2016-17 basketball preview: Sparta Boys

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By Allen VanNess (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

Coming off back-to-back 18-win seasons that included a second place finish in the Southwest Central League (SWCL) last year, head coach Larry Brown and his Sparta Trojans hope they can replace some of the great talent they lost and continue their success this season.

“We have won 18 games both the past two seasons and lost a big part of our offense and defense but expectations are still high,” Brown said about his team for the upcoming season.

Undoubtedly, losing four seniors to graduation is always tough to replace. Collin Gimlin, who was an all-conference, all-district selection last season, will be particularly tough to replace, as he was their leading scorer and rebounder.

Even with the departures, the Trojans still have talent. The two returning starters from last season include seniors Landon Davis (all-conference, all-district) and Logan Rutherford. Davis hopes to build upon his 18.1 points per game average last season and is less than 100 points away from 1,000 in his career, while Rutherford gives the team a presence on the inside and was the team’s second leading rebounder a season ago.

The Trojans also return Jade Perez, who came off the bench last season, and he is expected to play a much bigger role for Sparta.

“Landon Davis is one of the best guards in the area,” said Brown. “I believe he has all-state potential. Jade Perez [who begins] his second year in our program will be a good guard for us, and Logan Rutherford is a very athletic forward who has improved his game every year.”

Senior Braxton Lilly and junior Wade Little are two more athletes ready to make their mark this season. Both played mostly junior varsity last year but are much improved and should add some much needed help for the Trojans.

Along with the returning varsity players from last season, Sparta also expects several newcomers to help them. Juniors Josh Smith and Kolbie Dorman, along with sophomore Collin Teague and freshman Dakota Lafferty, are all expected to compete for varsity playing time this year.

If there is one aspect the Trojans won’t have this season, it is size. However, even without a major inside presence, Brown hopes that should not be a major issue for Sparta. Instead, he hopes their quickness and defensive abilities will help make up for their lack of size.

“Our weakness will be lack of size, so we are hoping our strength with playing four guards at times will be our quickness,” said Brown. “Our identity will need to be our quickness and playing solid defense and finding a way to rebound with our lack of size.”

Although they have a tough conference and a number of new faces, Brown and his Trojans couldn’t be more excited for the new season.

“The SWCL is always tough,” Brown said. “Clever will be one of the top teams in the state in Class 3, and we are maybe in one of the toughest districts in the state with Hartville and Mansfield, and Fordland will be much improved. Our expectations are to exceed last year’s success. With so little experience at the varsity level, much of that will depend on the progress of new varsity guys and returning players taking on more responsibility. We are looking forward to what challenges the 2016-17 season will bring.”

The Trojans begin their season at home when they host Hollister on Nov. 22.

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