By Dana Harding (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Last season proved to be another successful campaign for Springfield Catholic basketball.
The 15-14 Irish captured a second-straight district title, falling to Father Tolton in the Class 4 sectional round.
Heading into his second season, head coach Jay Osborne has high expectations for the program.
“We are excited about our season,” Osborne said. “We have some quality players in our program. We could be a good shooting team and will be a better scoring team from a year ago. Defense will be a focus and a priority.”
A quartet of returnees will lead the Irish this season in 6-foot-1 senior Rian Mulherin (3.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.1 apg), 5-foot-9 senior Brett Roberson (6.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.1 spg), 6-foot-3 senior Jacob Schultze (7.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.3 spg) and 5-foot-9 sophomore Ryder Rowden (2.7 ppg).
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Varsity newcomers who will compete for playing time this season include junior CJ Kendall, senior Anthony Glendenning, junior Carson Smith, sophomore Miles Elliott, sophomore Ben Mulherin, junior Daniel Hesemann, junior JD Layman and senior Carter Webster.
To be successful, Osborne believes defense will once again play a key role.
“We will need to be as good defensively as we were last season,” Osborne said. “We will have good ball handlers that will share the ball. Roles will be defined early. We had a really good summer and off season. Practices will be competitive with players having to work for their playing time.”
Following a Nov. 16 home jamboree, Catholic opens its season Nov. 27 in the Diamond Tournament.
