By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After hitting an 0-2 speed bump right out of the starting gates, the Central boys’ basketball team quickly righted the ship rattling off three straight wins to help them secure a .500 record before the start of the new year.
Now, the Mustangs (3-3) will turn their attention to a 3-2 Eisenhower outfit also looking to start the 2023 portion of their season on the right foot.
While things haven’t always come easy for Central this season, the work ethic in the Mustang locker room has seen them through the day as a new-look squad got to grips with the speed of the varsity floor.
“I feel really good about this group of guys,” Central head coach Ryan Modin said. “With all the new players we have, there have been some growing pains, but they’ve continued to work and get better every day. For the most part, we’ve played good basketball and I’m confident these guys will continue that.”
While there were plenty of good times to be had in 2022, the Mustangs still have a lot of work to do to climb the AVCTL ladder and put themselves in a strong position come sub-state time, but Central is up for the challenge, and ready to continue putting in the work.
“We still need to be more consistent on offense,” Modin said. “We’ve had a tendency to get stagnant and that leads to poor shot selection. Offensively, when we’ve been on, we’ve been good but when we’re off, it hasn’t been pretty. Sometimes we get too impatient and rush shots but we’ve really worked on that over the break.”
With Eisenhower now in their sights, Central prepares for an opponent that has the ability to challenge them inside, but one whose real strength lies in their capable shooting and playmakers.
Most notably, the Mustangs will have to find an answer for the senior duo of Jaden Roth and Carson Roy, who are each averaging double digits through the first month of the season.
“They have some size, but they are a guard-driven team that can really shoot it when they get open looks,” he said. “Roth is great at taking opponents off the dribble. We emphasize ball pressure and being in help, doing as much as we can to make it hard for the other team to run their offense.”
On their side of the matchup, comfort will be key for a Central team that is tough to stop when they get settled in offensively.
Steve Blue is a great coach and his teams are always a tough match-up,” Modin said. “We have to play to our strengths; disruptive man-to-man defense, getting in transition with our quick guards, and making the other team work to defend us.”
Tip-off between the Mustangs and Tigers is set for 7 pm at the Brickhouse on the campus of Salina Central following the girl’s game at 6:30.
For continuing coverage of Mustang and Lady Mustang hoops all season long stay tuned to the Salina Post.