By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After a resurgent 17-9 campaign that saw the unlikeliest of state tournament runs, including a fourth-place finish, the Solomon boys basketball team will look to reload and run it back for the 2022-23 season.
The Gorillas will be led once again by second-year head coach Kyler Stein, who brought the program back into the spotlight in just his first year at the helm.
While Solomon lost four seniors with varsity minutes over the offseason, the Gorillas return a talented group that will be hungry to make it back to the dance with a starting lineup that should look like this come tip-off.
G- Spencer Coup (Jr)
G- Spencer Krause (Jr)
G- Carlos Duran (So)
G- Scott Robinson (Sr)
F- Lucas Newcomer (Sr)
The Gorillas will also look to Hayden Zerbe (Jr), Jayceon Nelson (So), Jake Sommer (Jr), and Logan Hammersmith (So) for big minutes off the bench.
Ahead of the opening tip, we had a chance to sit down with Coach Stein and get his thoughts on this year’s Solomon squad.
Q: What were your overall thoughts on the 2021-22 campaign?
A: I was very proud of our group. We had ups and downs as every team does and our guys continued to respond no matter what was thrown in their direction. It was a great foundation as we continue to build the program we want here at Solomon.
Q: How excited is everyone to get back on the floor and back to playing real games after a long offseason?
A: If our energy in practice is any indicator these guys can't wait to see the floor on Dec 2nd. As I just mentioned we laid down a great foundation last year and these guys are eager to get back and continue to build on that this year.
Q: Coming into the year what would you say is the biggest strength of this team?
A: Unselfishness. These guys don't care who scores or whose name makes the paper, they care about winning and winning only. We have had great movement offensively and are making the extra pass to get a teammate a great look. This team is very close, they care about each other as people, and that shows in the way they play the game.
Q: What are the biggest question marks about this team as we head into the first few weeks?
A: Our overall youth is going to be the concern. We graduated a lot of minutes from a year ago and it's going to take a few games to get everyone rolling the way we want. Our tempo is going to be something we have to lean on heavily throughout the year so we have to find the guys that really want to buy into that.
Q: What are the goals and expectations of this team for this 2022-23 campaign?
A: I'm not someone that likes to put down a pass/fail goal. If we do the right things every day, take care of the small details, and trust in one another the results will take care of themselves and get us to where we desire to be.
Solomon will tip off their season on Friday, December 2nd in Burrton where the Gorillas will challenge the Chargers on the road.
For continuing coverage of Solomon boys basketball all season long stay tuned to the Salina Post.