Chase Howerton enters his second season as head coach of the Crane boys basketball team with the program off to a 2-0 start with wins over Ash Grove and Exeter.
A year of growth has been evident in the early going.
“I think the biggest difference from this time last year to now is our growth,” Howerton said. “We’re another year stronger and have physically matured. Our kids are more comfortable in our system and have a good understanding of expectations and what we’re trying to do to be successful. We bring back four starters from last year that are now juniors that gained really valuable experience as sophomores. We should have some added depth this year that will help us as well.”
Owen Vaught returns after earning second-team all-conference honors as a sophomore. He averaged 8.4 points, 3.1 assists, 2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
“Owen plays extremely hard. He’s always in the gym and has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor. He has grown and physically matured from a year ago and can really defend. He is our leader on the floor,” Howerton said. “Owen will be asked to do a lot of things for us going forward. He is our captain and we expect him to defend at a high level, distribute the basketball, and be a scorer for us every night. We also need him to be our vocal leader as well.”
Kolton Hoffman and Braylon Merritt each earned honorable mention all-conference honors as sophomores.
Hoffman scored 11.1 points per game with 3.3 rebounds.
“Kolton had a good sophomore year,” Howerton said. “He has bought into the weight room and is a lot stronger. Kolton has good footwork and can really shoot it. He’s a very gifted scorer. He has put in a lot of time to become a better defender as well.”
Merritt averaged 7.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
“Braylon has the ability to play inside or out,” Howerton said. “He had a great summer and has also gotten stronger in the weight room. Bray sees the floor well and we expect big things from him this year.”
Andrew Faucett is a fourth returning starter. He averaged 5.3 points and 2.3 assists per game as a junior. Ethan Lower was a sixth-man last season averaging 3.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game as a junior.
Junior Wyatt Mullins along with sophomores Brady Cline, Cameron Chisam and Logan Lantz are newcomers. Freshmen Maddox Vaught, CJ Conrad, Kale Scott and Cooper Brannan could make immediate varsity impacts.
Defense will be a hallmark for Crane this season.
“We want to be physical and defend at a high level,” Howerton said. “We will be outsized pretty much every night. We are going to have to do a really good job rebounding. We need to take care of the basketball, value possessions, and rebound.”
Crane also has a new look on the schedule as a member of the newly formed Greater Ozarks Conference.
“We’re excited to play in this newly formed conference,” Howerton said. “We look forward to the competition that we will face each night.”
Crane continues play in the Pierce City Tournament against East Newton on Dec. 5.
