By Chris Parker
There was a bit of a learning curve for Nick Openshaw in his first season as head coach of the Mountain Grove boys basketball team after serving as an assistant prior to his promotion to the top job.
“The biggest challenge of moving over one seat on the bench was dealing with all of the other things that pull you away from the basketball floor,” Openshaw said. “Whether that be the radio shows, booster events, or any other things head coaches are required to take care of during the season. While I do enjoy doing those things, balancing those responsibilities with watching film and preparing for each day did take some time to find a balance. Fortunately, I have a great assistant and look forward to adding a freshman coach this year to help as well.”
The Panthers went 10-16 last season, but look to push that win total much higher this season with a better all around mindset heading into this season.
“The mindset of this program is in a much better place than we were a year ago,” Openshaw said. “We have not had a winning season since 2018-19, but now there is a belief that despite our difficult schedule that we can compete on a nightly basis.”
Bradley Henry returns for his senior season after being named first-team all-conference last season.
“He (Henry) is so unselfish” Openshaw said. “Even on a night when he is scoring a lot, he is trying to find ways to keep his teammates engaged on the offensive side of the basketball. He knows the importance of keeping the people around him feel how important they are to not only our team’s success, but his as well.”
Henry set the tone last year with 17.2 points per game to lead the team. No other Panther averaged more than 8.7 points per game. He also tied for the team lead in assists with 3.1 per game.
“His (Henry’s) ceiling is program-shifting,” Openshaw said. “As I mentioned previously Mountain Grove has not had a winning program in a while and he can lead the shift in the mentality of the program and now he has the ability to help us continue the shift in culture to that of a winning program.”
Classmates Brylon Mayberry, Gatlin Keeling, Payton Shannon and Carson Allen also return for Mountain Grove to give the Panthers a strong senior core to lean on.
Mayberry is the team’s second-leading returning scorer at 7.7 points per game. He led the team in rebounding at 4.1 per game.
“Brylon sees the floor at an incredibly high level on both ends of the floor,” Openshaw said. “He will run the show for us offensively.”
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Keeling will look to expand on his 3.6 ppg while bringing strong defense.
“Gatlin is a great defender who runs the floor well,” Openshaw said.
Shannon led the team with 1.5 made threes per game last season on his way to averaging 5.9 ppg.
“Payton is a streaky shooter who has come a long way on the defensive end,” Openshaw said.
Allen will be looked to for time in the paint.
“Carson is a big body who made his return to the hardwood last year,” Openshaw said. “He works hard on the glass and is a physical presence for us.”
Trace DeVries (senior guard), Sam Peterson (junior forward), Aden Estep (sophomore guard), Detin Unger (junior forward), Cooper Hoerning (junior forward), Brody Emery (freshman guard), Hector Stewart (senior guard), Jackson Wilkerson (senior forward) and Brady Anderson (sophomore forward) could all make varsity impacts this season.
Openshaw on DeVries: “Trace has put in his time on the JV level and will compete for varsity minutes this year.”
Openshaw on Peterson: “Sam is a difficult matchup with his size and ball handling ability. He did a great job on JV and in limited minutes on the varsity last year. We look forward to him making the jump this year.”
Openshaw on Estep: “Aden is a quick guard who will compete for minutes on the varsity this year.”
Openshaw on Unger: “Destin works very hard on the defensive end. He will provide us with minutes defensively this year.”
Openshaw on Hoerning: “Cooper has worked hard this offseason to improve his offensive game. We hope his hard work will result in minutes for him this year.”
Openshaw on Emery: “Brody is a young man who made a great impression this summer with his offensive game. If he is able to show progress on the defensive end he could work his way into minutes at the varsity level.”
Openshaw on Stewart: “Hector is a four-year player in the program who will be working towards minutes this year.”
Openshaw on Wilkerson: “Jackson is a four-year player in the program who will be working towards minutes this year.”
Openshaw on Anderson: “Brady made leaps and strides throughout the offseason with his offensive game. We hope he can take the next step this year.”
Mountain Grove will open the season on Nov. 25 at Van Buren.
“We need to take the next step and close out games,” Openshaw said. “We blew seven fourth quarter leads against winning programs this year. In order for this program to move forward we have to learn to play to win, not play to not lose.”
