By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
On the heels of an injury-riddled 3-17 campaign, the Salina South boy’s basketball team will look to dust itself off and press forward in 2024-25, with a young core looking to take the next step as juniors and seniors.
Head coach Jason Hooper returns to the helm for his 12th season leading the boys program, with an overall record of 191-192 at Salina South.
The Cougars return four starters from last year’s squad in Jace Humphrey (Sr), Jaxon Myers (Jr), Sawyer Walker (Jr), and Gavin Devoe (Jr).
Myers, who suffered a broken arm during the football season, is not expected back until after the Christmas break, but a deep core of players should be able to hold down the fort until the junior’s return.
The injury bug has also bitten senior Andrew Harris, who will also miss time with an injury sustained in a preseason practice.
Stepping up in lieu of Myers and Harris are seniors Lawson Rassette and Camden Augustine, juniors Easton Wilcox, Dakaree Small, Kyler Webb, and Jalen Cheeks, and sophomores Kobie Henley and Ja’Brien Curtis.
We had a chance to catch up with Coach Hooper ahead of the Cougar’s first contest to get his thoughts on this year’s squad.
Q: What lessons do you feel like last year’s team learned that you can carry with you into this year?
A: “Last year a lot of our kids were sophomores, and they were thrust into the limelight due to some injuries. It wasn’t the initial plan that they would play huge minutes, but they grew up fast from a physical standpoint. There were times last year when we got bullied a little bit, but our kid's resolve was so good. They were competitive, and they never put their heads down; they just battled. I feel good about our mental makeup this season.”
Q: What feels like the biggest strength of Salina South basketball going into this new season?
A: “We have some really good shooters on this team and I think our ability to stretch the floor will be solid. We finally have some length, which is something we haven’t had for a few years, but we’ve got good size in our lineup and good size coming off the bench. I don’t feel like we’ll be on the wrong side of a lot of mismatches this year, and hopefully we can flip the script on some of these teams.”
Q: What still feel like the biggest question marks you have going into these first few games?
A: “We still need to maintain our composure in games. Last year we got sped up a little and when teams would pressure us we didn’t handle that well. You have to go through those growing pains and hopefully we’ve learned from those opportunities. Every moment of adversity can be a positive if you use it the right way and I think our kids have grown up a lot over the summer.”
Q: What is the teams mindset and goals for the 2024-25 season?
A: “We haven’t really talked big picture yet, we want to be where our feet are at and take things one rep at a time. We talk on a daily basis about how all five days of the week need to look the same from a mental standpoint and we need to win our reps and stack good days on good days. We can’t get out ahead of ourselves and we know we haven’t earned the right to talk about playoffs yet.”
The Cougars will open their 2024-25 campaign on the road when they travel to Great Bend on December 6th.