By Chris Parker
Niangua boys basketball will be a young team this year looking to get things moving the right direction in Kalem Copling’s fifth season.
Senior guard Danny O’Neal is the leading returning player. He has been a starter for three years and was named honorable mention all-conference last year. He averaged 8.2 points and 2.3 assists per game.
“He will be looking to bring his experience and toughness each night to help a young team,” Copling said.
Fellow senior Dakotah Datherow returns at forward where he has started for two years. He averaged 5.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last year.
“He has been a really hard worker and we need him to bring that to each practice and game,” Copling said.
Sophomore guards Brayden Johnston and Andon Hamilton have shown off-season improvement. Johnston was just behind O’Neal in scoring last year at 7.3 points per game.
CLICK HERE FOR ALL OF THE WINTER SPORTS PREVIEWS
“Brayden has shown a lot of improvement over this off-season. He’s starting to understand the game better and how to utilize his speed and shooting ability,” Copling said. “Andon will be looked to become a slasher and knock down the occasional shot from outside. He has good length and has improved defensively.”
Senior Hunter Humbard also returns looking to add some physicality to the team.
Niangua will have a large group of freshmen expected to contribute this year including: Ethan Scheetz (guard), Clayton Henderson (forward), Evan Kochs (forward), Hunter Cantrell (forward) and Ross Stuber (guard).
“They are great team-first players and love to utilize their teammates on the floor,” Copling said. “Ethan has terrific vision on the floor and has a knack for passing his teammates open. He has spent a lot of this off-season working on his shooting and foot work. Clayton can shoot it from outside and also has the ability to get in the lane and finish through contact. Evan spent this off-season working on his skills and that has given him a lot more confidence out on the floor. Evan is really long and will look to alter shots as he gets more comfortable in his body. Hunter is the biggest kid on the team and he will need to play big. He has good touch around the basket and will provide an inside presence we are lacking in. Ross is the ultimate team guy. What he brings to the team doesn’t always show up in the stat book. He will be looked to be a defensive presence when he is on the floor.”
How quickly these freshmen develop will determine a lot of the success for Niangua this year.
“As you can see we will be a very young team. We expect to have some ups and downs this year, but we want to show improvement every game,” Copling said. “We want to use all five guys in the offense and work together as a team on defense. We aren’t an overly big team, so we will often be outsized most games. So we will have to play smart and take advantage when we can.”
Niangua opens the season on Nov. 20 at Galena.
“This is a fun group to coach. They love to play hard and to be unselfish. This is my fifth year at Niangua and this is one of the most competitive teams I’ve had the pleasure of coaching in practice,” Copling said. “I’m hoping that we can bring that every day and that will help us as the season progresses.”
