“Every team we face is going to give us their best shot, which we expect,” Smith said. “We certainly know there’s some other good teams in the league.
“I think we have big expectations. I don’t think we can deny that. We’re not hiding from that. But we also know that it all has to translate onto the court, because nobody’s just gonna lay down for us.”
Two seasons ago, the Cougars went 20-6, shared the CBC Kenton Trail title with Urbana and advanced to a district final. They graduated six seniors from that squad.
Last season, the Cougars went 11-11 with a roster that returned two players with varsity experience. They started 4-6, but came on at the end of the season, winning four of their last six games to finish the regular season 11-10. They nearly upset Oakwood in a district quarterfinal game, falling 66-64.
“I think last year, it exposed them to just the energy and the effort that has to come every night,” Smith said. “I think that’s a wake up call to most kids. They don’t understand the speed and the effort level that the other teams are putting out each and every night, and they’ve even made comments to me that how much more experienced, how much better they feel.”
The Cougars return seniors Xavier White, Caleb Hall and Mason Amato to go with a strong group of nine juniors that includes all-league performers Brennan Shaffer and Trey Johnson.
They hope depth plays a key role in their success this season.
“We really want to play with huge energy and effort, and try to take advantage of our depth, which would allow us to get everybody in quite a bit, and really use that to our advantage,” he said. “That’s the biggest key – make it a challenge for (opponents), that they have to guard everybody on the court and they can’t focus on one or two guys.”
The Cougars (1-0) started the season with a 73-42 victory over Catholic Central. Hall (14 points) and juniors Brody Runkle (13) and Will Rastatter (10) each scored in double figures.
They host undefeated Tecumseh (3-0) in their CBC season opener on Friday. The Cougars also play Greeneview, Carroll and Springfield in non-league games later this month.
“It gets rolling right away,” Smith said. “We kind of front loaded our schedule a little bit more with the way they do tournament seeding.
“We’re going to know real quick what we’re made of.”
About the Author
