By Amanda Perkins
Stoutland coach Wesley Shaw enters his fourth year with the Stoutland Tigers after an 11-15 season and first-round district loss, and says his team will be working to exploit their strengths and improve upon last year.
“Last season was a roller coaster for us,” said Shaw. “We played very well at times and beat some very good teams. We had some nights we played poorly and lost or squeaked out a close one.”
The Tigers will go on without Jessie Hubbs, a first team all-conference and all-district starter who played multiple positions. He led the team in scoring with 14 ppg, also pulling down 6 rebounds. Also graduating was Brayden Allee, another starter who aided the defense and had 3 rebounds and 5 points per game. Kane Matthews and Michael Gray are also losses to the team, players who could come off the bench and add a spark with their speed and hustle.
Senior Hunter Barclay is back and likely to reach 1,000 career points this season. The honorable mention All-Frisco League player averaged 12 points and 3 rebounds per game last season and is a scoring threat inside and out. Per his coach, he possesses a high basketball IQ as well as senior leadership. Colton Shepherd is another senior who will help in a variety of ways as a spark player with defensive aptitude.
“One of our strengths will be our size,” said Shaw. “We have lots of height and length. We will want to try and get the ball in the paint this year and play inside-out. We will almost always have a mismatch with somebody and we will try to capitalize on that and try to draw double teams, then find the open shot. Defensively, we will need to improve from last season, and we will change it up between man and zone.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE WINTER SPORTS PREVIEWS
Lane Frederick is a 6’6” senior who can control the paint on both ends of the floor, and Drew Ash is a quick six-foot senior who can connect on the outside shot.
“Drew will be relied upon to take care of the ball and to be a lockdown defensive player,” said Shaw.
The Tigers will draw on the athleticism of Jake Pendergrass, 6’2” junior, 9 ppg and 5 rebounds. Evan Mathews, 6’4” junior, will play a variety of positions and, like Barclay, has a high basketball IQ.
“He can create lots of match-up problems with his height and ball-handling skills,” said Shaw. Another junior is Austin Benavidez, a play-maker who can shoot outside and has a great work ethic.
Some hardworking JV players could move up and add to the cast of upperclassmen, and the freshman class may see minutes as well, adding to the team’s depth.
