By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Following three-straight seasons with five or fewer wins, Camdenton enjoyed a breakout season in head coach Daniel Eidson’s first season at the helm.
The Lakers finished with a 14-14 record, falling to St. Francis Borgia in the district semifinal round.
“I believe our expectations were exceeded, but not fulfilled,” Eidson said. “We won 14 games, where we had won only 9 games in the three previous seasons combined. We had a senior-led team that was very athletic. Our seniors led the charge in terms of “Buying In” and have set a foundation for our younger guys to build off of.”
With a 10-person graduated class, Eidson will now look to younger players to step into prominent roles for Camdenton this season, including Jackson Basham.
A 5-foot-10 senior guard, Basham represents the school’s lone varsity returnee.
“Jackson has a high basketball IQ that allows him to create and see the floor extremely well,” Eidson said. “Along with his ability to handle the ball in stressful situations, he is a great shooter. We will be looking for Jackson to really take charge of this team.”
A host of varsity newcomers will join Basham in the lineup this season, including 5-foot-11 senior Dylan Kerr, 6-foot-2 senior Brayden Sheppard, 5-foot-9 junior Owen Borbe, 6-foot-3 junior Jonny Semau, 6-foot-4 junior Sterling Sederwall and 5-foot-8 sophomore Krasi Petroz-Diaz.
“The stability I had with 10 seniors is the exact opposite for this year,” Eidson said. “I am anticipating 3-5 seniors this year and then a very large amount of underclassmen that will have an opportunity to prove themselves for the varsity level. We have preached all off season that we are trying to piece together our puzzle, and every single athlete has a chance to be the next fit.”
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With a young and inexperienced lineup, Eidson will turn to his senior leaders to help set the tone in a fast-paced style relying on pressure, pace and poise, according to Eidson.
“We will rely heavily on Jackson Basham and Dylan Kerr’s poise and ability to play through the ups and downs of basketball games,” Eidson said. “We will also rely on everyone else to understand and value their role when they step foot on the floor. We want to be deep on our bench and have the ability to maintain our pressure and pace when we sub someone out.”
Edison believes Camdenton’s fast style of play will also mesh well with a very capable assortment of scorers on the floor at any given time.
“What we may not have in size, we have truly developed in our ability to shoot the ball,” Eidson said. “We have guys that are very capable of having big nights on the boards and we hope that any dips in our shooting percentage contributes to major rises in our offensive rebounds and put back opportunities. Our biggest X-factor is going to be our effort.”
Camdenton tips off the season Nov. 18 in the Vienna Shootout.
