Langford Area’s boys and girls basketball teams open their winter seasons with a pair of doubleheaders this week, traveling to Leola-Frederick on Saturday and hosting Estelline on Tuesday.
The girls junior varsity contest opens play at Frederick at 1 p.m., followed by the JV boys, varsity girls, and varsity boys. On Tuesday the JV girls game is set for 4 p.m., followed by the JV boys, varsity girls, and varsity boys.
LA Boys
With 10 letterwinners back, including three starters, fourth-year coach Brian Schuring has reason for optimism.
Wins have been tough to come by for the Lions the past few seasons, posting a 3-18 record a year ago. But Schuring thinks eight seniors on this year’s roster bodes well for his squad.
“Our senior leadership is one of our strengths,” stressed Schuring. “They have done a good job of helping out, their work ethic is second to none, and they are ready and raring to go. This is their last year and they want to do well. They are working hard and making the other kids work hard, and that makes it fun to coach.”
Leading that senior group is Kassen Keough, a three-year starter for the Lions who averaged 24 points a game a year ago. Ethen Olson and Dylan Harmon are also returning regulars. Rounding out the group of letterwinners back are seniors Conner Glines, Dawson VanderVorst, Bradyen Small, Julian Rodriguez; juniors Hunter Jensen and Cason Okroi; and sophomore Gunner Hardy.
Named as starters for Saturday’s opener are Keough at point guard, senior Graydon Hurley at the other guard spot, Rodriguez and Glines at forwards and Harmon at center. Hardy, along with freshmen Eli Samson and Case Reints, are expected to be key contributors off the bench.
“We want to be more competitive this year and hopefully raise some eyebrows by the end of the season,” said the Lions’ boss. “I think we’re capable of putting together more wins this year and being more competitive with the better teams.”
Schuring’s goal for his club’s opening two contests this week is to be competitive.
“We have a couple of tough openers and I just want to be competitive. That means making sure we play good defense and rebound, handle the press, and take care of the basketball.”
Schuring points to improved shooting and cutting down on turnovers as key ingredients in the Lions’ success recipe.
“In the past we’ve been prone to a lot of turnovers and didn’t shoot the ball well. Hopefully this year, with our experience, we will be able to take care of those two things. A key for us is to be more team-oriented and not rely on one player to do everything, and I think we will be more balanced this season.
“What I love about these guys is that they are respectful and work hard every day regardless of what our record has been in the past,” concluded Schuring. “And that attitude and work ethic helps bring everybody together as team.”
LA Girls
With eight letterwinners and four starters returning from a year ago LA coach Michael Alberts feels his squad is picking up where it left off last season.
“It’s nice to have an experienced group back,” said Alberts. “The girls worked pretty hard in the offseason and spent a lot of time both in the weight room and on the basketball court. It’s nice to see where we’re at now compared to the start of last year. We’re starting ahead because a lot of our girls have been playing for a while.”
Four regulars return from last year’s 9-13 ballclub. Senior Paytyn Marlow and junior Alex Darling have both started at guard the last two seasons, junior Lizzie Gustafson is back at a forward, and senior Clarissa Guy returns at a post spot. Rounding out the group of letterwinners are senior Mariah Tosse, junior Brynn Samson, sophomore Brooklynn West, and eighth grader Josie Jensen.
Named as starters for Saturday’s season opener are Marlow at point guard and Darling at the other guard slot, Gustafson and Tosse at forwards, and Guy at center. Samson, West, and Jensen are expected to see extended minutes off the bench.
“In those first games we’re always looking for a starting point and to see where we’re at as a team,” said Alberts. “Things might look good in practice but not so good against other teams, so we’re ready to go play somebody else.”
Alberts feels his club will be quite versatile this season and able to give opponents a variety of looks.
“We kind of want to do everything. When the opportunity is there we’re going to push the ball and we want to be able to press teams man-to-man and using some halfcourt traps. We should have a pretty good inside-outside game with a couple of good posts and some girls that can shoot from the outside. Just being able to do different kinds of things will make it a lot harder for teams to prepare for us.
“There’s never going to be an easy game for us and we will always need to play well,” stressed Alberts. “Our goal is to just look to get better and better every day. With the weapons we have, along with the development of our younger girls, I think we can be competitive and hope we can make a pretty good run in the postseason.”
