By Chris Parker
School of the Ozarks boys basketball will have to replace some key graduated players from last season’s 17-9 team.
“I think unity will be our best feature. We will have to play together to be successful. We lost a lot of varsity talent from last year’s 17-9 team,” School of the Ozarks head coach Jerry Martin said. “We graduated three of the best senior leaders I have ever coached.”
This year’s leadership core will be seniors Si Martin and Scott Carswell along with junior Isaac Hampsch.
Coach Martin on Si Martin: “A strong physical guard that is scrappy and likes to get in the lane. He’ll bring max effort, rebounding and scoring.”
Coach Martin on Carswell: “Great athlete who runs the floor and will be a top rebounder for us with the loss of Graham Wilhoit.”
Coach Martin on Hampsch: “Played a lot of minutes off the bench, will be a primary ball handler and shooter. He has a high basketball IQ and is one of our hardest workers in season and out of season for sure.”
Canaan Thomas also returns with a high motor and is a strong rebounder. Braden Sparks and Oliver Mutrux will provide depth at the guard position.
“We have to handle the ball pressure we face,” Coach Martin said. “We lost three or four guards from last season and our top two rebounders.”
School of the Ozarks opens the regular season on Nov. 22 at home against Humansville.
“With so many newcomers expecting to get a lot of minutes, I’d want to see continuous improvement every week so we are playing our best at year’s end,” Martin said. “The other thing will be guys finding and fitting into new roles, which will be significant.”
