By Tyler Thompson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Fordland Eagles boys basketball program soared to a 16-12 record last season.
The team advanced to the Class 2 District 9 semifinals, falling just shy of an appearance in the title tilt.
This season, head coach Brett Rippee enters his third season at the helm, and the Eagles look to rebound from losing two vital court generals from last year: Jake Farnsworth (first team all-conference, approximately 1,600 career points) and Hunter Burks (first team all-conference).
Burks is the program’s all-time leading scorer (1,942 points) and Farnsworth currently is suiting up at College of the Ozarks.
“We lost [key] seniors, so we will be a pretty young team,” Rippee said. “We are losing a lot of our scoring. We are going to have some rough nights. We tried to keep the schedule relatively competitive, but I would not be surprised if we had three freshmen play a lot of varsity ball.”
Those freshmen include: Logan Swanson, Cameron Crowe, and Logan Owens.
The team returns two seniors from last year — Joe Hart and Logan Fox.
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“We are going to be in some tough spots, but I think we are going to play hard,” added Rippee. “We are a little more scrappy, and I actually think we will play harder than the past couple of years, if you can believe that. I think we will [have] a little more [of a] parking-lot team than we had in the past. I think we will need [that], since we will have some struggles, some tough nights.”
Hart looks to be the primary ball-handler.
“He is a senior guard,” Rippee said. “He will handle the ball a lot for us. He’s a pretty good player.”
Hart averaged 13 points per game last season and looks to expand his offensive skills with another offseason under his belt and with the two primary scorers gone from last year.
“He was, probably, my third-best player last year,” added Rippee.
Hart, though, is far from being a one-dimensional talent.
Added Rippee: “He is my best defensive player. What he brings back to us is pretty important. You couldn’t ask for a better senior to show the freshmen how to practice, what hard work is. We are pretty fortunate to have him. I am pretty excited to see him be the guy, so to speak.”
While Farnsworth and Burks are no longer running the hardwood, their presence is felt by the legacies they left behind: both offensively and defensively.
Something in which Hart and the younger players can, well, take to heart.
“One of the things they can take away is we can score. I think we run a high-efficient offense. But when you have players of that caliber, I think it gives them (current team) a little confidence going forward,” Rippee said. “I think we are going to hang our hat on the defensive side of the ball for a little bit. I am not the only one who knows Hart is our best player.”
As for the 6’3” Fox, his presence in the post will be vital.
“He is an athletic post player,” Rippee said of Fox. “He is a high motor guy, very athletic. Works hard in practice and will play a lot for us, with his experience and athleticism.”
Skyler Jacobson — a 6’0” junior who averaged six points per game — came into his own toward the end of last season from the perimeter and looks to contribute even more this winter.
Jacobson hit 40 percent from the arc last season and finished with 56 percent from the field.
Said Rippee: “He is a really strong, athletic guard. He can shoot it pretty well. He is super intense at practice. This is a good group to be around.”
Buster Brown is the other returning junior who figures into the equation.
“He has really worked hard to be a varsity contributor,” Rippee said.
Junior Grant Holiday eyes a larger varsity role this season.
The Eagles will not participate in a preseason jamboree.
The season opener is slated for Nov. 26 at Hurley.
