After four straight losing seasons, the Wildcats program will look to new coach Matt Yinger — who has coached at virtually every level of the Springfield program and guided the Wildcats to a 12-13 record as interim coach in 2019-2020 — to restore the roar the program had during the previous decade. From 2016 through 2019, the Wildcats won three straight Division I district championships and two Greater Western Ohio Conference division titles.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to playing Wildcat basketball, hanging our hat on defense, flying around with energy, effort and urgency,” Yinger said. “Offensively, we’re going to play loose, fast and free, be unselfish and make the right basketball plays for one another.”
With just one senior on the roster, the Wildcats went 3-20 last season. Ron Long and Yinger served as interim coaches after Shawn McCullough resigned before the season.
The Wildcats first full practice as a team came on Dec. 4 — three days after the season officially began on Dec. 1. The roster includes five returning players from the football roster in seniors Bryce Washington and Markel Wade, juniors Zy’Aire Fletcher and Quenta Wafter, as well as sophomore Sherrod Lay.
“We have to hit the ground running with those guys,” Yinger said. “They did a great job after the state championship game being in the gym on Monday ready to work and I really appreciated that.”
The Wildcats will start the season without sophomores Charles Cunningham and Zayvion Banks due to injury.
Springfield returns senior Cabrae Byrd, as well as sophomores EJ Rice and Dequan Shaw, freshmen CJ Wallace and Immanuel Carey. Wallace is expected to make an “immediate” impact, Yinger said.
The Wildcats will have to be ready to play different styles of basketball in the competitive GWOC, he said.
“You can’t just be an athlete, you have to be a disciplined athlete,” Yinger said. “Some of the league is going to hang their hats on discipline, while some of the league may want to hang their hat on athleticism. We want to be able to play both brands where if we’re stuck in a half-court game, we’re able to grind it out, be disciplined and play the right way in the halfcourt. If the game is up-and-down like we like to play, that’s fine as well.”
Centerville is the likely favorite to win its sixth straight GWOC title, but Yinger expects there to be plenty of parity in the league.
“On any given night, it’s going to be a dogfight,” Yinger said.
The key is prioritizing defense and eliminating turnovers, he said.
“We have to get stops, get out and run, do what we do and set our foundation defensively,” Yinger said. “I really believe that’s what it takes. Last year, I think we were really turnover-prone. We’ve got to clean up turning over the ball, we’ve got to maximize possessions. We talk a lot about if you go down and turn the ball over, you have a zero percent chance of scoring. You’ve got to take care of the basketball.”
Yinger knows success won’t come overnight. The Wildcats have to reestablish a culture of expectations and hard work, he said.
“We’ve got to do a better job of putting in the time and making sure we’re working,” Yinger said. “We’ve got to get back to possessing that ‘no excuse’ mentality. We’re going to keep fighting and keep plugging away. That’s kind of what I’ve been telling these guys in the midst of all these injuries is that it’s next man up. No one is going to feel sorry for us. We’ve got to keep working.”
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