Inexperienced Panthers’ time to shine

The cupboard was left nearly completely bare for new Creston boys basketball coach Taylor Phipps.

The Panthers return only one player who saw significant minutes on last year’s 15-7 team that lost in the first round of district play to Harlan.

Creston opens the 2015-16 season 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Mount Ayr, before hosting Glenwood 7:30 p.m. Friday in the home opener.

Senior Cooper McDermott played in 20 of 22 games last year before suffering a fractured bone in his ankle, which ended his season.

Six of the top seven scorers, as well as six of the top seven players in terms of minutes played are gone from last year. In fact, only 7 percent or 4.7 points per game of Creston’s 65.0 points per game a year ago returns this year.

“It’s been fun to see some of the younger guys step up and also some of those juniors have been waiting their turn to get a chance to play a little bit,” Phipps said. “It’s been fun watching them grow.”

McDermott heads a class of four senior players and will be leaned on as the team’s leader this year. Other seniors include Ryan Kucera, Nick Walsh and Curtis Palmer.

McDermott averaged 3.0 points per game and 1.5 rebounds per game last year before suffering his ankle injury.

“He’s done a great job just stepping up as a leader,” Phipps said. “You can tell every day in practice that kids are looking to him to lead them and be the main guy.”

Inexperience

Creston’s next leading returning scorer is junior Cody Crawford, who averaged 1.4 points per game in eight games last year.

Crawford heads a junior class that includes Patrick Normandeau, Ian Burns, Deaven Reese, Brenden McDowell and Kyle Somers that has been waiting in the wings for its chance to shine.

“Kylan Smallwood and Cody Crawford will also be big for us this year,” Phipps said. “They each bring a different skill set. Cody can shoot it. He’ll be one of the better shooters in the conference. Kylan is a great athlete and is continuing to become a better basketball player.”

Smallwood, a freshman, provides the Panthers with an athletic player on the wing who can attack the basket.

Burns, Somers, Palmer and Deaven Reese provide depth in the post for the Panthers, where 6-8 sophomore Tucker Flynn started in last week’s Hall of Pride Scrimmage against Lenox.

“I think Ian Burns will have a chance to play quite a few minutes and Kyle Somers,” Phipps said. “Deaven Reese was battling an ankle injury, so he didn’t dress Monday. But he’s right in the mix to get some minutes with our post players in the rotation.”

Sophomore point guard Evan Jacobson could prove to be one of the most important players for the Panthers this year, as he receives the first varsity action of his career.

“I think Evan Jacobson will be a key player for us,” Phipps said. “Being the point guard and having the ball in his hands a lot, we trust him to make good decisions. He’s a tremendous ballhandler, so that’s going to help us keep in the flow of the game and keep our motion going.”

The Panthers featured a balanced scoring effort in their 65-59 win over Lenox in the Hall of Pride Scrimmage last week.

McDermott led the team with 21 points, while Crawford hit four 3-pointers and scored 16 points. Smallwood added 16 points and Jacobson finished with 12.

Creston will need to rely heavily on that balance throughout the season, but will also need production from other players, as well.

“Being able to share the ball and play as a team is a huge strength of ours,” Phipps said. “We don’t have a superstar like some teams do. We just have a bunch of guys who are going to play hard and play together.”

Aggressive play

Phipps said his team will play aggressive on defense and look to share the ball offensively. If a player has an open look, he has the green light to shoot it.

“I was impressed with the energy they came out with (against Lenox),” Phipps said. “They played with no fear. They came out and executed some of the things we’ve been working on. There’s a few other areas we saw we needed to work on a little bit more, but I was pleased with our first live action.”

Within the Hawkeye 10 Conference, Phipps expects Harlan, Atlantic, Glenwood and Carroll Kuemper Catholic to be the top contenders in the conference this year.

With all of the inexperience on this year’s roster, Phipps said his team is shooting for a top half finish in the conference.

The team’s annual game against ADM at Wells Fargo Arena has also been changed to a home game for the Panthers on Dec. 21, as there was a scheduling conflict with Wells Fargo Arena this year.

“I think we’re excited to get going,” Phipps said. “This group is excited to prove themselves. I think there’s a lot of unknowns, especially within the conference and even the community with what this group can do. They’re excited to get out there and play and show what they can do.”

Varsity/JV roster

(* — returning letterwinners)

Seniors — *Cooper McDermott, *Ryan Kucera, Nick Walsh, Curtis Palmer.

Juniors — Patrick Normandeau, *Ian Burns, Deaven Reese, *Cody Crawford, Brenden McDowell, *Kyle Somers.

Sophomores — Evan Jacobson, Cole Higgins, Dustin Merritt, Joe Eblen, Tucker Flynn.

Freshmen — Kylan Smallwood.

Schedule

Dec. 1 — at Mount Ayr, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 4 — vs. Glenwood, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8 — at Shenandoah, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 11 — at Atlantic, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 15 — at Harlan, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18 — vs. Kuemper Catholic, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 — vs. ADM, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 4 — at Lewis Central, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 8 — vs. Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 9 — at Red Oak, 5 p.m.

Jan. 15 — vs. Denison-Schleswig, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18 — at Clarinda, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 22 — at Council Bluffs St. Albert, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 23 — vs. Winterset, 5 p.m.

Jan. 29 — vs. Shenandoah, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 2 — at Glenwood, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 5 — vs. Red Oak, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 6 — vs. Atlantic, 5 p.m.

Feb. 11 — vs. AHSTW, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 12 — vs. Clarinda, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 16 — vs. Harlan, 7:30 p.m.