By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Bennington boys basketball team will be looking for a bounce-back season after a 6-13 finish to their 2020-21 campaign.
The Bulldogs will be under the direction of head coach Curtis Pickering who enters his 7th season at the helm of the boy's program.
Bennington returns a mix of youth and veterans alike for a lineup that should look something like this when the team tips off their opener.
PG- Talan Pickering (So)
G- Ben Stanley (Sr)
F- Kian Wilson (Fr)
F- Cayden Bauer (Sr)
F- Eli Lawson (So)
The Bulldogs will also look for big minutes off the bench from Grant Swearingen, Dalton McDowell, and Cooper Matthews.
Ahead of the season opener, we had a chance to talk to Coach Pickering and ask him a few questions about his team.
Q: What were your overall thoughts on the 2020-21 season?
A: “On top of Covid, we were really young, and without the community support playing at such a high level was challenging, especially with us starting three freshmen.”
Q: How excited are you guys to be back to a relative normal?
A: “I don’t know if the kids see that as much as collegiate athletes do but I know I’m excited to see the stands full and for the kids to get back on the floor. These kids love the game and they’re itching to get a ball in their hands.”
Q: What would you say is the biggest strength of this team coming into the new year?
A: “Our strength is in our size. We have a lot of young kids that have played in some big minutes. We may not have a ton of experience but these kids have great basketball IQs.”
Q: What are the biggest question marks you guys still have ahead of the first few games?
A: “We’re installing a new offense and we’re anxious to see how it will work against somebody else. I know that Sylvan lost one of their best players but they’ll have somebody step up and we have some tough opponents on our schedule.”
Q: What are your goals and expectations for the upcoming season?
A: “We have a group of seniors that can help carry us along with our sophomore talent. Our expectation is to continue to get better each and every week and if we can win some big ones early we might be able to start thinking big.”
The Bulldogs will begin their season on Friday, December 3rd when they host Sylvan-Lucas.
For more on Bennington hoops, stay tuned to the Salina Post.