By Chris Parker
Clever boys basketball has a new head coach in Sean Price this season. He has previous head coaching experience at Miller and Billings. Price inherits a program that has won seven total games in the past two seasons.
“Clever has a rich history of successful basketball,” Price said. “Clever is a community that takes pride in its athletics and has an administration team in place that supports athletics. It is a coaching job with a lot of potential.”
Brayden Verch (senior guard), Lane Mendenhall (senior forward) and Lucas Peebles (sophomore guard) are all returners for Clever.
Price on Verch: “Brayden is a guy that brings a lot of varsity playing experience for us. He is someone that will be asked to play the point guard position and get us into our offense. Brayden will be asked to become a better overall defender and become a more vocal leader for us.”
Price on Mendenhall: “Lane is a guy that will bring toughness to our team and someone that can stretch the floor with his ability to knock down open shots. Lane will be asked to be more defensive minded and be a great defensive rebounder for us.”
Price on Peebles: “Lucas saw the floor a lot last year as a ninth grader. He is a guard who can handle the ball well and create his own shot. He continues to work on being a consistent shooter. Lucas is a guy we can depend on to always play hard and do anything we ask of him. I am looking forward to watching him take a big step in his development this season. Lucas will be asked to be a great defender, but also someone that can put the ball in the basket.”
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Senior Tyler Brown along with juniors Kalib Butts, Landon Flood and Xavier Robinson were newcomers identified by Price.
Price on Brown: “Tyler is a player that has gotten better each day. His best attribute is that he can shoot the basketball. Tyler will be asked to focus much more on defense and rebounding for us this year. He is a good athlete that has the ability to help us win games.”
Price on Butts: “Kalib is a hard worker and will do anything to help his team be successful. Kalib will be a good defender and rebounder for our team. We look for Kalib to continue to be a vocal leader for us on and off the court.”
Price on Flood: “Landon is a tough, hard-nosed basketball player. He is someone that can get to the basket and score and is continuing to work for consistency in his outside shot. Landon can be a guy that can guard the other team’s best player and be a really good rebounder for us. I expect Landon to take on a leadership role on this team vocally and through his effort.”
Price on Robinson: “Xavier is a great athlete. He is someone that can get to the rim and score. I am looking forward to watching Xavier grow on the defensive end of the floor and be someone we can trust to guard at a high level. Xavier will be asked to have a big role for us if we expect to be successful this year.”
Clever will hang its hat on the defensive end of the floor.
“Our strength this season will be our defense and our toughness,” Price said. “For us to be successful, we have to guard and rebound at a high level and be able to overcome things that don’t go our way.”
Turning around a program coming off a three-win season two years ago and a four-win season last year will require a new mindset.
“Our team needs to improve on our mindset towards the game,” Price said. “Learning what it takes each day to be successful and finding the guys that are willing to buy in and do whatever it takes to win games.”
Clever opens the regular season on Nov. 21 at home against East Newton.
“A successful season for us will be to see progress every day in what we are trying to do,” Price said. “Our program hasn’t won many games the past two seasons, so for us it’s not about winning and losing at this point, it is about doing the things on a daily basis that give us a chance to compete.”
