Manchester Blessed With Height, Depth
November 21, 2018 at 5:52 a.m.
Manchester Blessed With Height, Depth
By Dale [email protected]
And that’s a lot.
The Manchester Squires’ third-year boys basketball coach, who coached the Lady Squires for a number of years, has a 10-man varsity roster that features five players at 6-foot-3 or taller.
Senior Brayden Casper and juniors Austin Underwood and Kreeden Krull are all 6-3.
Senior Logan Parrett is 6-4.
Senior Konrad Borgmann is 6-7.
The Squires were 12-10 overall and 7-3 in the Three Rivers Conference standings last season.
Manchester got off to an 0-5 start, but won eight of their last 11 games.
Blessed with height and experience – which includes three returning starters – the Squires appear primed for a big season.
“I’m very excited about this year. I think that we have more depth at the varsity level than we’ve had the last two years, and we definitely have more size as well,” said Underwood.
“It’s a situation this year where I’ve got 10 guys on the varsity roster and I would not be afraid to use any of them in the game.”
Manchester graduated just two players from last year’s squad – Mason Hamby, who averaged a team-high 15.5 points to go along with 5.5 rebounds, and Koehl Fluke, who was second in scoring at 12 points per game.
Returning starters include sophomore Weston Hamby (11 ppg, 4 apg), Casper (10 ppg, 6 rpg) and senior Kamdyn Lester (6 ppg, 5 rpg).
The rest of the varsity roster includes juniors Thane Creager and Caleb Stout, and sophomore Max Carter.
“We’re adjusting some of the things we’re doing this year. I’ve never been a coach that tried to make my players fit my offense. I’ve always tried to use an offense that’s gonna fit my players,” said Underwood.
“With the height and the size, and some players that are capable of doing some things inside, we’ve made some adjustments this year.
“We have a nice mix. We have four seniors, four juniors and two sophomores. I really like what I’m seeing this year as far as team chemistry so far. These guys really seem to like each other and get along well. I think whenever you have that, because it’s a team game, it creates more possibility for success.”
Manchester opens the season Saturday with a trip to Oak Hill, the defending Class 2A state champion.
The Squires follow that up with their home opener against Wawasee on Nov. 30, and then a trip to Class 4A DeKalb on Dec. 7, followed by a home game with Lighthouse CPA on Dec. 8.
Manchester opens TRC play by hosting Southwood on Dec. 14.
“I hope we fit in at the top, and that of course is our goal,” Underwood said when asked about the conference teams.
“It’ll play out, and it’ll be tough. I think there’s going to be a lot of good teams. I know this sounds really cliché, but most teams in the TRC could beat us, probably all the teams in the TRC could beat us, and I think we could beat all the teams in the TRC. It’s a matter of who steps up and gets the job done.
“I think Wabash has a really nice team returning. I think Peru is gonna be right up there at the top. And then you have Southwood and Maconaquah. Rochester will be much-improved. Tippy Valley will be much-improved. I think it’s going to be a dog fight. For me to say, ‘hey, this is the team to beat,’ I think that would be unrealistic and I don’t think anybody is gonna be able to say that. It’s gonna come down to who gets the job done.”
And that’s a lot.
The Manchester Squires’ third-year boys basketball coach, who coached the Lady Squires for a number of years, has a 10-man varsity roster that features five players at 6-foot-3 or taller.
Senior Brayden Casper and juniors Austin Underwood and Kreeden Krull are all 6-3.
Senior Logan Parrett is 6-4.
Senior Konrad Borgmann is 6-7.
The Squires were 12-10 overall and 7-3 in the Three Rivers Conference standings last season.
Manchester got off to an 0-5 start, but won eight of their last 11 games.
Blessed with height and experience – which includes three returning starters – the Squires appear primed for a big season.
“I’m very excited about this year. I think that we have more depth at the varsity level than we’ve had the last two years, and we definitely have more size as well,” said Underwood.
“It’s a situation this year where I’ve got 10 guys on the varsity roster and I would not be afraid to use any of them in the game.”
Manchester graduated just two players from last year’s squad – Mason Hamby, who averaged a team-high 15.5 points to go along with 5.5 rebounds, and Koehl Fluke, who was second in scoring at 12 points per game.
Returning starters include sophomore Weston Hamby (11 ppg, 4 apg), Casper (10 ppg, 6 rpg) and senior Kamdyn Lester (6 ppg, 5 rpg).
The rest of the varsity roster includes juniors Thane Creager and Caleb Stout, and sophomore Max Carter.
“We’re adjusting some of the things we’re doing this year. I’ve never been a coach that tried to make my players fit my offense. I’ve always tried to use an offense that’s gonna fit my players,” said Underwood.
“With the height and the size, and some players that are capable of doing some things inside, we’ve made some adjustments this year.
“We have a nice mix. We have four seniors, four juniors and two sophomores. I really like what I’m seeing this year as far as team chemistry so far. These guys really seem to like each other and get along well. I think whenever you have that, because it’s a team game, it creates more possibility for success.”
Manchester opens the season Saturday with a trip to Oak Hill, the defending Class 2A state champion.
The Squires follow that up with their home opener against Wawasee on Nov. 30, and then a trip to Class 4A DeKalb on Dec. 7, followed by a home game with Lighthouse CPA on Dec. 8.
Manchester opens TRC play by hosting Southwood on Dec. 14.
“I hope we fit in at the top, and that of course is our goal,” Underwood said when asked about the conference teams.
“It’ll play out, and it’ll be tough. I think there’s going to be a lot of good teams. I know this sounds really cliché, but most teams in the TRC could beat us, probably all the teams in the TRC could beat us, and I think we could beat all the teams in the TRC. It’s a matter of who steps up and gets the job done.
“I think Wabash has a really nice team returning. I think Peru is gonna be right up there at the top. And then you have Southwood and Maconaquah. Rochester will be much-improved. Tippy Valley will be much-improved. I think it’s going to be a dog fight. For me to say, ‘hey, this is the team to beat,’ I think that would be unrealistic and I don’t think anybody is gonna be able to say that. It’s gonna come down to who gets the job done.”
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