By Tyler F. Thompson (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Adam Thornhill (197-253) enters his first season at the helm of the Marshfield boys basketball program and his 28th season overall in coaching.
Thornhill was previously at Aurora for five years.
The Jays went 2-24 last season, but a cultural shift has produced results throughout the offseason program and ratcheted up the optimism for the program.
“Hard working, high character team. We have a nice mix of several very experienced players along with a few talented new faces. This group will have speed, athleticism and depth, making them a great fit to play a very aggressive style on both ends,” Thornhill said.
Returning seven starters is a nice start for Thornhill and his Jays, who enter their second season in the Ozark Mountain Conference.
“I feel like it is a step up from the Big 8,” Thornhill said of the conference’s competition. “Great players, great coaches. Not that the Big 8 wasn’t good, but the Ozark Mountain Conference is really, really good. Rogersville, obviously, is the team to beat. It is top to bottom.”
Being in a loaded conference with the Wildcats, Bolivar and Carl Junction, to name a few, the Jays, with a reloaded roster, are up for the challenge.
Players to watch this season include 6’1” senior guard and team captain Cannon Thornhill (18 ppg, 3 rpg, 3 apg), senior 6’4” senior Carson Adams (team captain), 6’1” sophomore Evan Coutchie, 6’3” junior Silas Schad, 5’11” junior Easton Hyder, 6’2” Ryker Letterman (6 ppg), and 6’1” Trenton Rosenthal (4 ppg, 2 rpg).
Adams finished with nine points and five rebounds per game last season.
“He is a leading returning scorer, 6’4”, senior, super athlete. He is going to have a great year, going to defend the paint,” Thornhill said of Adams. “He can do other things such as guarding at the 3-point line.”
Adams was named third-team all-conference last season.
As for his senior counterpart, Thornhill was vital in guiding Aurora to both a conference and district championship last year.
Thornhill expects the same narrative this year, only while sporting the blue and white.
“We are expecting nothing but a positive outcome this season. Despite our season last year, we are eager to turn things around here. We are so excited to see how much this program can improve throughout this year,” the younger Thornhill said.
Adams, the other team captain, echoed his counterpart’s sentiment relative to the landscape change for the team.
Said Adams: “We are super excited about what we have already accomplished in our off-season prep. A mix of familiar faces and some new faces will help this team tremendously. I cannot wait for a fantastic year.”
The father-son coaching dynamic can be memorable, both good and bad, but the elder Thornhill said it is something in which he appreciates.
“It is good. There are positives and negatives,” Coach Thornhill said. “As a coach, you miss out on just being the dad part. I am blessed to be able to coach him. I am dad at home but coach everywhere else.”
Marshfield will host a preseason jamboree on Nov. 18 as they welcome Mansfield and Central.
“We do it a little bit differently here, we do a girls and boys night. We will utilize two gyms,” Thornhill said.
The Jays open the regular season Dec. 1-6 at the 92nd Annual Clever Boys Invitational.
After two road games at Monett and Fair Grove, the Jays’ home opener is Dec. 16 at Camdenton.
