ON THE REBOUND

This year's 2021-22 Boys Basketball season was one of growth and commitment. With athletic participation at an all time low and losing a few students to not having a football season this year, it was always in the back of people's minds as to whether our season would meet the same fate as well. Fortunately for us, we did have 8 students that showed up to our first practice willing to learn and give it their all for an opportunity to represent our school and community with pride.

Within only a few days more, our team grew from 8 to 11 players. However, one of our players sustained a knee injury on the first day of practice so he would be out for about a month. This setback, along with a few others, delayed our JV boys the opportunity to get a foothold on their season and they did not play their first contest until 5 games into the season. December 2 was our first varsity contest vs. Bayard, and although we only had 3 sophomores and 4 freshmen available we competed well and were able see just how much promise these players have for the short and long term future of our program. Being so young and inexperienced, we knew that we would have a hard time getting wins this season but in some ways just having a team was a win for us. We knew that we would have opportunities to grow our knowledge of the game and develop skills needed by having individuals willing to make some sacrifices and participate in our basketball program.

Once Christmas break came upon us, our team had competed in 6 contests, competing hard in each. Wyatt Cords was our most experienced and only returning starter so he took the leadership roll for our young team in practices and in the games by leading us in double digit scoring the first 5 games of the season. Scoring 37 and 36 as a team, respectively, in contests to tough Leyton and Perkins County squads showed we had grit and a willingness to keep fighting until very last buzzer had sounded. Our team not only showed what the future might hold, it also gained 2 more players over the break in Brandon Paxton (6'3") and Anthony Tovar (6'6), who would prove to help us in the immediate future as well.

Coming out of the holiday season, we had a bit of a new look and with that we started to use the inside game a little more. Kyler Lusche started to gain confidence on where we needed him and in the first game back vs. South Platte came out with one of his best performances with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocks. A triple double!! That, along with Brandon helping our JV team get a few wins and Anthony getting more comfortable within our system, showed us we would have more competition and opportunities within our practices to push our players to get even better as a team and possibly pick up a few wins this season.

Memorable moments included double digit wins vs. Banner County and Sutherland twice. Bransyn Kiefer hitting that full court shot vs. Morrill at the end of the game. Outscoring Perkins County 18-12 in the third quarter when they had most of their starters in. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Smith taking over coaching duties during the SPVA tournament in North Platte and getting our first win of the season vs. Sutherland while Coach Mohr and I were battling illnesses. Wyatt Cords scoring in double digits in the first 5 games and getting season highs vs. Bayard and Perkins County with 17 each. Kyle Fraser missing the first three games due to a knee injury and scoring our first 8 points of the SPVA Sutherland game in which we took an 8-0 lead and got our first win. Kyler Lusche with a triple double in South Platte and almost triple double vs. Banner County where he became the 7th all-time in "points in a game" with 33, grabbed 16 rebounds, and had 7 steals. Top 10 all-time in each of those statistical categories. Anthony Tovar going for 18 points, 11 rebounds and hitting 6 of 6 from the charity stripe in our 2nd contest with Sutherland as well as going for 16 vs. Hemingford and 15 in his last high school game vs. Leyton. Connor Deboodt hitting 3 treys in the Pine Bluffs game as well as Bransyn's 3 treys vs. Leyton and Wyatt's 3 treys vs. Leyton in sub-districts. Braylon Miller's bank 3 to open up the scoring vs. Minatare at home as well as a pump fake vs. Bridgeport, sending their defender flying past the backboard for an easy two. Landon Norberg's deflected passes to scores vs. South Platte and Leyton in the last game of the season. Kyler having to sit out of the last 5 games of the season with a knee injury. Brandon Paxton's play in the JV contests and last second full court drive to win the Sutherland JV contest. Draco Miller's steal and score in the last JV game vs. Mitchell. Trenton Hottell's commitment to make himself learn the game and push our varsity players to get better every day in practice. The team dinner at Norberg's. Getting team shirts for our away games. Dressing in ties and paying our respects for our home court dedication to Karen and Tom Southard.

Our season was definitely a memorable one. Just like any season you have your ups and downs, your difficulties and your successes. Helping players fight though adversity and come out better for it makes each season special and purposeful.

However, it takes more than just us coaches and players to make a basketball season successful and I would be remiss if I did not thank those involved in making our team the best it could be. To Mr. Smith for all of his hard work and dedication scheduling games, ordering equipment, and overseeing that each program was striving to achieve excellence year after year. To Mr. Mohr for all of his years of dedication to our boys basketball program and trying to push our students to reach their full potential day in and day out on and off the court. To Mr. Anderson who has had experience in coaching and has taken an interest in how we can improve our athletic programs while attempting to increase participation and a competitive spirit that pushes students to reach their full potential in all that they do now and in the future. To Greg Robinson for announcing and being the voice of the Longhorns at our home games for many years. To Brian Henderson, Brittany Cook, and Gregg Fossand for getting us to and from our contests in a safe manner and keeping the buses ready to go. To Shannon Klempt, Lesia Calvin, and the rest of the custodial staff as well as Wylon Lewis and Gregg Fossand and the maintenance staff for always having our court ready to go during games and practices. To Sandy Faden, Jennifer Wise, and Carmela Graves for always being ready to take my questions and making sure we get documents where they need go. To the all the teachers that work around the athletes schedules and work with us as coaches. To all the cheerleaders and their coaches who spend their time preparing for and cheering on our teams during competitions home and away. Your spirit goes a long ways in keeping our crowd positive and engaged. To all the parents, students, and fans who come to our games with a sense of pride for our school and our players. Your support at the games and in the community is always appreciated and not overlooked. To our boosters, we appreciate your willingness to make sure that our teams are taken care of. Whether it be meals, posters, shirts etc. you all are giving of your time so that ours can be a little more enjoyable. To our managers: Katie Kilgore, Carlee Murdoch, Kaymen Lusche, and Braxton Miller who helped film, take stats, help out in practices, and make sure our equipment from game to game were where they needed to be. I would like to thank all the players who made the decision to come out for this Kimball Longhorns Boys Basketball season. Your hard work and dedication, willingness to keep fighting no matter the score, and determination to get better as individuals and as a team makes me proud to be your coach.

Last but not least, I would like to thank our only senior player, Anthony Tovar. I was not afforded much time to get to know you but the time we did have you showed me just how much you were willing to listen and improve. You came to practice with a humble attitude and helped others on our team when maybe it looked as though they were struggling. I appreciate your character and wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors.

Now that the regular and post season is over we will look forward to helping our current and future players that want to challenge themselves to getting better. Students of all ages that enjoy the game and consider it fun doing even the most repetitive drills in an effort to improve their skills will have an opportunity to do just that. Knowledge is powerful when it comes to trying to gain an advantage over your opponents and trying to get ahead in life in general. Trying to give eager students that knowledge of not only what they need to improve upon but also the drills that can help them get there was always something that I craved as a former player and I hope that by trying to provide others with that outlet we will accomplish great things in the future. These off season programs include another Youth Camp, Summer League, team camps, the 150 challenge, weight and conditioning program, and a program called "Stages not Ages." That program takes individuals through diagnostic challenges and shows them what they need to accomplish to achieve that higher level of skill they and coaches of all levels so desire. Hopefully this offseason we will have many individuals wanting to take advantage of our willingness to work alongside of them in an effort to increase their skills and improve our knowledge as a team for years to come.

I thank you all again for your support throughout our season and hope that you will continue to support Longhorn Nation for years to come. #LonghornPride