By Chris Parker
Herimitage has a new head coach in Zachary Sutt this season. He served as an assistant for the past two seasons.
“After serving as the assistant coach the past two seasons at Hermitage, when the opportunity to take the program came about I couldn’t pass it up,” Sutt said. “We have a good group of returning players, and paired with our newcomers, I am excited for the upcoming season. This group did a great job competing this summer and really bought in to looking at every day as another opportunity to get themselves and the guys around them better. I look forward to getting things started and expect us to compete every night and put together a great year.”
Cash Turner returns after earning first-team all-conference honors last season. He averaged 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
“Cash is a great leader for us on both ends of the floor. He is a hardworking kid who brings a lot of talent to the table. He sees the floor very well offensively and does a great job getting the guys around him involved,” Sutt said. “I look for Cash to have a strong senior campaign. We will look for him to set the tone for us and bring great energy day in and day out.”
Fellow senior Jaxon Wheeler returns after averaging 10.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
“Jaxon had a solid junior campaign as he earned a spot on the all-conference defensive team,” Sutt said. “He provides this team with athleticism and is a talented player. We will look for him to continue to improve and step into more of a leadership role this year.”
Logun Whittle (senior), Ashton Sawyer (sophomore), Justin Weathers (sophomore) and Devin Lancaster (junior) also return.
Sutt on Whittle: “I am excited to have Logun back as a senior, and I believe he has a big upside. We hope he continues to work hard and grows into a larger role for us this year.”
Sutt on Sawyer: “Ashton provides us with a strong basketball mind and look for him to take a big step forward this year.”
Sutt on Weathers: “Justin is a very athletic kid. He is an exciting young player who can bring a spark to our group this year.”
Sutt on Lancaster: “Devin provides us with great size. We will look for him to keep improving his skill set and hope he can be a valuable player for us this year.”
The sophomore group of Joel Earwood, Kraig Ballerstein and Holten Madden all had strong off-seasons and are showing promise.
Newcomers include Levi George (junior), Jacen Wheeler (freshman), Dusty Jones (freshman), and Trayce DeCavelle (freshman).
“They (the newcomers) are an athletic group of guys who could all find themselves in a role for us this year if they come in, compete, and keep improving,” Sutt said.
Sutt is looking for his players to be ‘stars in their roles’.
“We hope to put an athletic group on the floor every night and hope to bring an exciting and tough nosed brand of basketball to Hermitage. We talked a lot in the summer about finding what you do well and being a star in your role. I think the kids really bought into that and are excited to get things started,” Sutt said. “As comes with a new coach, the kids will have to adjust to tweaks and changes in the system. Kids will have to bring a great energy every day and buy into competing and working hard to set the tone for the new season.”
Hermitage opens the season on Nov. 25 at home against Montrose.
“Above all else, I want to see a team that goes out every night and competes,” Sutt said. “We want to build a strong culture that prioritizes competing and controlling the things we can control. These kids had strong offseason and are excited to get back to work and keep building and improving.”
