Basketball Preview: McClain Tigers - SCOL
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
For the McClain Tigers, the plan is simple this season … play their style of defense, score more points, and the rest will take care of itself.
Fourth-year head coach Brent Eaton has been building his program piece by piece, learning on the go as the varsity coach of the Tigers. Now, he feels his team is prepared to continue the steady climb of being more competitive this season.
"All we talk about is getting better," Eaton said. "We talk about four things every day ... getting better, knowing who we are and what we stand for, playing to win and having fun. Those are the things we talk about.
"We don't set goals of 'win this' or 'win that.' We feel if we do those four things that we'll have chances to reach our potential."
This Tiger team has had to grow up on the court as well. This team includes six seniors (John Turner, Dylan Trefz, Philip Thompson, Tyler McGuire, Trevor Gossett and Brent Shannon), and that group of players not only will be looked to lead the Tigers this year, but take the next step for a program that hasn't won a South Central Ohio League title in the past few seasons.
Including the seniors, the Tigers will return a total of 11 players (also including Thomas Schrader, Ryan Faulconer, Bryce Duff, Evan Mustard and Jeremiah Savage) from a team that went 6-16 overall last year, ending the season in the sectional final.
Last year, Faulconer was first-team All-SCOL, second-team coaches All-District and third-team Associated Press All-District. Faulconer averaged 11.9 points per game, scoring 263 points. He also totaled 200 rebounds (9.1 rpg), 42 assists and 36 steals.
Schrader totaled 135 rebounds last season, and Mustard followed with 113 rebounds.
"Having so many players back, the biggest thing we've done is moved a few kids around," Eaton said. "Thomas will play more inside, and Brent will play the point more. Ryan and Evan will do what they did last year.
"Those four have really adapted well and are picking up the new things well. Brent is a great leader, and having him at the point makes us strong. Mistakes don't bother him, and he plays through things."
MHS lost just one senior from last year in Trey Lytle.
Thus far for MHS, practices and the offseason have been smoother than in years past.
"The biggest thing for us is my first two years, I had to put seniors into a system, then they graduated, and last year I played a bunch of young kids, so this year, practices have been better," Eaton said. "They get through things so much faster.
"In terms of comparing, we are way ahead of last year."
Eaton said what makes everything so much smoother is he doesn't have to reteach a system, but instead it's a matter of adding details.[[In-content Ad]]
"We are adding fine details," he said. "It's not new concepts, but just taking those concepts and refining them, where last year was about teaching. This year is still about that, but it's about getting better at the little things with each drill."
The Tigers know they must turn some of the close losses into wins this season to improve in the win column. Last season, the Tigers lost seven games by five or fewer points.
"It starts with leadership and kids making plays at the end of games," Eaton said on improving in close games. "It also comes down to coaching and making sure we go over game situations continually, so when we are in those situations, we look like veterans and not newcomers."
Also getting more wins includes a slight change in the style of their game.
"We're going to score more in transition this year," Eaton said. "I'm not calling us an up-tempo team ... last year was more walk it up, but this year, we'll score more in transition.
"Offensively, we've taken our basic offense and evolved. It's more read and react, not pass it here and do this. It's more letting the kids have freedom and decide, but when you have kids back, you can do that. It's fun to watch them play."
Though MHS is having more fun, they are more focused than in recent memory, as Eaton said that starts with his seniors.
"They contribute so much emotionally with their effort," Eaton said. "We've talked about how everyone has their place on the team, and they have to know their place and basically do what they're good at.
"Our seniors have embraced that, and it shows in practice. There is more effort and accountability, and that makes it really fun to come to practice. They are taking ownership."
Fourth-year head coach Brent Eaton has been building his program piece by piece, learning on the go as the varsity coach of the Tigers. Now, he feels his team is prepared to continue the steady climb of being more competitive this season.
"All we talk about is getting better," Eaton said. "We talk about four things every day ... getting better, knowing who we are and what we stand for, playing to win and having fun. Those are the things we talk about.
"We don't set goals of 'win this' or 'win that.' We feel if we do those four things that we'll have chances to reach our potential."
This Tiger team has had to grow up on the court as well. This team includes six seniors (John Turner, Dylan Trefz, Philip Thompson, Tyler McGuire, Trevor Gossett and Brent Shannon), and that group of players not only will be looked to lead the Tigers this year, but take the next step for a program that hasn't won a South Central Ohio League title in the past few seasons.
Including the seniors, the Tigers will return a total of 11 players (also including Thomas Schrader, Ryan Faulconer, Bryce Duff, Evan Mustard and Jeremiah Savage) from a team that went 6-16 overall last year, ending the season in the sectional final.
Last year, Faulconer was first-team All-SCOL, second-team coaches All-District and third-team Associated Press All-District. Faulconer averaged 11.9 points per game, scoring 263 points. He also totaled 200 rebounds (9.1 rpg), 42 assists and 36 steals.
Schrader totaled 135 rebounds last season, and Mustard followed with 113 rebounds.
"Having so many players back, the biggest thing we've done is moved a few kids around," Eaton said. "Thomas will play more inside, and Brent will play the point more. Ryan and Evan will do what they did last year.
"Those four have really adapted well and are picking up the new things well. Brent is a great leader, and having him at the point makes us strong. Mistakes don't bother him, and he plays through things."
MHS lost just one senior from last year in Trey Lytle.
Thus far for MHS, practices and the offseason have been smoother than in years past.
"The biggest thing for us is my first two years, I had to put seniors into a system, then they graduated, and last year I played a bunch of young kids, so this year, practices have been better," Eaton said. "They get through things so much faster.
"In terms of comparing, we are way ahead of last year."
Eaton said what makes everything so much smoother is he doesn't have to reteach a system, but instead it's a matter of adding details.[[In-content Ad]]
"We are adding fine details," he said. "It's not new concepts, but just taking those concepts and refining them, where last year was about teaching. This year is still about that, but it's about getting better at the little things with each drill."
The Tigers know they must turn some of the close losses into wins this season to improve in the win column. Last season, the Tigers lost seven games by five or fewer points.
"It starts with leadership and kids making plays at the end of games," Eaton said on improving in close games. "It also comes down to coaching and making sure we go over game situations continually, so when we are in those situations, we look like veterans and not newcomers."
Also getting more wins includes a slight change in the style of their game.
"We're going to score more in transition this year," Eaton said. "I'm not calling us an up-tempo team ... last year was more walk it up, but this year, we'll score more in transition.
"Offensively, we've taken our basic offense and evolved. It's more read and react, not pass it here and do this. It's more letting the kids have freedom and decide, but when you have kids back, you can do that. It's fun to watch them play."
Though MHS is having more fun, they are more focused than in recent memory, as Eaton said that starts with his seniors.
"They contribute so much emotionally with their effort," Eaton said. "We've talked about how everyone has their place on the team, and they have to know their place and basically do what they're good at.
"Our seniors have embraced that, and it shows in practice. There is more effort and accountability, and that makes it really fun to come to practice. They are taking ownership."