By Chris Parker
Niangua boys basketball is a team on the rise. After winning just eight games over five seasons, the Cardinals have won 21 games over the past two seasons winning 10 games two seasons ago and 11 last season.
That number could go up this year behind a trio of returning players including senior guard Brayden Johnston and junior guards Clayton Henderson and Ethan Scheetz.
Johnston is a strong leader averaged 8.8 points per game last season.
“Brayden has always been a great leader with his attitude and how hard he plays each and every game,” said Niangua head coach Kalem Copling said. “Brayden loves doing his best to defend the other team’s best player.”
Henderson earned first-team all-conference honors as a sophomore after he put up 12.9 points per game.
“Clayton spends a lot of his time in the gym, He has spent most of it working on his scoring ability on all three levels,” Copling said.
Scheetz was named second-team all-conference as a sophomore. He scored 11.3 points per game to go with 6 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.
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Juniors Evan Kochs, Hunter Cantrell and Ross Stuber along with sophomore Kaleb Crouch also return for Niangua.
Copling on Kochs: “Evan keeps improving year after year. Evan led the team last year with 2.2 blocks and 7.5 rebounds per game. He has gotten stronger this summer and we will look to him to have a bigger impact offensively this year.”
Copling on Cantrell: “Hunter is our big man inside. He does a lot of the dirty work inside because of his size. We will look for Hunter to be that anchor down low and be a physical presence.”
Copling on Stuber: “Ross is our do whatever is needed player. He can play inside or outside, he can play with or without the ball and just makes us better overall with his unselfishness.”
Copling on Crouch: “Kaleb did not play for us last year but spent the summer playing and we loved his speed and willingness to learn the game.”
This group of players has put in a lot of time together on the court, which has built up a strong chemistry for the team.
“I think our ability to play as a team will be our biggest strength,” Copling said. “Over the years they have been building up their team chemistry and are starting to understand how to put each other in position to be successful. We have a high ability to play off the dribble and are improving at playing off the ball. We will look to run in transition more and get easier scores from our defense.”
Niangua opens the season on Nov. 18 at home against Seymour.
“I want to go out and compete every night. I want them to compete in every possession,” Copling said. “I think this will get us ready for bigger games and moments that come with a varsity season. We want to be the hardest workers in the gym and respect our opponents and the game we love to play.”
