NORTH MANCHESTER - Second-year Manchester High School boys basketball coach Aaron Cripe describes his team as "tall and athletic for a small school."
Cripe believes his team has players that can score. It's the defensive end of the floor he wants to improve upon the most from last year's 2-19 record, which included an 0-7 mark in the Three Rivers Conference."Our biggest goal is working on defense," said Cripe, whose team's only wins last year came in the regular season against Wabash and Lakeland Christian Academy.
"We gave up too many points," he continued. "We have to play every possession. We can't take plays off. I think we have guys who can score. We really want to focus on the defensive end. We gave up too many points last year."
The Squires, who are looking for their first winning season since going 12-10 in the 2001-2002 campaign, scored 48 points per game last year while giving up 71.
This year's varsity roster includes seniors Scott Baker, Aric Howard, Austin Flack, Trae Bruce and Joey Spann; juniors Derek Self, Connor McLaughlin, Caleb Thomas and Logan Brunn; and sophomores Neil Underwood and Jim Sainsbury.
McLaughlin is out with a wrist injury, and Cripe said the team would miss his outside shooting.
The 6-foot-4 Baker, who signed a Division I letter of intent to play baseball at Ball State University, is Manchester's leading returner after scoring nearly 12 points per game last year.
Cripe said scoring and leadership out of Brunn, Flack and Howard.
"I'm looking for those guys to be leaders on and off the court," said Cripe.
The Squires open the season Wednesday at Mississinewa. Manchester is looking for its first season-opening win since a 63-54 victory over Mississinewa in 2006.
The Squires have had a year to grow in Cripe's system, and the young head coach says the team is more relaxed than it was at this time last year.
"The guys are more relaxed," said Cripe. "They understand what we're looking for, and we don't have to spend as much time learning things. We're able to do a lot more drills. We've gotten a lot more done this time around."
Following Wednesday's game, Manchester plays at Oak Hill Saturday and hosts a high-scoring Wawasee team Dec. 7.
The Squires open conference play Dec. 17 by hosting Southwood.
"We're tall and athletic for a small school," said Cripe. "Being strong inside and finishing will be a big key for us. Rebounding will be a big key for us. We're hoping to get to the free throw line a lot."
