By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Webb City is widely known as a football school, but that perception is quickly changing entering Jason Horn’s second season.
The Cardinals won a district championship last year, their second in as many seasons, before losing to eventual Class 4 runner-up Bolivar in Sectionals.
Horn feels like his team played its best basketball late, a testament to the program becoming more acclimated with his system.
“I think our kids adjusted well during the course of the season and showed a lot of improvement from beginning to end,” said Horn. “Early we struggled with our consistency and think that was related to adjusting to a new style of play and it may have cost us a couple of games.
“Ultimately we were playing our best basketball going into the district. This year our players have more of a comfort with what we are trying to do on both sides of the ball. This will let us spend more time on fine tuning which will help our consistency in games.”
Horn will have more than enough to work with this season, returning four starters and seven total lettermen, as well as welcoming newcomers that should have an immediate impact.
Senior Alex Pickett is the team’s returning leader in scoring (12.3 PPG) and rebounding (4.8 RPG). The talented 6-foot-5 forward shot 56 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range.
Classmate Grant Ellis is in the same mold, a long 6-foot-3 wing that can score inside-out (9.9 PPG in 2016-17).
Junior Alex Gaskill also returns after averaging 8.5 points, 4.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals. The 6-foot-2 point guard will be one of the best two-way guards in the COC.
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All three will shoulder an even larger offensive burden with the graduation of Trey Gibson, as well as the loss of standout sophomore Terrell Kabala due to a torn ACL suffered during football season.
Also looking to atone for the loss of Kabala will be senior returners Kyle Nichols and Colton Carpenter.
Nichols is described as the best catch-and-shoot player on the roster. Carpenter is a gritty glue player that thrives on the defensive end.
“Our length, depth and athleticism will be an advantage and could cause some mismatches for us on both sides of the ball,” said Horn. “All of those things give us a variety of options and will help us give our opponents multiple looks on both sides of the ball.”
Also looking to fill the void left by Kabala are newcomers Tevaris Young and Tanner Rogers.
Young is a 6-foot-2 senior transfer that can play and defend 1-4, giving Horn even more versatility.
Rogers is a savvy combo guard that could find minutes backing up Gaskill or playing alongside him.
“Tavaris will be our best on ball defender,” said Horn. “He’s a very long and athletic forward who can step out and shoot the basketball or finish in traffic.
“Tanner is a very intelligent player who will give us added depth at both guard positions. His ability to catch-and-shoot the 3 will help us stretch the defense and open up driving lanes.”
The stars seem to be aligning perfectly for Webb City to make a deep run in March.
Bolivar has been depleted by graduation and the two regional favorites entering the season – Grandview and Hillcrest – both lost D-1 prospects to transfer.
Navigating the COC will again be a challenge, but could offer the perfect preparation for a potential Final Four run.
“I think everyone associated with the program has a great deal of excitement; what a difference a year can make,” said Horn. “Looking back on last season we had a lot of unknowns with a new coach, new system and a roster with little to no varsity experience.
“Now there are a lot of expectations surrounding the season and our coaching staff has to make sure our kids are focused on the process of improving daily and not buy into the outside expectations and take things for granted.”
Webb City will open the 2017-18 season at Lamar on Dec. 5.
