By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In the second year with coach John Cherne at the helm, Marshfield’s boys basketball team improved on the court and in the win–loss column last winter with the Blue Jays posting a 15-13 record––their first winning mark since the 2020-21 season.
“I thought as a program we grew quite a bit,” Cherne said. “We had a really good Blue and Gold, took seventh in our division, and we won the Pierce City tournament for the second year in a row. As a program overall and it being my second year, we took big steps towards getting towards the style of play we’re trying to do at Marshfield.”
Known for years for the team’s 2-3 zone defense, Cherne is moving the Blue Jays to a man-to-man system and said it’s been a learning process for the players––keeping the ball in front and adjusting the game plan to different shooters and scorers, with other local teams running a dribble drive offense.
The Blue Jays will feature a really young roster this winter with really only one returning starter from what was a senior-laden squad last season. Gone are graduates like Silas Massey and Jackson Gardner, who both earned postseason honors in the Big 8 Conference, and so is Austin Peay commit Tegen Curley, an all-district, all-conference and all-state player who will play his senior season at a prep school after tallying 956 career points at Marshfield.
“A lot of sophomores and freshmen will get to play,” Cherne said.
The main returner to the starting lineup is junior forward Carson Adams, who averaged 4.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and nearly two assists per game as a sophomore.
“He’s a forward, really not a post player and his guard skills have improved quite a bit,” Cherne said.
Junior Hunter Fryman also brings some starting experience to the lineup; he averaged 3 points and 1.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore and Cherne described him as a “really athletic” guard who should take on a larger offensive and defensive role.
A few other Blue Jays saw the court in varsity action last season but have limited experience. That list includes sophomore Ryker Letterman (2.8 PPG), a shooting guard; junior Leighton Callaway, a “long and athletic” forward; and sophomore Trenton Rosenthal, who Cherne expects will grow into a key player over the course of the season.
Varsity newcomers include 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Silas Schad, sophomore point guard Easton Hyder and freshman Evan Coutchie.
“When I saw we’re going to be young, we’re going to be really, really young,” Cherne said. “As far as what to expect this year, we’re going to continue to keep developing that man-to-man defense and actually we may make some adjustments to build in help on the defensive side.”
“Ryker Letterman is a shooter,” he said. “Hunter Fryman is athletic and he’s fun to watch defensively. We’re expecting him to take on a larger role, and same with Carson. He provides rebounding and stability and leadership on our team. I think him being our starting quarterback helps him. Leighton Callaway played a bunch of JV for us and he’s developing on the defensive side, that’ll be critical in our success. Trenton Rosenthal played some varsity last year and he’s got a motor, offensively and defensively. I look forward to him growing as the year goes on. Silas Schad’s confidence is growing and he can continue to grow. Easton Hyder is another kid who played JV and he’s going to be interesting to watch as he develops as the point guard and see his leadership develop as he distributes the ball. Evan Coutchie will probably get to play and he’s a firecracker who hustles and is a 3-point shooter.”
Marshfield, which hosts a jamboree November 19 with Central and Mansfield, will play as a member of the newly-formed Ozark Mountain Conference this season. The Blue Jays have replaced the Pierce City tournament with the 91st Annual Clever Boys Invitational, which provides some stiff competition in early December.
“Being in that new conference, you’re playing bigger schools,” Cherne said. “Our district is Class 5 and we were in a conference with Class 3 and 4 schools. The style of play is different, pace of play is different. The type of athletes changes.
“Our schedule is toughened up quite a bit,” he said. “Early on with a young group, it may be a little rough but hopefully it pays off down the stretch.”
Cherne is in the midst of his 30th year teaching and coaching high school sports, including in Tennessee and Kansas. He’s got a state title in Kansas and Final Four appearance in Tennessee on his resume, and now he wants to win big in Missouri.
“Every state has its own little quirks but here in southwest Missouri there’s so much dribble drive and funky zone stuff,” he said. “There are some really good tournaments in southwest Missouri and some really good basketball that gets overlooked. It’s guard heavy and that’s what makes it fun and interesting. I may have some young kids step up, and the thing is young kids have a tendency to do that because they don’t know any better. There’s no expectations on them so maybe they might step up and surprise some folks. I think it’s a hard reset for the program considering all the losses we’ve had with player personnel but I’m excited for this group. Because they don’t know much basketball, they’re fun to teach and fun to coach and they show up everyday ready to work.”
