Ethan Baker enters his second season as the head coach of the East Newton boys with a lot to be excited about.
His Patriots lost just one player to graduation from last year’s team that finished 7-20. That player, Coleman Booker, did lead the team in scoring at 11 points per game to go with 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
Two seniors return to lead the way in Dustin McDermott and Caleb Jackson. McDermott averaged 9.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game last season as a junior. Jackson was just behind him at 8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game along with a team-high 3.8 assists.
The junior trio of Davis Turner, Colton Ball and Bryce Cambers are also back. They all averaged between three and seven points per game along with around two rebounds each per game.
Senior Preston Walker along with freshmen Lucas Kimbrough and Connor Killion will also factor into the varsity equation.
The Patriots are a versatile group, which will give Baker a lot of options to choose from when game planning.
“I believe offensive versatility will be our team’s strength this year. We have a lot of kids that are skilled with putting the ball in the basket. It’s my job to find a way to put them in the best position to capitalize on that and thrive,” Baker said. “If we can play with at a high tempo and create more possessions, then I feel it will allow us to take advantage of our shooting ability. Last year we stressed spacing, ball movement, and player movement. That won’t change this year. This year, we just have to refine what we learned last year, and improve upon it.”
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The Big 8 is a tough conference with some physical teams, which is something the Patriots will have to embrace to improve this season.
“Our biggest weakness coming out of last year and this summer is rebounding and defensive toughness. These will be things that get emphasized every day in practice this season. In order for us to succeed as a team, we must improve in these areas,” Baker said.
East Newton returns to Class 3, District 12 this year. It includes conference rivals Lamar, Seneca and Mt. Vernon along with Stockton, El Dorado Springs, Butler and Diamond.
“My expectations are to improve from last year. We return some talented kids that are dedicated,” Baker said. “They’ve been with me for a year now and know the foundation of our system as well as my expectation of them. I’m going to push them past their comfort zone this year because I know that if we put everything we have into this season, we can do great things. I believe we can compete in our conference and district races. With that said, it takes a lot to go from where we were last year to a top contender. So we have our work cut out for us.”
East Newton opens its season on Nov. 21 at Clever.
