By Chris Parker
Golden City boys basketball marched all the way to the final four where the Eagles finished third place overall in Class 1. Their final record was 27-3.
The Eagles were an offensive juggernaut averaging 70 points per game last year. The trip to the final four was illuminating for the Eagles.
“Last year the biggest things that we learned that will need to carry over this year is how hard we need to guard and how to limit mistakes,” Golden City head coach Michael Reeves said. “Last season we went strictly man for every game, and you could see as the season progressed we got better at reading other teams and reading where to go to force turnovers. In our last seven seven games leading up to the final four we held our opponents under 50 points. We did a really good job last year as well of not turning one mistake into two or three mistakes.”
A key to success for Golden City this year will be replacing the graduated Arlo Stump. Stump, who was the Ozark 7 Player of the Year and named all-state in Class 1 last year, scored 2,734 points in his career. He averaged 21.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game as a senior.
“We are going to miss Arlo’s energy and IQ. Arlo came to practice every day and brought the energy with him to not only make himself better but to make others on the team better as well. He wasn’t the most vocal of leaders but with his basketball IQ he knew when we needed to push and when we needed to slow down and that is how he led our team,” Reeves said. “Everyone is going to know Arlo for his scoring, but they won’t realize how great of a teammate he was. Last season was his lowest PPG of his career and he didn’t care. He was excited for our team’s success and loved seeing his teammates succeed as well. Arlo is going to leave a legacy of how to push yourself on and off the court every day to become better. He is leaving a legacy of how to be a winner.”
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The cupboard is far from bare for the Eagles this year with two seniors who averaged at least 16 points per game last year returning.
Lane Dunlap scored 18.6 points per game last year as a junior while pulling down 6.9 rebounds and handing out 2.3 assists. He was also strong defensively with 2.5 steals per game.
“Lane’s greatest asset on the basketball court is his IQ. He is a kid that can read what an offense is doing and go disrupt the play before they ever get set up. He can all read what defenses are trying to do and find a way to take advantage of that to get an easy score; whether that be by passing to an open shooter or by getting himself an easy basket. He is also the best I have seen at being able to control his body. He can finish through contact, finish an acrobatic layup or is even great at going full speed (looking like he will run out of bounds or throw it off the backboard) and stopping himself in air and laying it up on the backboard softly,” Reeves said. “My expectations for Lane are to continue to be himself and grow as a leader. He is another kid that brings energy every day in whatever he does and looks to become better. He will be one that gets a lot of junk from other defenses this year and he should be excited for that as he is one that has the IQ to take advantage of them.”
Classmate Chain Parrill is also back after averaging 16.7 points per game last year.
“Chain will still need to be the same scoring threat he has been for the last two years, but we will look for him to be more of a leader on the court with his play. Chain is a great on ball defender but we will look for him to become more disruptive while off the ball,” Reeves said. “I watched film of Chain’s sophomore year and coached him last season and each year his decision making improves tremendously. Chain is a great shooter when set (14 games with three or more 3-pointers made and three games with six or more) and finishes well around the basket. When his shot is not falling though he doesn’t get upset and shut down his game. He then puts his focus on defense and getting his teammates set up for good shots.”
Seth Miller saw action in 24 games last year as a junior where he averaged 4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He also accounted for 2.5 blocks per game.
“Seth has improved tremendously week after week since he moved into Golden City. Seth missed half our summer camps because of surgery on his ankle, but since he has come back he has put in the work to be great this year,” Reeds said. “He has gotten really good at his timings on defense and is one of the better shot blockers in the area. What helps with that is you can see extra bounce in his game right now as he is getting up higher on his jumps. What has impressed me the most about him is how much his offensive game has come around this offseason and how well he is finishing around the basket with contact.”
Senior Matt Weiser will see an expanded role this year after being the sixth-man last year. He saw time in all 30 games with 3.8 points per game.
“Matt was our sixth man last year and was a spot up a shooter. Matt can really help us this season as he will get more minutes and shot 35% from three last year,” Reeves said. “What has been really great about Matt this offseason has been how much of a leadership role he has taken on. There have been numerous games where he was constantly talking on the court and everyone in the gym could hear him. Him being on the floor more will help our offense, as he is another threat teams will have to adjust for, but for us to be better we will need him to step up on defense and stay locked in at times. I have no doubt in mind that he can get where we need him and will work at it every day.”
The junior trio of Max Parrill, Elijah Pettengill and Colby Nelson along with sophomore Josh Reeves will be new players to watch for Golden City. Pettengill and Parrill both saw time in 16 varsity games last year while Nelson played in two. Reeves is a transfer from Clever.
“People from the outside are going to see that our team is going to score and going to believe that is what we are. But the same thing I wanted our identity to be last year and how it carried us through the postseason is our defense. These kids know for us to be successful this year that we need to be as good on defense this year as we were last year. We will also be a fast team and look to run teams up and down the court,” Reeves said. “Our expectations from last year are not changing. We have lost Arlo, but we return a lot to this team and the kids feel cheated from last year’s final four experience. They want to get back this year and try to make it as far as possible. The exciting thing about this season is we will see everyone’s best every night and our team is ready for the challenge.”
Golden City opens the season on Nov. 21 at home against Willard.
