By Chris Parker
Cassville boys basketball is ready to bounce back from a four-win season last year with four starters and nine lettermen returning this year.
The Wildcats will still be young even with all of that experience returning. Cassville will have just one senior expected to contribute in Tim Hudson.
Junior Aidan Cook and sophomore Garrett Ewing will the team’s leaders this year.
“Both of these guys put in a lot of minutes last year as underclassmen, and have taken big strides as far as leadership over the summer,” Cassville head coach Zack Kleine said.
Cook earned all-district honors last year averaging 12.3 points per game. Ewing will be working his way back from a football injury, but will be a big piece whenever he is cleared to play.
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Junior Peter Littlefield started every game as a sophomore.
“(Littlefield) has gotten much stronger. He was a key piece for us defensively last year, and hoping he can be more aggressive for us offensively this year,” Kleine said.
Hernan Hernandez, Caleb Leach and Isaac Hadlow round out the returning junior class. Hernandez is a very active player who can knock down shots from the outside. Leach does all of the little things right and saw a lot of varsity action as a sophomore. Hadlow spent a lot of time in the weight room in the off-season and has gotten much stronger.
Sophomore John Dunbar started as a freshman late in the year last year. He has become much more confident on both ends of the floor.
Fellow sophomore Cosmo Rhoades will return to the basketball court after missing last year with a shoulder injury.
“We will have a little bit of size and length, and we are hoping that we can really make scoring for our opponents difficult. Having the majority of our team back from a year ago helps as far as what our expectations are, and how we do things in the program,” Kleine said. “We will need to find some consistent scoring. We have multiple guys with the ability to put the ball in the hole. We are excited to see who steps up.”
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Cassville will host a jamboree with Seneca and Nevada before opening the season Nov. 29-Dec. 4 at the Strafford Tournament.
“We just want to take strides in the right direction,” Kleine said. “We have had multiple guys improving their bodies over the off-season to meet the physical needs of varsity competition, and we are excited to see how it pays off.”
