Kimball boys record 7-14 season

The 2015-16 basketball season for the Kimball High boys was a losing season as far as wins and losses go, but it will be remembered also as a season of aggressive play and all-out effort!

The Longhorns ended up with 7 wins and 14 losses. They were hampered by a lack of height and had to make up for it by playing very aggressive on both ends of the court, using pressure defense and fast paced offense, along with some outside shooting which worked fine on nights when the shots were falling, but not so good when they weren’t.

Among the highlights were a 58-53 win at North Platte St. Pats, a pair of wins over Mitchell, and wins over Morrill, Bayard, and Potter-Dix. They also came close at Pine Bluffs against the Wyoming state champion Hornets losing 76-70.

The Horns scored 1093 points, averaging 52 points a game, while allowing the opponents 1212 points or 57.7 a game. In other team stats they shot 34% from the field going 41% on 2 point field goals and 25% on 3 point attempts. At the foul line they made 187/307 for 61%.

Despite their lack of height they averaged 25 rebounds a game, and the hustling defense came up with 246 steals for 11.7 a game and their 183 assists averaged out at 8.7 per outing.

Coach Luke Dea will have to replace five seniors next year he will lose to graduation, including point guard Angel Flores, along with Jaikob Cole, Tyler Magninie, Trent Rutledge and Creg Barker. If they weren’t hurting enough already with lack of height, there goes their tallest players, Creg Barker, at 6’1” and Trent Rutledge at 6’0”.

This also means the Horns will graduate 548 points from the 1093 they scored and will also graduate their top two rebounders.

On the positive side of the ledger, they do have some top contributors returning including Jordan Greenwood who led the team in scoring as a junior with 264 points averaging 12.6 points per game. Greenwood was also the top 3 point shooter, with 35, had 89 rebounds, had 29 assists, and 47 steals. His defensive play was solid.

Senior Tyler Magninie was next in line scoring with 223 points averaging 10.6 points, hit for 34 three pointers, had 70 rebounds, 30 steals, and 20 assists.

Jaden Withrow will be back for his senior year and he was third in scoring with 186 points averaging 8.9 points, had 16 treys, shot a good 73% at the foul line, pulled 47 rebounds, had 32 steals, and 28 assists.

Senior Angel Flores scored 120 points averaging 5.7 points, made 20 3-pointers, shot a team high 78% at the foul line converting 18/23 at the line, had 56 rebounds despite being listed at 5’7”, had 39 steals and a team high 48 assists.

Senior Trent Rutledge tallied 118 points averaging 5.6 points, had 7 treys, led the team in rebounds with l16 and steals with 51 and had 35 assists.

Senior Creg Barker had 87 points and a 4.1 average, had 98 rebounds, 16 steals and 13 assists. Brandon Barker, a junior with outstanding quickness, scored 77 points averaging 3.9, had 7 treys, 34 rebounds, 24 steals and 6 assists.

Izaac Reuter with 9, Kole Bush with 3, and Ryan Soper with 2 rounded out the individual varsity scoring, but there are a good group of other young players who appear ready to make the step up to varsity and contribute.

This year’s freshman class in particular showed promise and talent, but still not a lot of size in the picture unless some of these young players have a growth spurt before next season. Like the varsity, the junior varsity played the same offense and defensive schemes and coach Dea and his assistants have done a good job of implementing what they needed with the lack of size. This year’s eighth-grade team also shows some promise so the incoming freshman could also contribute.

In summary, the final word is, good job Horns for providing the community with some exciting basketball and with a good show of composure and character night in and night out. Your all-out effort was appreciated by the Longhorn fans.