Boys
Conference: 2-4A
Coach: Kevin Kyzer (starting his fourth season, 141-40 overall coaching record/ 38-4 conference record at Heber Springs)
Assistant coach: Chris Yielding
Last year’s record: 27-6 (first in conference and finished No. 5 in 4A state)
Returning starters: Mason Schroeder (junior, 6-foot-8, forward, 8 points per game, 5 rebounds), Judson Smith (senior, 6-0, point guard, 5.8 ppg, 3 assists, 2 steals) and Michael Kramer (junior, 6-1, wing, 6 ppg, 5 rebounds).
Best inside players: Schroeder and Aaron Brown (junior, 6-4, 3.8 ppg) are expected to be Kyzer’s best inside players this year.
“Both of them are very improved from last year and have both put on some weight, and they’re a lot stronger,” Kyzer said. “They’ve both grown up a little bit and gotten taller since last year.”
Best outside players: Austin Adkins (junior, 6-1, guard, 8.7 ppg) and Schroeder, Smith, Kramer and Brown can all play outside. “All five of them can shoot the 3 and handle the ball.” Cody Blaylock (senior, 5-11 guard) and Waren Olmstead (junior, 6-0 guard) will also provide a lot of help from the perimeter, Kyzer said.
How will you match/exceed/fall short of your success from last year? “It will be hard to exceed what we did last year, but we have six of our top eight players back from last year, and we hope that the game experience they got from last year will carry over to this year,” Kyzer said. “Off the court, they have improved a lot as far as the weight room goes, and skill-wise on the court, they’ve gotten a lot better. Hopefully, that plus the experience they got last year will help us come close to exceeding what we did last year.”
Strengths: The ability to shoot is expected to be a strength of the team this year.
Weakness: Kyzer said that so far this year he hasn’t seen anyone emerge as a star, and that could prove to be a weakness of the team. “We’ve got a lot of guys who were role players last year and will have to step into a star role this year, and they haven’t done that yet,” Kyzer said.
Games to watch: All of the conference games. “We put a huge emphasis on conference games. That is why we are 38-4 in the conference in three years. Hopefully, we can continue to put the emphasis on that and do well in our conference.”
Toughest opponent: All the conference teams will prove to be tough opponents for the Panthers this year.
College prospects: Schroeder and Brown are likely to be college prospects this year. “They are good all-around players,” Kyzer said. “They can play inside and out, and they’re really skilled for guys of their height.”
In a nutshell: “We just need to learn how to work hard for 32 minutes of every game, and we can’t take plays off,” Kyzer said.
Girls
Conference: 2-4A
Coach: Jamey Riddle (nine years with school, seven years as head coach with girls). Didn’t know coaching record.
Assistant coach: Jamison Ingram
Last year’s record: 20-9 (finished first in the conference)
Returning starters: Devrie Attendorn (senior, 5-foot-6, guard, 8 points per game, 5 assists), Janae Long (junior, 5-9, post, 8 ppg, 8 rebounds), Hannah Johnson (junior, 5-8, guard, 10 ppg) and Skylar Johnson (junior, 5-8, guard, 13 ppg).
Best inside players: Long and Mackenzie Martin (sophomore, 5-8, post) will be standout inside players for the Panthers this year. “Long is a real physical player. She’s more useful on the defensive end as far as being more active and being able to guard the post,” Riddle said. “Mackenzie is more of your rebounder and more of an offensive threat than a true defensive player.”
Best outside players: Attendorn, Hannah and Skylar will be the star outside players this season. “Devrie is the point guard and brings the ball up, while Hannah and Skylar are both fairly decent shooters from the outside,” Riddle said.
How will you match/exceed/fall short of your success from last year? Riddle said the nonconference games will be a little tougher this season, and the conference will be stronger and tougher as well. “It is going to be hard to match what we did last year if we are not careful,” Riddle said. “We’ll just have to take it one game at a time.”
Strengths: Experience will be something the Panthers will be able to use to their advantage this year. “Overall, the girls already know what to expect, and I don’t have to worry much about making sure they are prepared,” Riddle said.” They’ve been there and already know what I expect of them as far as in practice and at game time.”
Weakness: The height of the inside players could prove to be a weakness of the team this season. “Janae [Long] was probably by far the shortest post player in the conference last year,” Riddle said. “She did a good job defensively, but we probably gave up some rebounds just because of our height.”
Game to watch: Any conference game will be a good game to watch for the Panthers this year. “I feel like the conference will be really balanced this year, and there are not going to be any games you can relax on at all,” Riddle said. “I think there is a lot of experience in the conference.”
Toughest opponent: Riddle said that since he believes the conference is pretty balanced overall, none of the games will be easy.
College prospects: None.
In a nutshell: Riddle expects the Panthers are expected to be fairly competitive this season. “We’ve got a lot of girls back, and practice is going pretty good right now,” he said. “They’re working hard, and we are just ready to get the season started so we can stop beating up on each other. I feel like we have a chance in whatever game we are playing.”