By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
The Chapman boys basketball team lost the first half of their 2020 season to the Covid-19 pandemic and were unable to hold practices until after Christmas, leading to a rough 3-15 season.
This year, the Irish have an opportunity to regroup and put together a much better campaign, with former girls head coach Drew Gruver sliding over for his first season at the helm of the boy's program.
Chapman’s lineup will feature a wealth of veteran leadership, with four returning seniors already locking their spots.
PG- Eli Riegel (Sr)
SG- Cam Liebau (Sr)
F- Caleb Dauterive (Sr)
F- Torin Cavanaugh (Sr)
The final starter will be one of six sophomores, with the rest expected to make big contributions off the bench. Those players include Ian Suther, Gage Picking, Weston Langvardt, CJ Holm, Ray Whitehair and Ondre Miles
Ahead of the season opener, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Gruver to get his thoughts on this year’s team.
Q: How excited are you guys to get back to a more normal season?
A: “It’s nice to have normal practices at the beginning of the year and to be able to actually put in our base packages and drill the fundamentals. The guys have been working hard and everything is so much better than it was last year when we never knew if we were going to have a season at all and we’re enjoying every minute of it.”
Q: What do you want to add to the culture of boys basketball here at Chapman?
A: “We want to play hard, smart basketball together as a team. That’s the biggest thing that I’m trying to instill in the guys as well as attitude and effort every day, those things are more important than anything. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.”
Q: What would you say is this team’s biggest strength coming into this season?
A: “It’s nice that we have four seniors this year so we’ll be able to rely on them to lead and contribute on the floor. For us to be successful we have to be bought in on defense to get stops on that side of the ball and that’s been a big emphasis in practice. Our defense is what we want to build this program off of.”
Q: What are the biggest question marks for you guys heading into the first few games?
A: “Our inexperience with a big sophomore class will be something that we could struggle with early and we have to find a way to score and take care of the basketball offensively.”
Q: What are some of the expectations you have for this team this year?
A: “Since we are kind of a young team the expectation from me is that we’re going to play hard in every game. It might be a bit of a struggle here at the beginning but if we keep working hard I think we’ll figure things out by the end of the year as long as everyone continues to focus on getting better each and every day.”
For more on Chapman hoops, stay tuned to the Salina Post.