By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Mark Schweitzer is the elder statesman of the COC, entering Year 11 at Ozark where he has been a model of consistency. The Tigers have won between 16 and 21 games in eight of his first 10 years, including a district championship in 2020.
And with three talented starters back in the mix, this has the chance to be yet another fruitful year for Ozark with senior All-COC mainstay Jace Whatley leading the group.
The 6-foot-5 forward averaged 13.5 points and seven rebounds as a junior.
“Jace has been great for us the previous two seasons,” said Schweitzer. “Jace’s game is still more of an inside strength so I don’t see us using him differently but I do think he will be more efficient this year. With Cohen and Jace on the floor, our opponent will have to choose which one to put their best post defender on and we will have the ability to pick and choose the matchups we like inside.”
Juniors Hudson Roberts and Cohen George are also back and have emerged into one of the top 2025 duos in Missouri.
Roberts is a three-level scoring machine, averaging 16.1 points while shooting 42 percent from 3 and 81 percent from the foul line. George is a 6-foot-10 big who is on several Division One radars after averaging 6.2 points, six rebounds and 1.7 blocks.
Both will be matchup nightmares for the next two seasons.
“Hudson exceeded expectations as a sophomore,” said Schweitzer. “With our motion system, we rely on kids to share the ball and we try to have a balanced attack offensively. Hudson quickly emerged as our “go-to” guy last season. He put together the best scoring season of an underclassman in my 16 years at Ozark. Hudson has extreme confidence in his abilities and does not back down from a challenge. Hudson wants to be great at everything he does and just has that “it” factor. He has a chance to be one of Ozark’s finest to come through when it is all said and done.
“Cohen has gained some strength this off season. He still needs to add more but he’s much more athletic on the court and it gets better each week. I think the biggest challenge for Cohen is to get out of the “role player” mindset and become “a dude”. Cohen can shoot it, is an excellent assist man for a big, and can really impact the game. I look for him to continue to get better and for us to be really good this year he needs to become “a dude”. He’s a college player with his skill set and size and I am here for it when his light bulb comes on and he oozes confidence in his abilities.”
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While he has one of the best returning cores in the Ozarks, Schweitzer is extremely excited about the pieces that will be surrounding them.
Seniors Jake Garner and Ryan Engel both bring back starting experience. Both can be glue players, with the ability to defend multiple positions and make perimeter jumpers.
Classmate Phin Scott is also expected to take on a larger role this winter, especially with so many scoring options back for the Tigers. Scott is a guard that has a knack for finding teammates in scoring positions.
“Phin Scott had an exceptional summer showcasing his ability to distribute the ball to his teammates and is expected to do just that,” said Schweitzer. “Phin has excellent vision and puts his teammates in position to score. We expect him to be a part of our main rotation as well.”
A quartet of juniors who were successful on the JV-level as sophomores are also expected to see time.
• Jack Berryman – “A combo guard that is very strong and has range. He has the ability to spread the floor with his shooting and can handle the ball.”
• Manny Stover – “A combo guard that has a scoring mentality. He can help give us another perimeter scoring option opposite Hudson.”
• Taygen Scott – “A 6’3 forward that runs the floor, rebounds hard, posts up well, and can knock down perimeter shots. He will help provide depth in the paint for us.”
• Sam Clark – “An all-around athlete. He has excellent leaping ability that helps him play bigger than his 6’0 frame. He will be counted on for depth and perimeter defense.”
Freshman Kylan Pickren is also competing for rotational minutes, with his ability to score from all over the floor being an asset for Ozark.
The Tigers are coming off of just a 12-15 season, but the expectations are hardly minimal. With the talent and depth this team has – coupled with them winning eight of their last 11 games before a 57-55 season-ending loss to rival Nixa, this is an Ozark team that feels like they can play with anyone in the state.
This year, they’ll look to prove that and compete for conference and district titles.
“We ended the season last year on a very high note, becoming the team we thought we could be,” said Schweitzer. “We need to continue to build off that. We are a motion team, so kids are expected to make the correct basketball decisions. Our decision making will be critical for us to reach our potential. This team has a lot of length, so we need to get better defensively and use that length. I also think this team needs to continue in its growth of handling toughness mentally and physically. Those will be our early season points of emphasis so we can become the best versions of ourselves come playoff time.”
Ozark will host Hillcrest, Sparta and Mansfield in a jamboree before opening the 2023-24 regular season at the Republic Tournament on Nov. 30.
