Eagles Basketball Team Returns Leading Scorers In Upcoming Season
Eagles Basketball Team… This year’s Holden Eagles basketball team is pictured, front row, left to right, Collin Cooper, Kyler Davidson, Brody Churchill, Daniel Greathouse, Tylar Minor, and Brody Brockhaus; second row, Sawyer Carlton, Trace Reffitt, Destry Powell, Gavin Kitscher, Mikah Heiman, Truman Wamsley, Brody Bockover, and Blake Abel; back row, Cole Thomas, Dylan Cornwell, Paxton Zeikle, Owen Doogs, Phil Schuler, Kolby Hill, Tayvon Redmon, Brayden Taylor, Antonio Alpert Vidal, Evan Killion, Levi Pinson, and Tucker Wamsley. Photo by Steve Edwards
Coming off of a preseason jamboree warm-up at Lutheran (KC) last week, the Holden boys basketball team opens the upcoming season with a home match-up against Sherwood Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Returning two leading scorers from last season provides promise for Holden basketball coach Nathan Martin and this year’s team as the season approaches, and as the team looks to improve upon its overall record of 4-20 posted last year which included a record of 0-10 in MRVC-East play.
“We did good things last year,” says coach Martin prior to the starting point of his seventh season as head coach of the Eagles basketball team. “I know the record does not reflect it, but there were several single digit losses where we competed hard just did not come away with wins. We had guys step up and play big varsity minutes who had played very little varsity before. I’m hoping that experience can carry over to this year.”
Returning varsity players on this season’s roster include Kolby Hill, Brody Bockover, Evan Killion, Gavin Kitscher, and Destry Powell.
Hill and Bockover return as starters and leading scorers from last season with Hill entering his senior season and Bockover entering his junior year with the team.
“I’m hopeful Kolby and Brody can both continue to improve offensively for us,” says coach Martin. “Both led us in scoring last year, Kolby with 14.5 ppg and Brody with 9.5 ppg.”
Killion is coming off of his sophomore season in which he served as a regular starter.
“Evan has come back this year physically stronger,” says coach Martin. “He learned a lot last year. Hopefully, he can help us on both sides of the floor.”
Juniors Kitscher and Powell gained varsity minutes last season coming off the bench.
“Gavin and Destry have put in some work in the offseason,” says coach Martin. “Even though they have not played much varsity, we will be counting on them to play big minutes for us.”
The remainder of the Eagles team’s roster of just under 30 players will look to fill roles played by multiple players gone from last year’s team due to graduation. Those graduated players include Wade VanMeter, Kasyn Tevis, Trace Angell, Rett Hankins, Tyler Barker, Ryan Mantzey, and Carson Agcopra.
“We lost several seniors that had been a big part of the program,” says coach Martin. “Wade VanMeter and Kasyn Tevis both started every game for us last year. Both of those guys were extremely coachable and played really hard. I’m hoping we can replace their leadership.”
The bench coaches beside coach Martin this season feature familiar faces as assistant coaches Trent Pritchard, Aaron Andes, Griffin Keller, and Jeff Smith all retain their assistant duties from last season.
Once the team takes the court this season, coach Martin expects the athleticism and quickness of the players on this year’s squad to signal the trajectory of the team behind the proven scoring potential of Hill and Bockover.
“This year’s team will be a little more athletic as a whole than what we have had in the past,” says coach Martin. “We will be interchangeable with several guys being able to help and play different positions. I’m hoping we can play at a faster pace on both ends of the floor this year.
“Kolby and Brody have both been leaders so far in practice,” continues coach Martin. “They are leading by example, practicing hard and also trying to hold other guys accountable.”
Starting roles outside of the depth chart leaders returning with varsity starting experience from last season are open as competition plays out in preseason practices.
“We don’t have a lineup set yet,” confirms coach Martin. “Like I said earlier, there are several guys that I think can help us this year that do different things for us. This year may be a year we rotate some guys in and out of the lineup based on who we are playing.”
The athleticism and effort of the players on this year’s team looks to set the tone for the season as the team prepares for and enters the season, and as the schedule plays out.
“I’m excited about how hard these guys play,” says coach Martin. “We did good things over the summer, and in our jamboree last week, our guys competed really hard. We only had two practices with all of our guys before we played the jamboree, and the guys did good things competing. I’m hoping the close games we played in last year can help us this year and hopefully turn those into wins.”
As noted, the Holden boys basketball team opens the upcoming season with a home contest against Sherwood Tuesday, Dec. 2. The Holden Lady Eagles basketball team also faces off against Sherwood on the evening. The Lady Eagles JV game against Sherwood begins at 5 p.m. with boys JV, girls varsity, and boys varsity games to follow.
The Holden boys basketball team continues the season on Wednesday, Dec. 3 with a home game against Concordia. The boys JV game begins at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity contest to follow.
