By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Very few, if any, high school athletic programs made it through their 2020-21 seasons without having to overcome some combination of injuries, illnesses or COVID-19 quarantine protocols.
Few were hit harder — or found them more challenging — than the Willard boys basketball team.
The Tigers finished coach Jeremy Dresslaer’s third season with the program with a 10-16 record, including a 4-5 mark against an ultra-competitive Central Ozark Conference schedule.
Those may seem underwhelming, but they also don’t come close to describing how things actually went for the Tigers. They played just five games with everyone healthy and available, while Dresslaer said there were only four games where their opponents “weren’t at full strength.”
The disparity showed in the standings.
Willard was just 1-12 in games where at least two of its top six players were unavailable, Dresslaer said. When the Tigers had at least five of those six in the lineup, they were 9-4.
With everyone healthy, Dresslaer sees no reason this team can’t compete with the COC’s best.
“We have a senior-heavy group this year which means each game is a little more important than in the years past,” he said. “We have relied on this same core group of players for three years now, so we feel like we are in a good position to have a successful season. We feel like the only ones standing in the way of the Willard Tigers from having a great year are the Willard Tigers.”
After all-time program greats Daniel Abreu and Maurice Grayer graduated in 2020, Dresslaer noted last season presented an opportunity to establish a new brand of Willard basketball. The Tigers laid the groundwork for that identity, he said, particularly toward the end of the season.
“We have not fully accomplished our goal but we are definitely trending in the right direction,” Dresslaer said. “Last year’s main task was getting our players to just be competitive and playing with purpose. We feel like we accomplished that part of our goal as guys really started being competitors. This year, the focus will be on the other aspects of what we are looking for.”
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That means being accountable and bought in for the success of the team, Dresslaer continued.
“Last year was a great start to becoming more competitive and we have only taken the progress from last year and carried it over plus some this year,” he said. “We have guys who are playing for more than just themselves now and that allows a team to overcome greater obstacles.”
Two immediate obstacles are the graduations of Hayden Roberts and Ryan Robinson, the latter of whom was Willard’s top defender. But the Tigers have the depth to overcome the departures.
“I feel that we have 10-12 guys that have the capability to contribute in some facet at the varsity level,” Dresslaer said. “Again, those who earn the playing time will provide the most consistency on the offensive and defensive level. It will be our biggest strength because every day in practice is going to be a battle. So I feel like we are going to be better prepared for the challenges of the season. This will also allow for complacency to not become an issue.”
Five of those key contributors are seniors, including all-district selections Haden Brown and Brett Hall. Trey Pulford, Gavin Davis and Blake Shanks also return for their final season.
“I truly believe that, most of the time, to win in the postseason, you have to have seniors who don’t want their high school careers to end,” Dresslaer said. “I think we have a group of players who are ready to go all-in for their senior year and each game will have much more significance.”
Brown (6-foot-4) averaged 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game during a breakout junior year. He was also named to the all-COC team after increasing those during conference play and should “be one of the best players in southwest Missouri this coming season,” Dresslaer said.
Hall (5-foot-11) had 11.2 points per game and emerged as a leader in his first varsity season.
“He is the engine that makes us go,” Dresslaer said. “When your team leader is also your hardest worker and most competitive player, it just sets up the rest of the program for success.”
Pulford (6-foot-1, 12.9 points per game) “can dominate both sides of the basketball,” Dresslaer added, while Shanks is a versatile 6-foot-1 role player who brings “a ton of intangibles” to Willard.
Davis (6-foot-4) led the team in rebounds despite missing seven games, adding 6.9 points a night.
“Gavin is a long forward who can score from both inside and out,” Dresslaer said. “He is a tremendous rim protector and rebounder. He is our most important player that directly impacts team success.”
Senior Christian Cheah (6-foot) and juniors Logan Crighton (5-foot-11), Braden Bagley (5-foot-11) and Riley Wolf (6-foot-2) will all compete for varsity minutes.
Junior Cooper Wilken (5-foot-7) also transferred from Weaubleau, where he was a two-year starter and earned all-district and all-league honors following an impressive sophomore season. Dresslaer said he’d “have an immediate impact at the varsity level,” bolstering the team’s depth.
“Our biggest challenge is managing all of the players and getting everyone to buy into the team-first mentality as everyone is going to have to sacrifice a little for the betterment of the whole,” the coach added.
Willard will host a November 18 jamboree against Ava, Clever and Glendale, then begins the regular season when Central visits on November 23. The Tigers will also compete in the Willard Basketball Classic, Blue and Gold Tournament and Pittsburg (Kansas) Tournament this winter as they try to secure their first winning season since 2018-19 and first district title since 2018.
“How good do we want to be? This is a question that we have asked this group of seniors for three years now,” Dresslaer said. “It is a question that has not been fully answered. How our season plays out is fully dependent on if (or) when this question gets fully answered.”
