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| 2009-2010 Tri-Village Varsity Baskeball Team: Sitting From L-R: Craig Dill, Evan Catron, Drew Moore, Aaron Cassel, Kyle Pipenger. Standing From L-R: Colby Morris, Cody Gunckel, Evan Barger, Matt Miller, Tyler Garland and Coach Josh Sagester. |
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The Tri-Village Boys Basketball Team graduated 6 seniors from the 2008-2009 Team; Tyler Greer, Heath West, Brett Foreman, David Richards, Troy Pearson and Zach Mogle off a team that went 14-7 last year and 10-2 in the conference for a 2nd place finish.
The 2009-2010 program will miss these players and will need to replace the leadership and experience they received from a 4-year player in Tyler Greer. Greer was a career double-digit scorer, last year averaging 13.8 points a game while leading the team in Rebounding at 4.8 and dishing out 5.2 assist a game to finish second all-time in career assist.
But the Patriots return a nucleus of 3 players with experience, Drew Moore, Cody Gunckel and Matt Miller that will be looked upon to lead the team this year.
Here is the preview of the 2009-2010 Varsity Boys Basketball Team.
#12 Drew Moore a 5’9” junior guard was a 1st team CCC selection last year and led the team in scoring at 16.3 points a game. Drew is not only a threat from behind the arch… but is capable of scoring on the move or off the dribble drive and will be looked upon again this year to do the same.
#23 Cody Gunckel a 6’3” senior forward is capable of scoring from the outside… but also has found success in the middle and can take the ball to the hole and finish. Cody is needed this year to help pick up the slack on the boards.
#21 Matt Miller is a 6”6” senior center that will anchor the post and is quick off his feet. He will provide the bulk of inside scoring and will be big on the boards for the Patriots.
Two other seniors will be counted on to lead the team this year and they are Evan Catron and Craig Dill.
#15 Evan Catron a 5’11” senior guard sat out last year and is looking forward to getting back on the hardwood. Evan is capable of distributing the basketball offensively and has shown he can play good fundamental defense, he will be counted on to bring that to the floor every game.
#25 Craig Dill a 5’10” senior guard comes from a loyal basketball family and loves the game. He has an excellent touch from the outside and has shown the ability to knock down big shots from behind the arch. He will provide depth at the guard position.
The program has three other juniors on the team this year, Tyler Garland, Colby Morris and Aaron Cassel.
#33 Tyler Garland a 6’2” junior forward is athletic, long and runs the floor and can finish at the basket. He has started to show an ability to score in the paint and will give TV another post player who can score inside.
#5 Colby Morris a 6’3” junior forward is a tough-minded kid who has shown the willingness to sacrifice for the team. He has a knack of being around the basketball and coming up with loose balls and big rebounds. He is also capable of defending multiple positions on the floor.
#10 Aaron Cassel a 6’1” junior guard has shown the ability to knock down the perimeter jumper and is starting to learn to play with some intensity. All three of these juniors are capable of contributing on any given night.
The Patriots round our their roster with two underclassmen, sophomore Evan Barger and freshman Kyle Pipenger.
#50 Evan Barger a 6’6” center is a post player who can create mismatches inside. He has shown the ability to rebound and defend… but needs to improve his skill level in the post to score and display a little toughness against stronger post players.
#34 Kyle Pipenger a 6’0 freshman is an extremely athletic young man that has tremendous potential. He has an uncanny ability to draw defenders while finding the open man. He also has the ability to score from all over the floor and can defend many positions as well. Both of these underclassmen will lend depth to the Patriots program.
Coach Sagester is heading into his 6th year at the helm of the Patriots and thus far has accumulated 71 wins for an average of 14.2 wins a year and has claimed 2 sectional titles. “I believe our program experience and athleticism is a key strength for us this year”, cited Coach Sagester.
Frontrunners for the league title this year will be the Bethel Bees, Covington Buccaneers and Miami East Vikings.
Bethel returns everyone from a team that was expected to win last year but finished in 3rd place. They will have a new coach this year Rick Hickman and if the name sounds familiar it should. Rick was an assistant at Miami East and his son Dan was the CCC and District 9 Player of the Year for league co-champs Miami East. Look for a renewed spirit at Bethel who will be ready to challenge for a title. Scott Masin will anchor the post for Bethel and is a load inside. Masin will get plenty of support from a tandem of senior guards, Dan Yates and Jon Sutton. Bethel has plenty of size, athleticism, speed and quickness to give many teams match-up problems.
Covington will be a hard-nosed, physical team that will wear down opponents. Last year sophomore Eric Beckstedt had some monster games from the outside and will be the “Go To Guy” at Covington this year. To go along with Beckstedt, Covington can pound it hard inside and will look to seniors Jordy Meyer, Ben Christian and Adam Craft for leadership.
Miami East graduated Dan Hickman and Logan Carey, both pillars of the program… but they have plenty of players ready to step forward to fill their spots. They return players from a JV squad who took the conference title last year along with senior varsity player Tyler Dunivan who has a strong will to win, is tough minded and will provide leadership for the Vikings. Allen Mack has shown over the years he knows how to prepare his teams to compete and will be more than ready to challenge the top teams again this year.
The Cross County Conference will have plenty of teams that can knock off anyone on any given day. Other teams that will provide challenges to the top tier teams are Twin Valley South, Mississinawa Valley, Tri-County North, Franklin Monroe and Arcanum.
Tri-Village brings back one starter and two other players with varsity experience from their second place team last year. If they expect to compete for a title again this year they need those three players to lead the way. They also need help from the supporting cast to make the most of their playing time and contribute when on the floor. If they do that then they will once again find themselves in the hunt for a title down the stretch.
Good luck this year and go Patriots! |
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| Junior Drew Moore returns to lead the Patriots for the 2009-2010 season. |
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| 2009-10 Tri-Village Patriots |
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2009-10 Season Results
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