C6 WINTER SPORTS New Maxwell coaches adapt on the fly THE NORTH PLATTE TELEGRAPH SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2020
Swedberg is in his first sea- son as coach and the Wildcats have just one returning starter from last year — junior Harley Kuenning. “We definitely knew com- ing into this season that our athletes were going to have to step up into roles that had pre- viously been filled by seniors,” Swedberg said. “We graduat- ed nine seniors, so not only did it involve varsity starters, but players who came in off the bench. “We have players back this year that might have got play- ing time last season but they weren’t necessarily scorers,” Swedberg said. “They are go- ing to have to step up into those roles this year. That is what we have been figuring out so far — who fits in what roles.” The Maxwell boys have av- eraged 48.0 points per game with their motion offense so far with senior Troy Breinig and junior Jack Meyer both av- eraging a team-high 10.6 ppg. Senior Connor McKeeman has added 8.6 ppg. The Wildcats employ a man- to-man defensive system and have the goal of their oppo- nents to under 40 points a game. They have accomplished
By TIM JOHNSON tim.johnson@nptelegraph.com MAXWELL — Due to COVID-19 restrictions, it wasn’t until around July that first-year Maxwell boys bas- ketball coach Quin Conner was able to work with his play- ers. And it wasn’t on the basket- ball court for the most part. “I was at the (school) weight room every day this summer and we had really good partici- pation from both our boys and girls athletes,” said Conner, who was an assistant coach at Conestoga High School. “I was there so I could get that inter- action with (the players) before we were able to get a basketball in our hands. “I just built that relationship piece early in the summer,” Conner said. “No one told me I needed to be there, I just felt that I should be. That helped lay the groundwork. I think it also helps a lot too that I’m a young guy. I can still relate to a high school kid pretty decently.” Maxwell has looked like a co- hesive group so far this winter with wins in four of their first five games. The Maxwell girls are also in a season of transition. Lane
Telegraph file photo Jack Meyer (10) of Maxwell drives to the basket during the distrct tournament at Hershey in February 2020.
that three times in their first five games of the year. “I think we have had really good attention to details when it comes to the defensive end,” Conner said. “That’s what we are starting to hang our hat on and kind of being grinders. “We don’t know if we are going to be a 70-point a game offensive juggernaut but we have found out pretty quickly that defense travels,” Conner said. “We know if we play good defense, we will pretty much be in every game.” The Wildcats girls also run a motion offense and the while the program has traditionally
played a pack-it-in tight zone, there is a slight twist this year. “I am having them explore a new avenue of what its like to maybe match up a little more (defensively),” Swedberg said. “I’m not saying we are going to completely abandon our zone and stuff that they know. “I just want them to be more versatile in what they can do defensively and not feel that they have to sit in their zone area to guard whoever comes into it,” Swedberg said. “Sometimes you might have to match up and deny a little bit more to make some stops.” The Wildcats have just a
win in their first five games, but Swedberg said the record doesn’t indicate the team’s ef- fort. “This is a very coach- able group and that’s what I have told them since Day 1,” Swedberg said. “Everything I have thrown at them, they have took it and run with it. We might not have the num- ber of wins we want and there might be other things that come up that cause us frustra- tion,” Swedberg said, “but as long as we are coming to prac- tice every day and working on ways to get better, then we are achieving our goals.”
Schedule Dec. 21-22. ................................... Maxwell Pre-Holiday Tourney Jan. 2............................................................................ Arapahoe Jan. 8...............................................................................Hershey Jan. 9........................................................................... at Overton Jan. 12...................................................Maywood-Hayes Center Jan. 15................................................................... at South Loup Jan. 16........................................................................ Cambridge Jan. 19.............................................................................at Brady Jan. 21..............................................Sandhills Valley (Girls only) Jan. 23-30. ..................................................... RPAC Tournament Feb. 2............................................................... at Perkins County Feb. 5............................................................................at Wallace Feb. 9.......................................................................... Sutherland Feb. 11.................................................................Medicine Valley FEb. 19. .....................................................at Loomis (Boys only)
Young Brady teams look for experience
leaders from last year and we are kind of learning how to be a team without them. “We’re a work in progress but I hope to continue to see the same amount of improve- ment that we’ve had so far with every game,” DaMoude said. “(The players) improved so much from the third game to our fourth. It was very clear and very evident.” DaMoude said she likes to run a motion offense because, “it gives the girls options. It’s good for them to read the de- fense and react accordingly.” Brady has employed a 2-3 zone for the majority of the season so far and used a 1-3-1 zone for a stretch as well. “We have been struggling with our shooting (so far) so we definitely going to have to shut teams down defensively,” DaMoude said. “We’ve done some good things defensive- ly so far. We’ve never worked on a 1-3-1 zone before and I threw it at him at halftime of our game (last week). They re- acted great to that and I think defensively, we are getting somewhere.”
By TIM JOHNSON tim.johnson@nptelegraph.com BRADY — The Eagles have had a challenging start to the season. But the early adversity has not dampened the attitude of the Brady girls basketball team. “The girls have just kept their heads up,” said Eagles first-year coach Mariah DaMoude. “They’ve stayed ex- tremely positive. We came off a game last week that we lost by about 50 (points) and the next day in practice their attitudes were still fantastic.” DaMoude was an assistant coach with the Eagles the last two years and takes over a pro- gram that returns three key starters from last season: Abby Jurjens, Ava McGown and Kyla Most. The trio are all se- niors. “They are the ones who have the experience from last year and brought that with them this season,” DaMoude said. “Everyone else is kind of growing, learning and kind of processing all at the same time. “We lost four good senior
Telegraph file photo Ava McGown (4) joins Abby Jurjens and Kyla Most as the Brady girls’ three seniors. Both Eagles teams are young and looking to build experience in 2020-21.
Schedule Dec. 19............................................................................... Loomis Dec. 21-22. .................................... Maxwell Pre-Holiday Tourney Dec. 28-29................................................Brady Holiday Tourney Jan. 8.............................................................................. at Mullen Jan. 9...................................................................... Arthur County Jan. 12.......................................................................... at Overton Jan. 16.................................................................... at South Loup Jan. 19..............................................................................Maxwell Jan. 23-30. ................................ MNAC Conference Tournament Feb. 2................................................................................ Wallace Feb. 4................................................................... Sandhills Valley Feb. 5............................................................................. Arapahoe Feb. 12............................................................. at Medicine Valley Feb. 19.................................... at Sandhills/Thedford (boys only)
Eagles returning players. He averaged 5.2 points and 4.1 re- bounds per game last year. Lusk averaged 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds in a reserve role as a freshman. “We are a pretty fresh team this year,” Eagles coach Chris Blecha said. “This group works well together and wants to get better. They have got- ten better every day but we are still learning what it takes to play consistently on a varsity level.”
points in a win over Garden County on Dec. 4. Blake Lusk (10.7 ppg), a 6-2 sophomore, is the other Brady player who has averaged dou- ble figures through the first few weeks of the season. Lusk also has averaged a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game through five games, and Most has averaged eight re- bounds and four blocks per game. The duo have most var- sity experience among the
The Brady boys graduat- ed seven seniors from a team that finished the 2019-20 cam- paign with an 11-12 mark during the 2019-20 campaign. That includes Shane Merrill, who led the team in scoring as he averaged 14.2 points per game. Brady, with a core group of sophomores and juniors, has won two of their six games opening six game. Shane Most, a 6-foot-3 junior, has averaged 17 ppg so far that includes 20
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