By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
On the heels of a disappointing 5-16 season, the Salina Central boys basketball team will look to the right the ship with a renewed vision, and new leadership.
First-year coach Billy Graf will assume direction of the Mustang program ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, bringing with him a wealth of experience from his time coaching at Kapaun Mt. Carmel and Bishop Carroll.
The cupboards at Central are far from empty ahead of the new campaign, and several familiar faces will return to a starting lineup that should look like this come Friday.
- Mason Nemechek (Sr)
- Sam Payne (Sr)
- Dez Gibson (Sr)
- Kaden Snyder (So)
To fill not only the final starting spot, but big rotational minutes, the Mustangs will look to a slew of veterans in senior Brody Farthing, juniors Finley Waltman, Kamryn Jones, Cameron McSwain, Tate Gary and Christian Carter, and sophomore Noah Peck
Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Graf and get his thoughts on this year’s squad.
Q: What is your vision for the future of boys' basketball here at Salina Central?
A: I really want the guys to learn to play together and for each other. We have good individual talent, and they need to trust each other’s talent as much as they each trust their own.
Q: Entering this year, what would you say are the biggest known strengths of your team?
A: We have some experience and they usually play hard and they care about doing well. We also have a couple of kids who can create matchup problems for opponents with both their size and their athleticism.
Q: What are the biggest looming questions or challenges that you’ll look to sort out in these first few weeks?
A: I hope to solidify the point guard position in the next couple of weeks, and I’m hopeful that by the end of the semester, players will know what is, and is not acceptable effort and attitude-wise.
Q: What are the biggest goals and expectations for this group heading into the new season?
A: We want to be competitive on every possession defensively and offensively even when things aren’t going well. If our effort stays where it needs to be, it should be an attainable goal and we should have some success.
The Mustangs open their season in Salina with a home game against Maize this Friday.