Nevada may have graduated three key players in Matthew Sommer, Myle McNeley and Patrick Ferry from last year’s 23-4 team, but things will be just fine for the Tigers as long senior Clay Gayman is on the court.
Gayman, who has signed with Division I Abilene Christian, does it all for the Tigers. The all-state selection averaged 24 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game as a junior. The 6-foot-6 star is poised to be one of the area’s top 10 players this winter.
He won’t be doing it alone though.
Fellow seniors Braeden Hinton and Hunter Mason also return. Hinton, who will play college baseball at NEO, averaged six points and three rebounds per game as a junior. Mason, a Western Illinois football commit, chipped in four points and rebounds per game.
Junior Carter Swearingen was a reserve last season and will see more time at the point this year. Gayman’s younger brother Dalton stands at 6-foot-5 heading into his sophomore year and saw some time as a freshman toward the end of his freshman year.
With four players standing 6-foot-4 or taller, Nevada will be formidable in the paint.
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“Rebounding and interior scoring should be a strength of ours,” Nevada coach Shaun Gray said. “We look for our team first style of play and hard-nosed defense to be the calling cards that help us succeed.”
Four juniors will be newcomers to the varsity equation in Matthew Thompson (6-foot-4), Will Johnson (6-foot-0), Kayden Ast (6-foot-2) and Jayden Ast (5-foot-11). Freshman Logan Applegate will be in the mix for minutes at guard.
While Nevada is settled on the interior, guard play will be something that could dictate how far the Tigers can go after losing their top two guards from a season ago.
“Ball handling is a question mark after graduating our 1 & 2 guards from a year ago,” Gray said. “We will have to work hard to make sure we value the ball on the perimeter and we believe we have guys that will rise to that challenge.”
Nevada is aiming for a district title after falling to Grandview in the district championship game last year. The Tigers believe they have the pieces to make a run this year.
We expect to be a tough and physical team that plays the game the right way and leaves it all on the court each and every night. We are pushing ourselves to be the best version of us that we can be on a daily basis and want to get better every day. We believe we can compete for a conference and district title if we focus on the process and play together,” Gray said.
Next year, Nevada will join the reconfigured Big 8 Conference.
Nevada opens this season on Nov. 21 at St. Pius X (Kansas City).
