By Chris Parker
New Covenant boys basketball returns four starters and a sixth man from last season, which has the Warrior looking to stack more wins this year.
They will look to the leadership of a pair of seniors in Noah Dawley and Brady Hesemann.
“Noah Dawley and Brady Hesemann will be our main leaders this season,” New Covenant head coach Ryan Worley said. “Both have played in our program for four seasons as well as being returning starters from last season. They have experience and model the way’s that we want to go about our business, both on and off the court, on a daily basis.”
Dawley is a guard and Hesemann is a forward.
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Junior forward/guard Nathan Altena and sophomores Jackson McRoberts (forward/guard) and Isaiah Tessmer (forward) give New Covenant three more returning players to lean on.
Worley on Altena: “Nathan has been a two-year starter for us and has continued to expand his game. He is a very good shooter but has added new elements to his game and has become a well-rounded scorer for us.”
Worley on McRoberts: “Jackson is a good athlete that can score in bunches. He has a much better understanding of our offensive and defensive schemes going into his second season which is to be expected. He was a starter for us last season as a freshman.”
Worley on Tessmer: “Isaiah had a very good freshman season for us as our sixth man. He is a very good rebounder and provides us with some toughness in the paint both offensively and on defense. He has worked hard on getting stronger this summer as well as developing the skills to step out on the perimeter.”
Junior guard Jared Jackson will have a varsity impact as well. He was a transfer last year who was limited to playing only junior varsity.
“He has had a very good summer for us and has become much more comfortable in his understanding of our system,” Worley said. “He brings toughness to this group and is a great teammate that can shot the ball from three for us. I am looking forward to seeing Jared develop a role for us at the varsity level this season.”
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New Covenant will pride itself on shooting, but must improve rebounding to have success.
“We have worked hard this off-season on our shooting and we have some guys who shot the ball very well for us last season. I hope we are able to continue that into this season,” Worley said. “We will have to do a better job on the boards. It will take a collective effort and focus to improve on our rebounding, but it is something we will emphasize on day one of our practices. Rebounding is something our guys have acknowledge as an area that will require some improvement for us going into this season.”
New Covenant will travel to Conway on Nov. 16 for a jamboree with the host Bears and Halfway. The Warriors open the regular season on Nov. 19 at Spokane.
“Our guys have invested a lot of time into basketball this summer and anytime you invest in something you have high expectations for a successful return,” Worley said. “With that being said, it’s really not something we talk about as a team. This group has been good at putting their focus toward the day to day work while controlling the things that they can control on a daily basis.”
