By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Chapman boys basketball team took a productive step forward last season following a winless 2021-22 campaign, and will look to take another step this year.
Head Coach Drew Gruver reprises his role as the leader of the Irish, returning for a third season at the helm.
This year’s Chapman squad has an excellent opportunity to raise the bar, with five returning starters, and a veteran-heavy roster ready to get back on the hardwood.
G- Gage Picking (Sr)
G- Ian Suther (Sr)
G- Kelan Gruver (So)
F- CJ Holm (F)
P- Weston Langvardt (Sr)
The Irish will also look for big minutes off the bench from a pair of seniors in Ray Whitehair and Ondre Miles, and a pair of juniors in Jed Moody and Ayden Muniz.
Ahead of the 2023-24 campaign, we had a chance to catch up with Coach Gruver and get his thoughts on this year’s squad.
Q: When you had a chance to look back on it, what were your overall thoughts on last season?
A: We improved as the year progressed and started to compete and play with teams. We had a lot a games at the end of the year that we were in and had chances to win in the fourth quarter but couldn't finish. The next step is to find a way to win those close games.
Q: Entering this year, what would you say are the biggest known strengths of your team?
A: We return eight players from last year and will look to them to lead our team and be solid contributors on the floor. We have good size with Weston Langvardt and CJ Holm and we can surround them with good outside shooters in Kelan Gruver and Gage Picking. Ayden Muniz is a player who can hit some outside shots as well and proved to be a good shooter for us in the summer. Ian Suther can get to the basket and score or drive and kick to our outside shooters, and we have another 4 or 5 players who will be competing for varsity playing time that can come in and contribute for us as well.
Q: What are the biggest looming questions or challenges that you’ll look to sort out in these first few weeks?
A: Can we defend and rebound? Can we handle pressure? And can we score? Those were things we struggled with last season at times.
Q: What are the biggest goals and expectations for this group heading into the new season?
A: Taking care of the ball on offense, limiting turnovers, being disciplined, working for the shot we want on the offensive end, playing together as a team, and playing solid team defense will be keys to our success this year. We have a tough league and a tough schedule, and will have to be able to win close games. We would like to compete for a league title and be in the mix this year, improve each and every day, and have a chance to make a run during sub-state.
Chapman opens their season at home with the Irish Classic on December 5th.