2018-19 Winter Preview: West Plains Boys Basketball

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By Justin Sampson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)

Shane Benson enters his second year at West Plains with plenty in the cupboard. He may just not be able to reach into it for a while.

Four of his projected starters expect to be tied up in a successful football campaign until just before the winter season begins. The silver lining is that Benson would like his team to emulate the grittiness of their football counterparts, so he is fine with them stepping right off the field and into the gym with the same mindset.

He also feels more comfortable heading into his second season after getting acclimated to a schedule stocked with larger opponents.

“At a small school, you probably have 6-8 games that you’re going to win regardless,” Benson said. “Last year, we didn’t have one game that we were 100% going to win going in.”

The Zizzers went 10-16 last season, falling to Bolivar in the opening round of district play. Mitchell Mahan and Landry Randolph are gone to graduation, but another four seniors could pack the starting lineup: Clay Butler, Jake Swope, Garrett Warren, and Garel McGinley.

Butler, who is not on the football field this fall, was an honorable mention for the All-Ozark Conference Team as a sophomore after leading the Zizzers in points (10.2) and rebounds (6.5) per night.

Garrett Warren landed on the All-Defensive Team and will share the paint with one of the biggest post players in the area in 6’7” Jake Swope. Benson is impressed with how both managed to improve their bodies in the offseason.

“We had a good summer and our athletic ability has gotten better and quicker,” he said. “Swope and Warren are in much better shape and I expect them to have big years.”

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Warren averaged 9.7 points per game last year while Swope accounted for 7.3 points and 3.9 boards a night.

Junior Allen Marcak expects to round out the starting five.

Benson believes defensive improvement holds the key to the Zizzers taking a step forward this year.

“We gave up a ton of easy shots (last year). That was probably the biggest thing. All these schools have such good shooters. If you’re scrambling on defense and leave somebody open, you’re going to pay.”

That left West Plains on the losing end of plenty of close games last winter. Their 0-2 start came at a price of three combined points. With a year of Benson’s system under their belts, the Zizzers could battle back into conference contention with some sound play.

“Nine of our 16 losses last year were by single digits. I really think they can take quite a big jump. We can realistically win 6-8 more games.”

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