The boys’ basketball team is starting their season strong with three wins against Henryville, Lanesville and West Washington. The team has four seniors leading this season: Jason Beavers, Andrew Kumpf, Trey Rominger and Willson Windhorst. Leading the team are returning captains, junior Fletcher Cole and Rominger, along with Windhorst.
Currently, Rominger and sophomore Dane Padgett are currently injured and as of now, the team is not sure when Padgett will be returning. Although these two are out, they still have had the opportunity to support and lead the team from the sidelines.
“I’ll be able to return around Christmas hopefully. I’m helping the team by telling them what they can do better and cheering them on,” said Rominger.
Cole believes the team has a lot of potential to carry them throughout the season, along with constant improvement in every game.
“We have played well, but not even close to our full potential. We have one of the best teams in the state. We have a great mix of scoring, defense, quickness, size, and strength. We will continue to improve each game this season and will be even better once we get Trey and Dane back. Everyone knows the main goal is to win a Sectional title and even bring home a Regional title which hasn’t been done in a very long time,” said Cole.
Coach Dusty Cole is returning for his 12th year as head coach. Coach Cole has high expectations for the team and expects to bring home a lot of wins this season.
“I don’t know about outside expectations and thoughts, but the expectations of the coaching staff and the guys in the locker room are pretty high. We have a nice mix of talent, work ethic, experience, and leadership. A lot of the players and staff are used to winning. We have created good habits and those habits have led to a habit of winning. Our guys expect to do well! They expect to win! If we can stay healthy, we should be one of the better teams
in the area. It should be a fun season,” said Coach Cole.
Over Winter Break, the team will compete in the Bobcat Classic, an important tournament at North Daviess, in which they will face very tough competition. Beavers is excited to compete in the Bobcat Classic and is sure the team will put in the time and effort to prepare for their competition. The team will compete in their first game of the Bobcat Classic on December 21 facing Evansville Christian.
“Personally, I’m really excited for the Bobcat Classic. It’s a really fun team experience every year and being a part of the Varsity team this year should make it even more exciting,” said Beavers.
Windhorst states that the team is off to a strong start and has good chemistry between each player. He ensures that this will help them prepare for the tournament.
“The Bobcat Classic is filled with very good basketball teams that we have to be prepared for. We are just practicing hard and getting ready for the competition we don’t get very often,” said Windhorst.
