By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Marshfield finished with a 16-11 record last season, doubling its win total from the previous campaign.
Head coach Adam Carpenter, set to enter his fourth year with the Blue Jays, believes his team is ready to build on that success.
“We finished last year at 16-11 and ended the season on an overtime loss in the district finals,” Carpenter said. “We were close to being a really good team at the end of last year and expect to pick up right where we left off.”
A quartet of graduates move on from the program in Trey Summers, Blake Anderson, Landon Wilson and Hayden Curley.
“Each of those four brought something different to our team and we are looking forward to seeing which of our newcomers can fill those roles for us,” Carpenter said.
Marshfield will be led by a pair of all-district and all-conference honorees this season in Peyton McBride and Zack Mings.
McBride, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 13.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and connected on 66 3-point attempts last season.
“Peyton is one of the best catch-and-shoot players in this area, is a great athlete and teammate, and was 1 or 2 in every category for us last year,” Carpenter said. “He can do some impressive things on both ends of the floor. He’s a great leader and we expect to see him pick up right where he left off.”
A 6-foot-4 guard, Mings averaged 13.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists for the Blue Jays last season.
“Zack is one of the hardest working players I’ve been around,” Carpenter said. “He was 1 or 2 in every category for us last as a sophomore and has spent an impressive amount of time developing his game. He expects to be one of the better players in this area, and we are excited to watch him compete.”
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Marshfield also returns a pair of 6-foot-3 seniors Owen Curley and Isaac Brown, and 6-foot-5 junior Bryant Bull to its roster.
Varsity newcomers include Tegan Curley (FR), Luke Cochran (JR), Luke Gardner (SR), Joe Harles (JR), Andrew Beckner (JR), Jackson Gardner (SO) and Merrick Dennis (SO).
“Players know our culture on and off the floor, they know our system and after some difficult losses last season they know what it’s like to lose close games to some really good teams,” Carpenter said. “We were right on the edge of being pretty good last year, and we expect to take that jump this season. We will continue to put our focus into what we believe wins championship caliber games.”
Defensively, Carpenter hopes to continue limiting fast-break opportunities for opposing squads and taking away easy baskets.
“We take pride in being one of the best transition defensive teams in the area,” Carpenter said. “In the halfcourt we focus on taking away the paint, contesting every shot and limiting teams to one shot. We aren’t overly flashy on the defensive end but we believe that forcing teams to grind it out in the half court and not allowing them to play fast in transition has been beneficial to us.”
On offense, the Blue Jays will focus on getting layups and inside-out 3-pointers.
“Offensively we want to get to the rim or find shooters when we draw help,” Carpenter said. “This will be the first year we don’t have a true big, so we plan to play a bit faster offensively.”
For Marshfield to continue its upward trend, Carpenter believes mental confidence will be a big factor for a team with all the necessary components to compete on a nightly basis.
“We have good length, decent athletes, great leaders and good role players,” Carpenter said. “Our guys have a chance to compete at a high level this year. Our main area to build on is simply the mentality of higher expectations and belief in ourselves.”
Following a Nov. 16 home jamboree with Fair Grove and Springfield Central, Marshfield tips off its season Nov. 23 at home against Conway.
