Preview: Valley Upbeat About 2020-21 Possibilities
December 3, 2020 at 12:11 a.m.
Preview: Valley Upbeat About 2020-21 Possibilities
By Steve Krah-
The Vikings had three freshmen and four sophomores in their rotation and went 14-9 overall and 3-6 in the Three Rivers Conference against formidable competition. Sixteen Valley opponents won nine or more games.
The Vikings were in many tight contests in 2019-20. Thirteen of 23 were decided by 10 points or less, including 2-6 in the TRC. Valley went 1-1 in overtime games.
“We should be good this year,” says fourth-year Vikings head coach Chad Patrick. “We were very young last year and won nine games with a tough schedule. This year, we’re bigger and stronger.”
Graduation took shooting guard Tanner Trippiedi from that team. Returnees include sophomore point guard Paul Leasure (13.7 points per game in 2019-20), junior center Dawson Perkins (6.9), sophomore shooting guard Nolan Cumberland (5.8), junior swingman Braden Shepherd (5.7), junior swingman Rex Kirchenstein (4.5), junior center D.J. Estep (2.5) and sophomore point guard Brendyn Stump (1.7).
Perkins (7.2) and Cumberland (3.3) are the top returning rebounders. The best 3-point makers coming back are Leasure (53), Shepherd (24) and Kirchenstein (13).
Leasure and Stump are point guards.
The 12-man varsity mix also includes lone senior Chase Miller plus junior Landon Walters and sophomores Dylan Nease, Cooper Walls and Dom Welk.
Patrick says he will often put four guards on the floor at the same time.
Look for Valley to run when the game allows.
“We’re going to push the ball up the floor,” says Patrick. “On defense, we have really good athletes who are strong. If we can stay out of foul trouble we’ll be playing man-to-man and will mix it up with zone and trap.”
COVID-19 issues have interrupted Valley practices and delayed the start of the season. The lid is now to be lifted Tuesday, Dec. 1 against Argos at Rita Price-Simpson Court.
This is Chad Patrick’s 23rd season in the program. He was an assistant to father Bill Patrick for 19 campaigns (1998-99 to 2016-17).
Bill Patrick earned 765 wins in 48 years as a head coach. Only Bloomington South’s J.R. Holmes (836 in 50 years), Lawrence North’s Jack Keefer (820 in 48) and Loogootee’s Jack Butcher (806 in 45) won more.
Perkins has spent much time working on his game under the direction of Bill Patrick, still a member of the Valley coaching staff as varsity assistant at 83.
“He’s one of the most athletic kids I’ve seen,” Chad Patrick of 6-foot-7 Perkins.
Others alongside the Patricks on the Vikings bench will be varsity assistant Nick Kindig, junior varsity coach B.J. Walls and C-team coach Brandon Webster.
While the coronavirus prevented a normal summer practice schedule (the Vikings usually play several games in June), Patrick says players kept as sharp as possible by working on their own and were able to have instrasquad games in July.
Though there were many days this month when Patrick did not have enough available players for a full varsity scrimmage, he went into pre-Thanksgiving practice with 12.
Warsaw was to be Valley’s season-opening opponent in the Tiger Den Nov. 25. No makeup date has been set for that game. Instead, the Vikings went head to head against Argos at home on Tuesday night, losing a close one, 54-48.
The Vikings had three freshmen and four sophomores in their rotation and went 14-9 overall and 3-6 in the Three Rivers Conference against formidable competition. Sixteen Valley opponents won nine or more games.
The Vikings were in many tight contests in 2019-20. Thirteen of 23 were decided by 10 points or less, including 2-6 in the TRC. Valley went 1-1 in overtime games.
“We should be good this year,” says fourth-year Vikings head coach Chad Patrick. “We were very young last year and won nine games with a tough schedule. This year, we’re bigger and stronger.”
Graduation took shooting guard Tanner Trippiedi from that team. Returnees include sophomore point guard Paul Leasure (13.7 points per game in 2019-20), junior center Dawson Perkins (6.9), sophomore shooting guard Nolan Cumberland (5.8), junior swingman Braden Shepherd (5.7), junior swingman Rex Kirchenstein (4.5), junior center D.J. Estep (2.5) and sophomore point guard Brendyn Stump (1.7).
Perkins (7.2) and Cumberland (3.3) are the top returning rebounders. The best 3-point makers coming back are Leasure (53), Shepherd (24) and Kirchenstein (13).
Leasure and Stump are point guards.
The 12-man varsity mix also includes lone senior Chase Miller plus junior Landon Walters and sophomores Dylan Nease, Cooper Walls and Dom Welk.
Patrick says he will often put four guards on the floor at the same time.
Look for Valley to run when the game allows.
“We’re going to push the ball up the floor,” says Patrick. “On defense, we have really good athletes who are strong. If we can stay out of foul trouble we’ll be playing man-to-man and will mix it up with zone and trap.”
COVID-19 issues have interrupted Valley practices and delayed the start of the season. The lid is now to be lifted Tuesday, Dec. 1 against Argos at Rita Price-Simpson Court.
This is Chad Patrick’s 23rd season in the program. He was an assistant to father Bill Patrick for 19 campaigns (1998-99 to 2016-17).
Bill Patrick earned 765 wins in 48 years as a head coach. Only Bloomington South’s J.R. Holmes (836 in 50 years), Lawrence North’s Jack Keefer (820 in 48) and Loogootee’s Jack Butcher (806 in 45) won more.
Perkins has spent much time working on his game under the direction of Bill Patrick, still a member of the Valley coaching staff as varsity assistant at 83.
“He’s one of the most athletic kids I’ve seen,” Chad Patrick of 6-foot-7 Perkins.
Others alongside the Patricks on the Vikings bench will be varsity assistant Nick Kindig, junior varsity coach B.J. Walls and C-team coach Brandon Webster.
While the coronavirus prevented a normal summer practice schedule (the Vikings usually play several games in June), Patrick says players kept as sharp as possible by working on their own and were able to have instrasquad games in July.
Though there were many days this month when Patrick did not have enough available players for a full varsity scrimmage, he went into pre-Thanksgiving practice with 12.
Warsaw was to be Valley’s season-opening opponent in the Tiger Den Nov. 25. No makeup date has been set for that game. Instead, the Vikings went head to head against Argos at home on Tuesday night, losing a close one, 54-48.
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