The Nevada boys will have one of the biggest holes to fill of any team in the area in replacing All-State selection Clay Gayman. Gayman, who is now playing for Abilene Christian, averaged 21.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game for the Tigers who finished 21-5 last season.
“You don’t truly replace a player like Clay, and for sure not with one guy. He was truly and an ‘all-time program great’,” head coach Shaun Gray said. “We have several guys that will share the workload left behind. The biggest gap will be his defensive presence and rim protection. We will have to be great at help rotation and at containing penetration.”
Gray will not look for just one player to replace Gayman’s leadership either.
“We will lead as a whole. We like the Boston Celtics system of leadership where all members share ownership, young and old,” Gray said. “I do think that Carter Swearingen and Matt Thompson are two seniors that will be key in getting the whole on board with our system.”
Thompson was the team’s second-leading scorer last season averaging 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game in his junior season. Swearingen was the team’s primary point guard last year as a junior posting a line of 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists per game.
Clay Gayman’s younger brother Dalton, who stands at six-foot-six, 210-pounds, will be a physical presence in his junior season. He will look to improve on his 8 points and 4 rebounds per game this season.
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Sophomore Logan Applegate played in 24 varsity games last year. He scored six points per game.
Juniors Noah Cheaney and Matt Thorp and sophomores Kayden Denney, Logan McNeley, and Lane McNeley will be new players that will see varsity action this year.
This group of players will give Gray many offensive options.
“Our ability to score in a variety of ways with balance and with a lot of shooters should make us a high scoring team,” Gray said. “We will also have versatility on the defensive end with a lot of length and speed.”
Nevada also has a new conference as the Tigers move into the Big 8 this season.
“It will give some unfamiliarity, but we are glad to play the conference slate later in the year so we should have plenty of time for scouting,” Gray said. “We are glad to be in the Big 8 and think it is a good and competitive fit for us.”
The Tigers will look to compete for the conference title in the Big 8 West right away.
“We feel like we can again compete for a conference and district title if we come together as a young team and play as one unit,” Gray said.
Nevada opens the season at the Carthage Invitational from Nov. 26 through Dec. 1.
