By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Ell-Saline boys basketball team has regrouped after another rough season and will enter 2021-22 still in search of their first win since 2019.
The Cardinals will be young once again but are slowly rebuilding under the instruction of second-year head coach Marty Wendel.
When Ell-Saline takes the floor on Friday, their starting lineup should look something like this.
PG- Kade Wilson (Jr)
SG- Marshall Johnson (So)
SF- Brogan Rowley (Fr) or Garrison Zerger (Fr)
PF- Mason Ellerman (Jr)
C- Kelton Kern (Sr)
The Cardinals will also look for big contributions off the bench from sophomores Joe Hiechel and Ryan Duerr, and freshman Melvin Lutes.
Ahead of the new season, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Wendel and get his thoughts on this year’s team.
Q: After a tough 2020-21, how do you feel about the team that you’ve got coming into this season?
A: “This is one of the most fun teams that I’ve had the chance to coach from top to bottom. I have to kick these kids out every night because they want to get better and be around each other. I think we’re much better equipped this season but we’ll be young again and we’ll need to mature quickly.”
Q: What would you say is this team’s biggest strength?
A: “These guys are very cohesive and they want to be around each other. Hopefully, that means we won’t have any one player that thinks they need to be selfish and shoot the ball 57 times and we can play as a team.”
Q: Biggest question marks coming into the new season?
A: “Most of our question marks are offensive which is easy to figure out because we averaged less than 30 points per game last year. This summer we were scoring well and we found ourselves in some games because of that, so hopefully we can transition that into the season.”
Q: How good does it feel to be somewhat back to normal this year?
A: “The guys are really excited and it’s been great to see student sections back. That energy makes people want to be a part of the program. Hopefully, that makes us want to do better as well.”
Q: Expectation and goals for this team in 2021-22?
A: “My biggest hope is to not see a running clock this year. We should be in a lot of basketball games and if we can show maturity late we can shock some teams, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were a double-digit win team either but it all starts with getting that first win to get some confidence.”
The Cardinals will open their season at home hosting the Sacred Heart Knights who defeated them in their opener last year.
For more on Ell-Saline hoops, stay tuned to the Salina Post.