lot of kids are involved in FFA, baseball and National Honor Society, so they are a good group of kids and good leaders,” Kibler said. “They will be successful at anything they do after high school and not just on the basketball court.”
Of the players returning to the Wildcats, Hamilton was the second-leading scorer for WHS last season. As a junior one season ago, Hamilton scored 220 points in 22 regular-season games, averaging 10 points per game. His highest-scoring game of the regular season was a 25-point effort, but he totaled 10 games of double-digit scoring within the 22-game regular season.
Also returning are Rand, who averaged 8.5 ppg., and Yeager, who scored points in 13 different games last season, along with Roberts, Butler and Carr.
Another player back on the Whiteoak roster after a one-year absence is Ruckel. Two seasons ago, Ruckel played for the Wildcats, and last season he played for Eastern Brown. While at Eastern Brown during his sophomore season, Ruckel averaged 10 ppg. As a freshman at Whiteoak, Ruckel averaged 8.2 ppg., with 180 points scored in 22 games of the regular season.
“Hunter is a special player. He’s going to do a lot of good things and is very coachable,” Kibler said. “He’s in the gym night-in, night-out working on his game. He shoots 500 shots a day, and he really wants it.
“Traeten Hamilton will have a good year. He is brutally aggressive, real physical and athletic. Zach has really worked on his game this summer, and he’s worked on his outside game. Brayden will be nice in the post, and Atlee did a nice job defensively and he’s working on improving on the offensive end.”
Kibler said not only are the players excited for the upcoming season, but they have great support from the community. With the success of last season, again, the expectations are high for everyone compared to one year ago, which also adds excitement.
“We already have a lot of community support … the community is very excited, the school is booming and a lot of good things are happening at the school,” Kibler said. “A lot of people are looking forward to the basketball season this year.
“The expectations this year are different. The team knows what to expect and what our routine is in practice, and they understand that we aren’t the same team we were two or three years ago. It is a whole different ball game, and they want it. They are hungry. That is the main difference for me.”
Where did that change of culture come from? Part of it was Kibler being in his first season as head coach of his alma mater, but there were also the moments when they won in overtime against a non-conference foe, and even better, winning at the buzzer on homecoming in a game against a conference rival.
“We knew it would take one game, and we were right there in a lot of ball games, but we just could not finish it,” Kibler said. “The breaking point was we beat Bethel-Tate in overtime, and then what really got it for us is when we beat Fayetteville on homecoming at the buzzer. That just sent a message, and it started to build that winning mentality.
“The kids and the coaching staff – everyone was so involved with the community and getting out and trying to get everybody involved. It helps to have some hometown blood. I have a lot of history here, and Coach Knoblauch and a lot of our coaching staff are from here. Everyone was excited, but building winners … it took just one game.”
Now comes the fun part – meeting and even exceeding expectations. To achieve that goal, the Wildcats have changed parts of their game from last season, partly because of new faces in the starting lineup following graduation of top players.
Graduated from last season is Trever Yeager, who averaged 12.6 ppg, 6.7 rebounds per game and 4.1 assists per game and was an honorable mention All-Ohio selection in Division IV.
“Defensively last year, we could play a lot of man and stuff like that, but this year we are going to have to play zones and get more creative on the defensive end,” Kibler said. “On the offensive end, we are a lot stronger. We will be able to put the ball in the hoop, but defensively, it is something we have been working hard on improving.
“Last year, it was we were good defensively, but we couldn’t put the ball in the hoop. This year, it is we can put the ball in the hoop, but we can’t guard as well. We also want to run a little more this year.”
This season, the non-conference schedule consists of games against Felicity-Franklin, Glenwood New Boston, East Clinton, Westfall, Washington, Piketon, Northwest, Bethel-Tate and Portsmouth Notre Dame.