By Jordan Burton
Thayer Basketball and Matt Pitts have been a match made in heaven over the last decade – six district championships, three SCA titles and a final four run in 10 seasons for Pitts at the helm of Bobcat Basketball.
But, on paper this could be Thayer’s biggest rebuild in Pitts’ tenure.
The Bobcats lose four of their five starters and five of their top six scorers, including all-state guard Ayden Henry.
Henry poured in 1,444 points over the last three seasons and the Bobcats racked up a 70-20 record in that time. Henry, Braydon Pender, Zach Horton, Will Tillman and Tucker Hargrove were part of an eight-man class that had one of the most successful runs in program history.
“Those guys were very special and will be missed,” said Pitts. “Each of those guys brought a unique skill set to the table and when put together that allowed us to have a great run but we have some guys in this group that can play too, so we aren’t planning on going away.”
Leading a crop of youngsters will be senior guard Zyman Langley.
Langley led the team in assists last year (4.8 apg) but is also a capable scorer (9.2 ppg) and defender (1.5 spg).
Much like in football where he quarterbacked a Thayer team that lost several big names from last year, Langley will be expected to provide leadership to this group and shoulder more of the scoring load.
“I have no doubt that Zyman is capable of shouldering anything that we put on him,” said Pitts. “He is a three-year starter at the point and has continued to improve each season. We will have enough guys that can play around him that he won’t have to be Superman but just be Zyman and that will be a handful for opponents. He is a great competitor and a great kid he is a blast to coach and I will take him on my team any day.”
Senior Clay Williams and junior Jalen Andrews will step into larger roles after seeing some varsity minutes last year.
Another player to keep an eye on is sophomore Ayden Stone.
Much like Henry, Stone found minutes last season as a freshman, but Pitts is expecting the 6-foot-5 sophomore to be a headache for opposing coaches every time he steps on the floor.
“I have no question that Ayden will have a good year,” said Pitts. “His skill set at his size makes him a huge match up problem. He can play inside-out, which is rare for a young kid with his size. On the defensive side his length around the rim really helps our team defense and this summer he really worked on being more aggressive on the glass. He plays all phases of the game well and loves to play. He will be fun to watch.”
Stone is one of several emerging JV kids from last year that will find major varsity roles this year.
Senior Dakota Poulette and juniors Dagen Jones, Jordan Miller and Jett Haven helped lead Thayer’s JV team to a perfect season last year, suggesting that an anticipated rebuild could just be a reload.
“Our JV was undefeated last season and has a chance to be special if everyone can accept their role and work to maximize their potential,” said Pitts. “They play really well together and when Zyman is thrown in there we become very skilled and talented. We played a very tough schedule this summer and these guys really adjusted quickly and even though it was only summer basketball I saw a lot to be excited about.”
Thayer will also receive some guard depth in the form of senior move-in Kobe Meyer.
Meyer helped Hartville win a state championship last year and will be a lockdown defender for Pitts immediately. Meyer also plays with a high basketball IQ. His dad – Cecil Meyer – is a longtime Ozarks basketball coach and the new girls coach at Thayer.
The big question is just where Thayer fits in the race for conference and district championships.
There will be no easy games in the SCA and with the addition of several big-name coaches at Houston (Rod Gorman), MV-BT/Liberty (Yancey Walker) and Ava (Mike Mallow) – that’s in addition to Mountain Grove returning several key pieces from last year’s Final Four team.
The biggest revelation entering this season is how district breakdowns will alter Thayer’s path to Columbia.
Previously the Bobcats would go east, avoiding the majority of the Ozarks and playing with teams from the bootheel. But, under the new system, should Thayer win its district they would see the Class 2 – District 4 winner in Sections.
That district houses defending Class 2 state champion Hartville, as well as talented teams Mansfield, Sparta and Seymour.
After back-to-back Sectional losses to teams that would ultimately advance to the Final Four – coming by a combined eight points – Pitts and company are hoping to make a return trip to Columbia this spring.
They continue to feed off of the memory from last year’s buzzer-beating loss.
“Those losses are very tough,” said Pitts. “We work our tails off to get there and to fall in two very close games yes it’s hard to stomach, but our guys played their hearts out it just wasn’t our time. We will continue to set our goals high and strive to reach them and with those goals being achievable really keeps us hungry.”
