2019-20 Whiteoak Wildcats Basketball Preview

The Whiteoak Wildcats have a new coach and nearly an entire new roster as they begin the 2019-20 season, looking to continue their upward swing and rebuild of their boys varsity basketball program.

WHS hired Ryan Barnett this summer after Blake Kibler resigned as the head coach, following two seasons where Kibler led the Wildcats to a 25-24 overall record and a sectional championship.

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Now with Barnett at the helm, he’s taking over a team that has one senior, that being Brayden Yeager. The team also has juniors Josh Hughes, Bradley Ashbaugh, Garrett Miller, Nick Bailey and Nick McCann.

The lone sophomore on the 2019-20 roster is Bryce Bailey, and the freshman class consists of seven players. The freshmen are Landon Barnett, Carson Emery, Luken Roades, Evan DeAtley, Hogan Walker, Logan Bieler and David Kennedy.

Barnett talked about how things have been going for him and his team since he’s taken over as the Wildcats’ head coach, as last season he led the junior high program for Whiteoak.

“It’s been pretty good so far,” Barnett said. “We played Blanchester and then Clermont Northeastern in scrimmages, and they’ve gone pretty well. We’ve been trying to get them to be defensively minded. Shooting’s going to come and go, and every day is a work in progress.”

The style of play for the young Whiteoak team — who finished 12-13 overall last season — is going to include a “run-and-gun” style of offense when the opportunity presents itself. This offense is something the Wildcats have used when they’ve had their best success as a program back in the early 2000s.

“Absolutely, especially when I played a long time ago and when (assistant coach) Joe (Michael) played here,” Barnett said of using the offense. “It’s always kind of been our game because we aren’t blessed with 6-6, 6-8 [players]. We use our speed, so we are going to push the basketball every chance we get. If we have the numbers, we’re going to take advantage of transitions. If not, we’ll back it out and run whatever we have to run.”

The Wildcats graduated nine players from the sectional champion team, meaning those spots needed to be filled, and with just one senior on the roster, some of the underclassmen will be asked to play at a high level early on in their high school career.

Also gone from WHS this year is Hunter Ruckel, who transferred to Peebles for his senior season, and senior Deavin Cumberland, who transferred to Hillsboro. With WHS as a junior, Ruckel was a honorable mention All-Ohio selection in Division IV, averaging 14.7 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game. He also shot 81 percent from the free-throw line.

As for having a young team, Barnett said the following about building the program with youth.

“It can be good and bad. Some of our younger guys — we’re so heavy on our younger guys that some of those guys are going to have to step up and become leaders,” Barnett said. “Also, the one senior we do have, Brayden Yeager, has improved a lot since we started practicing here. He has been working his tail off, so that’s going to show to the younger crowd.

“I’ve been with the incoming freshman class — I coached them seventh and eighth grade in junior high, and I also coached them in elementary.”

High effort is a must this season for the Wildcats, as Barnett and his coaches expect to see that from the players on the roster consistently.

“I want to see them absolutely give 110-percent effort every game, game in and game out, and understand that defense has to be a constant,” Barnett said. “Shooting’s going to come and go, so if we can hold the line defensively, our shots will fall eventually.”

The Wildcats don’t have it easy by learning on the go, as they play in a tough Southern Hills Athletic Conference (SHAC), not to mention they’ll have to gain experience while also playing a strong non-conference schedule, too.

Non-conference games for the Wildcats for the 2019-20 season include: at Piketon, vs. Felicity, vs. Glenwood New Boston, at Northwest, vs. Bethel- Tate, vs. McClain, vs. Georgetown (at NAHS) and vs. East Clinton. The Wildcats will also play a non-conference game against in-conference and county rival Lynchburg-Clay.

“I think this year we’ll be successful. Our first scrimmage was totally different from our second scrimmage. We made adjustments [at our second scrimmage], which was in a positive way,” Barnett said. “I think if we can adjust all season, I think we’ll definitely be above .500 and have a good winning season, as long as we do the little things.

“The SHAC is going to be very, very competitive. Eastern’s tough every year. It doesn’t matter what they have, they’re going to sit down and guard. North Adams is supposed to be picked to win the big school [division] over top of Eastern, and Peebles is going to be very tough. Fairfield’s always tough. It’s going to be a dog fight, really, no matter where you play. I’m just looking forward to the season.”

To get the success the Wildcats want, there are small aspects of their game they want to be solid at, because the small parts of the game can be the difference in a win or a loss.

“Boxing out and rebounding, definitely. Communication on the defensive end and just being a disciplined offense,” Barnett said of the little things he wants to see from his team. “When I say ‘run and gun,’ it’s run and gun when it’s in our favor. We’re not taking the first necessary shot on offense we get.

“I’m really looking for them just to gel together and be very team-oriented. We’re not selfish with the basketball at all. Every coach wants a team that’s not selfish with the basketball, so that’s a good thing. I want to see them make the extra pass, which in the end is going to break the defense down.”
For Whiteoak and their new head coach, it is about bringing pride to the community with success on the basketball court.

“I have a lot of pride in the community,” Barnett said. “I was born and raised here, and a lot of our coaches were born and raised here. Blake did a good job, and I want to continue to build the pride back in the community.

“We’re a small community, and I can remember when we used to fill this place. These kids haven’t really felt the emotions that our community can kind of instill as a player. I want these guys to experience that.”

The Wildcats open the 2019-20 season on Friday, Nov. 30 at Piketon with an 8 p.m. start at the Piketon Classic.