2021 Season Preview

committee BY MIKE PILOSOF PHOTOGRAPHY BY ADAM SHRIMPLIN 2021 PREVIEW

PRESEASON NOTEBOOK

Feb. 26, 2020 seems like a quarter century ago. To put that more into context, 336 days have passed since Patrick Nee’s team walked off the floor in El Dorado following an 18-point loss to Butler in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament. And a lot has changed since then. Less than 48 hours after that postseason defeat, Nee was handed his walking papers. Two weeks later, a pandemic crippled the nation, leaving sports a mere afterthought.

But despite the country being put on lock down, administrators pushed forward with their search for Nee’s replacement, zeroing in on a guy who nearly a decade earlier, got his first taste of the Jayhawk Conference in Garden City under Brady Trenkle. “Nobody is going to outwork that guy,” Assistant Athletic Director, Colin Lamb said. “The hire was a no brainer.”

Cole Dewey was hired in March; then quickly assembled his staff, bringing in his former assistant at Otero, Zach Towle and one-time Broncbuster coach, Jaxon Autry, who spent two years as an assistant under Kris Baumman from 20082010. He also wasted no time in bringing back Mike “Scoop” Harding, who was the ultimate utility man during the 2019-20 campaign, serving as a men’s assistant, women’s head coach and assistant track coach.

That was the easy part. The more challenging aspect came in retooling a roster that finished as the fifth worst offense and the fourth worst defense in the Jayhawk Conference. They also had to replace arguably one of the best shooting guards in program history in Tahlik Chavez, who signed with Rick Pitino and Iona after leading the league in scoring (20.4 ppg) while finishing third in 3-point percentage (44.4). Just how lethal was the freshman? He set the school record with 108 made triples while shooting almost 50 percent from the field. He posted 18 20-point scoring games including a 42-point outburst vs. Dodge City, 34 of which came in the second half.

With Chavez out the door, Dewey went to work. He resigned Mason Osborne, the lone holdover from last year’s team. He then inked center Jasman Sangha, a transfer from Pensacola State, JJ Watson, a Division-I bounce back from Hampton University, and Otero transfers Jaduhkiss Soto and Chase Hettinger. But his biggest pickup came in the form of a 6’0 pointguard transfer from Pittsburgh named KJ Marshall. The North Carolina native walked on for the Panthers last season, appearing in six games. Before that, he completed an illustrious prep career where he scored more than 1,000 career points at Trinity Christian Academy while leading the program to a pair of state championships. He was a two-time AllState performer.

“KJ has a high basketball IQ,” Dewey said. “He knows how to put guys in the right position to succeed.”

Joining Marshall is swing man Khadim Samb, a University of Idaho transfer who played in 21 games as a freshman and averaged 4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. He shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and 7-of-14 on 3s. Then there’s Denver Jones, who averaged 36 points per game at Tennessee Prep during his junior season before finishing up his high school career at Memphis Day Academy.

“Our main goal was to bring in guys who could shoot,” Dewey explained. “One through five will have that capability.”

As for size, the first-year coach signed Mohamed Diarra, a 6’10 center from France, and Riny Lual, a 6’7 post from South Sudan.

“I believe we put together a pretty balanced roster,” Dewey said. “This conference is as good as it gets, so, you have to be able to come at teams in different ways.”

At Otero last season, Dewey directed one of the best 3-point attacks in the country.

The Rattlers were 13th in the nation in percentage, drilling 307 long balls. They also shared the ball, averaging nearly 19 assists per game (24th), which included a season-high 40 vs. Lamar JV.

“We want to be able to come at you in a variety of different ways,” Dewey added. “And a big part of that is sharing the ball. We’ve got multiple guys who can handle the ball.”

The Schedule

Because of concerns surrounding COVID-19, the NJCAA pushed back the basketball calendar until late January, meaning the Broncbusters first regular-season game comes more than two months after the normal calendar year would have started. Regardless, when Garden City opens in Arkansas City vs. Cowley on Jan. 27, there will be more of a sense of relief than anything. After all, when the NJCAA made the decision to push all sports to the spring, there were no guarantees that would actually play out.

The good news for Dewey and company is that three of their first four games are at home, which includes a non-conference showdown with Clarendon on Sat. Jan. 30 followed by back-to-back league contests with Coffeyville and Neosho. Then, the Broncbusters head back to El Dorado to face Butler on Feb. 10, the same team that bounced the brown and gold from the postseason last year. But maybe the biggest early-season matchup on the schedule comes on Feb. 17 when Independence comes to town. Bill Morosco, who enters his second year in charge, built the Pirates into one of the most dangerous offensive teams in the Jayhawk in 2019-20.

“This conference is brutal,” Dewey said. “I don’t think there’s a tougher conference in the country. And it really gets you prepared for the National Tournament.”

On Feb. 27, the Broncbusters make a trip to face rival Dodge City, which marks an intriguing showdown of first-year coaches: Dewey vs. Jake Williams. Williams spent the previous three seasons at USC Salkehatchie where he led the Indians to a program record 27 wins last year and the National Tournament.

In March, the Broncbusters open with three daunting match-ups: at Seward, home vs. Hutchinson and home vs. Colby, who qualified for the National Tournament as an at-large last year. That’s followed up with consecutive home games vs. Northwest Tech and Pratt before heading to Great Bend on March 17.

“Every team in this league is in the same boat that we are,” Dewey explained. “And I think our guys have handled everything extremely well. There was so much uncertainty when these guys first got here. And to stop and start as many times as we did; to face the different elements that they did just to get to the regular season, is truly remarkable. I commend all the players on every team for battling through. COVID-19 has changed a lot of things, and hopefully we can all focus on basketball now and get this thing rolling again.”

Preseason Coach’s Poll

JAYHAWK WEST PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH TEAM COACH REC LY

Hutchinson

Dodge City Colby Seward

Barton

Garden City

Pratt

NW Tech Steve Eck

Jake Williams

Rusty Elmore Jason Sautter

Craig Fletchall

Cole Dewey

Sean Flynn Nathan Padia 23-9

11-20

27-5

17-14

23-9 9-22

19-12

4-24

There wasn’t really a surprise at the top of the league when coaches picked Hutchinson, despite a down 2019-20 campaign, to win the west. But maybe the biggest shock was Dodge City, a team that finished tied for the second worst record in the league last season. However, the hiring of Jake Williams coupled with landing College of Central Florida All American Wayln Napper, who averaged almost 17 points and five assists per game last year, definitely helped the cause.

Too close to call

In 2019-20, Garden City was just 2-8 in games decided by five points or less.

Postseason struggles

The Broncbusters have lost in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament seven out of the last eight years including an 18-point defeat at the hands of Butler last season.

MEN’S COACHING STAFF

Coach Cole Dewey.................................. 34 Asst Coach Zach Towle.......................... 36 Asst Coach Mike “Scoop” Harding ..... 37 Asst Coach Jaxon Autry......................... 38