By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Entering his ninth year in charge of the Ozark boys basketball program, head coach Mark Schweitzer has developed the Tigers into one of the region’s most consistently strong teams.
The Tigers have won at least 18 games in a season six times and played in five district championship games under Schweitzer, including back-to-back trips in 2020 and 2021.
What might be most impressive about that accomplishment is that they’ve done it all with only one NCAA Division II player — Southwest Baptist’s Quinn Nelson — in Schweitzer’s tenure, routinely being a tough opponent for teams with future Division I players in their lineups.
Last season alone, they were one of just two teams to take Class 6 state champion Kickapoo to overtime, beat Class 5 runner-up Bolivar and suffered a four-point loss to Greenwood.
“We have continually competed with teams that have had more ‘talent’ than us,” Schweitzer said. “I think that is a testament to our kids’ willingness to be unselfish and play as a team. Our kids are expected to play hard and play together and I believe they have done that.”
To make it three straight trips to a district title game, the Tigers must replace all-conference and all-district selection Blaine Cline and Kyle Flavin, who are both playing at College of the Ozarks, and fellow Class of 2021 graduates Cannon Cox, Owen Brockman, Jaylen Weston and Jacob Wofford. Avery Voysey, another key contributor, has transferred to Strafford for his senior year.
Those seven players accounted for about 57 percent of Ozark’s total scoring from last season, with Cline (16.5 points per game), Flavin (8.9) and Voysey (6.2) representing 46 percent alone.
“I’m not worried about the turnover,” Schweitzer said. “Our kids are used to it and we’ve been pretty competitive. Obviously when you have younger guys that can step in, they need to.”
Seniors Ethan Whatley and Tyler Harmon are examples of players who did just that, earning all-conference and all-district selections during their junior seasons. Whatley (13.7 points, 4 rebounds per game) and Harmon (10.5, 4.6) are Ozark’s top returning scorers and rebounders.
“Ethan has averaged double figures for us the past two seasons,” Schweitzer said. “He moves well without the ball, has a high basketball IQ and plays hard. He’s an excellent player and will have the opportunity to play college ball somewhere after this season.”
Harmon will also have the chance to continue his career at the next level, Schweitzer said.
“He’s our catalyst,” the coach added. “The kid plays hard all the time and flat out competes. He has looked really good this summer and fall and I think (he) will have a huge senior season.”
Whatley and Harmon provide a 1-2 punch to a group that finished 19-9 last year, including 7-2 in the Central Ozark Conference. The Tigers lost to COC champion Nixa in the district title game.
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“I think what will make our team the best it can be this year is both of these guys embracing the newcomers around them,” Schweitzer said. “They don’t have to do everything and our opponents have to guard all five guys on the floor for us. I’m excited to watch them lead our team.”
Schweitzer is also excited about fellow senior Greydon Miller, an athletic 6-foot-5 shooter who appeared in 13 varsity games last season and is poised for a much larger role this winter.
“He will be a matchup nightmare for our opponents,” Schweitzer said. “I really look for him to explode on the scene this year and — if he does what he’s capable of — (he) will also have the option to play some college ball somewhere. Kids his size that can shoot like him are not walking around all over the place.”
Classmates Colton Ballard, Jace Easley, Devyn Wright, Kannon Little, Nash Rodebush and Bryson Weatherford will all either return to or join the varsity squad, giving Ozark nine seniors.
“It’s just part of being at a large school like this that the varsity level is dominated by the senior class,” Schweitzer said. “Some of them will only get this one year on the varsity level but so far our kids in that situation have made the most of their one year and our team plays extremely hard as a result. I have every bit of confidence in this group of seniors and their supporting cast to make our school and community proud.”
But as Whatley and Harmon showed, it’s not impossible for a talented underclassman to earn time in the varsity rotation. Jace Whatley, a 6-foot-5 sophomore who is Ethan’s younger brother, appears to be next in line.
“We expect him to step into the varsity level and be a key contributor right from the start,” Schweitzer said. “He got some experience on the varsity floor last year but a late-season injury limited the time that he would have gotten down the stretch. He will have a coming out party this year.”
Juniors Garrett Ballard and Ethan Sutherland round out a very deep roster.
“We have 12 guys that I have mentioned that I feel very confident in when I put them in the game,” Schweitzer said. “We will share the ball and play hard. Teams will need to guard all of our kids which hopefully allows us to take advantage with different mismatches on different nights.”
Night one is November 16, when Ozark visits Hillcrest for a jamboree with the Hornets and Mansfield. The Tigers open the regular season a week later at home against Capital City High and will host Branson for their COC opener on January 11.
The Tigers will also compete in the Republic Invitational, Blue Springs Tournament, Blue and Gold Tournament and the Central Bank Shootout at Helias Catholic.
“Our goals are the same as they are every year,” Schweitzer said. “We expect to compete for conference and district championships. I think if we can win 17 to 20 games with the schedule we’ve put together for this team, that will be a great accomplishment. I also really want this group to have a great season. These seniors are great kids and I really have enjoyed them. I want them to have the best experience they can as a team.”
