By Chad Plein
Who says you can’t go home again?
Brent Kell returns to the Houston girls bench after retiring from that post three years ago. Kell brings 30-years of experience coaching the Tigers and is taking over a team without any turnover from a year ago. Kell hopes that’s the recipe for Houston to have its first season above .500 since winning a district title in 2016.
“We feel like we are there again if the girls buy-in for what we are doing and winning will take care of itself,” Kell said.
Leading that “buy-in” is a trio of Tigers. Senior Riley Sheets (7.3 ppg) and Jaydin Stell (10.6 ppg) along with junior Hannah Dzurick (12.4 ppg).
“The girls look up to (Sheets) on and off the court as a team leader,” Kell said. “(Stell) was in a leadership role for most of last year. Dzurick was team captain last year as a sophomore a very talented player that her teammates look up to for leadership.”
Along with a coach with a pedigree and strong team leadership Houston has sophomores who have stepped up over the past year; improving themselves for the team.
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“Rhease Manier (forward) has gotten herself in better shape and has worked on her overall game. Olivia Crites (forward) has grown 2-3 inches and has gotten stronger and she has improved her overall game. Makenzie Arthur (guard) has put in a lot of extra gym time in the off-season.”
Another strength for the Tigers will be their bench. With Houston playing a man-to-man defense and up-tempo offense the Tigers depth will be their strength.
Kell expects juniors Jordan Lay and Sarah Purcell to see valuable playing time.
Houston has a deep roster of sophomores this year. Aliyah Walker, Katie Jo Chipps, Karlee Curtis, Mackenzie Bryan, and Maddy Riley are all expected to see playing time for coach Kell.
Kell also expects freshman Angelina Smith to have an immediate impact on Houston.
“We want to get better every day by having competitive practices and we feel like that will help us to be ready to be better prepared in our conference and be peaking for the district tournament,” Kell said.
Houston opens its season in the Fordland Invitational on Nov. 30.
