Wildcats season opens Thursday

By Eric Wade

Daily Mail Sports Editor

BRONAUGH -- The Bronaugh High School boys' basketball team will enter the 2013-14 season Thursday with similar questions to those faced by a number of other local teams this season. Head coach Sean Crane's squad may have only lost three players to last year's graduation -- Josh Willis, Patrick Hallam and Blake Hudson -- but those three players accounted for approximately 90 percent of the Wildcats' offensive production throughout the year.

"It will be something we will have to get use to playing without them as those three guys contributed to 90 percent of our scoring last season," Crane said.

This year's Wildcats squad will have a similar look to last season, welcoming back nine upperclassmen to its 15-man roster. Despite losing so much offense, that veteran leadership should allow Crane's squad to build upon what last year's 11-14 team did.

"(The) biggest key for us is very simple," Crane said. "Consistency. (We) have to be able to play our kind of basketball consistently to have success."

Those upper class veterans returning to this year's team include senior forwards Thomas Kerbs and Chance Wait and senior guard Jacob Hendrix, along with sophomore center Cole Diggins. Joining them on this year's squad will be a number of players who didn't see much varsity time last year, including junior guar Bryce Whitworth, junior forward Parker Norman, senior forward Parker Bott, sophomore guard Gabe McEntire, junior guard Reece Mader and freshman guard Joe Mader.

Though Blake Hudson marked a significant loss for the Wildcats from last year's team, Crane said his brother, Justin, could step up and fill his shoes this year.

"Justin Hudson is a very versatile player for us (who) can be a guard or a forward," Crane said. "He is looking to take a lot of the roles of his older brother, Blake, who graduated last year."

Despite all of the questions facing this year's Wildcats squad, confidence still runs high as Crane looks to build upon his 20-31 career record as a head basketball coach. The Wildcats and their fans won't have to wait long to see if that confidence will turn into success on the court as Crane's squad is scheduled to get the season under way on Thursday.

The Wildcats will open the 2013-14 season on the road, when they take on Golden Valley Vernon County Conference rival Montrose. The first of two varsity games on the schedule that night is set to tip off at 5:30 p.m., at Montrose High School.