SOUTH WASCO COUNTY head coach Jim Hull discusses strategy with his varsity group in a recent practice last week in Maupin. The Redsides have seven players measuring 5-foot-11 inches or taller, including all-league shooting guard Travis Hayes and the team returns 6-4 shot-blocking junior center Ty Herlocker for a group that amassed 13 wins last season.
SOUTH WASCO COUNTY head coach Jim Hull discusses strategy with his varsity group in a recent practice last week in Maupin. The Redsides have seven players measuring 5-foot-11 inches or taller, including all-league shooting guard Travis Hayes and the team returns 6-4 shot-blocking junior center Ty Herlocker for a group that amassed 13 wins last season.
In the past two seasons, South Wasco County’s defense has dropped from 58.2 points allowed per game down to 51.4 last season, so with the return of 6-foot-4 inch Ty Herlocker and the increased development of 6-6 junior Haven Stephenson, the numbers will improve from there for the 2015-16 winter season.
All told, the Redsides have four players spanning 6-1 in height, with Brody Myers and Ellis Rager serving as bookends to Herlocker and Stephenson, and the trio of Travis Hayes, Devan Dammann and Dawson Herlocker adding even more height and skill for head coach Jim Hull.
Gone are the days of a fast-paced flow, so the philosophy starts and ends with exploiting the post.
“By moving too much, it may take our size advantage against some teams away,” Hull said. “I don’t see us playing as fast or being a 3-point dominant team like we have been in the last few years. We are going to take advantage of chances when they occur. At the same time, we are not going to try to out-run teams, so the plan is to use our size and our height to get ourselves in half-court sets and create from there.”
On one hand, the defense showed marked improvements, but the offense dipped from 69.3 points a game to 59.5 points, but Hayes, who averaged 14.6 points a contest last year, sees limitless potential within the offense.
Keith Kegel and Andrew Lindley are two quick elements that add a dynamic dimension to the backcourt to help support on both sides of the hardwood.
“We have a lot of talent here this year, more than we have ever had,” Hayes said. “We have a lot of tall guys, we have fast guys and guys that can shoot the ball. Our starting five can, I feel, drop 20 every night, so we have many weapons here that can help us do some good things through the season.”
SWC finished 13-12 last year and went 8-6 in league play for fourth place.
In all, the Redsides had 11 of their wins come by 18 or more points, 10 coming in Big Sky action.
In eight games, SWC also scored 67 or more points, going undefeated when that occurred.
After beating Mitchell-Spray by a 64-46 margin in their district opener, the Redsides then lost to Horizon Christian and Dufur in its next two games to finish shy of state action.
Hull expects the Big Sky Conference to be just as competitive this year.
“The Big Sky Conference hasn’t seen much dropoff in the past couple of years,” Hull said. “There are a lot of very good teams here to play against. It is never an easy night in the Big Sky. You cannot take a night off or else the other team can jump up and get you.”
The top-2 teams have district byes, while the other four compete in play-in games to earn a trip to the district site in Madras, a new location, for the first time in more than two decades.
Getting back to that top level, competing in state action has been a preseason plan for the Redsides.
Having Ty Herlocker back is huge boost in the right direction.
“He will bring a defense to this team from the center position that will allow us to play more pressure defense from the half-court,” Hull said. “Having him in the middle, with his long arms, just him being on the court, automatically makes us better defensively. He can be that last line of defense that can change a lot of shots and then allow us to go out and maybe get some easy opportunities. It is nice to have him out there now. He will be our key.”
SWC played more than 20 games this summer to become acclimated to this new style of play.
There will be moments of a learning curve, but with 21 games and a pair of tournaments, the Redsides have time to round into form.
Stephenson said the players on this team are doing everything they can to improve, so that drive is there to hopefully get Hayes, Dammann, Myers and Rager to Baker City in March.
“We know what it’s like to lose, so we don’t want to go down that same path this year,” Stephenson said. “As a junior, I believe that the four seniors that we do have are working hard and leading us. They want to go to state. They have gone to districts every year and want to take a step higher. They have pushed themselves in practice and in the offseason and done everything so we can get better. We all appreciate that, so we are going to go out and do our best so they can make it in their last year.”
SWC hosts the Redside Tournament in Maupin on Dec. 4-5 with the first game slated for 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4.
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