It's been said the best thing about sophomores is they become juniors. So how nice is it when those returning players were also pretty good as sophomores?
That's what the Calvary Lutheran boys basketball team is looking at, as a huge group of juniors joins two key seniors to give the Lions a veteran squad. That group gets the season underway tonight when it plays at 7:45 p.m. at New Bloomfield.
"In addition to our two seniors, we've got a lot of juniors who saw a lot of time as sophomores, and even some of them got some meaningful minutes as freshmen," Calvary Lutheran head coach Mark Buffington said. "We've got some good kids who can do some good things.
"I think our team has got the ability to be a lot more balanced on both ends of the floor."
That balance will be important after the Lions lost do-everything guard Beau Monson to graduation and had another starter, Hance Sommerer, graduate as well.
"You can't replace somebody like Beau, not just his ability and play on the court, but his leadership," Buffington said. "But we have some really good balance and have a variety of kids who can pick up the slack."
Not only are the Lions experienced, but they're perhaps as deep as they've ever been in terms of overall talent.
"We'll play a lot of kids, we've got quality depth," Buffington said. "The starting lineups may change from game to game. But that keeps the guys sharp when they know guys are sitting there ready to go and can come in and not miss a beat.
"We've had a lot of competition in practice. My first year, we only had 11 kids and the disparity from the top kids to the JV was so large, it was tough to get better."
Between the varsity and the JV, the Lions have 20 players out. The group is led by 6-foot-1 senior guard Cole Duenckel and 6-4 senior center Ross Schlichting.
"They have played all four years - they were freshmen my first year here - so they offer some good experience," Buffington said.
Then comes the large group of juniors, led by 6-1 small forward Cal Kolzow.
"He's got the experience, he played as a freshman and started a lot last year," Buffington said. "He's a good shooter and a good rebounder for his size.
Stepping in for Monson at point guard is 5-11 guard Collin Bernskoetter.
"He's got a tough role to fill in, but he's improved a lot," Buffington said. "He's guarded Beau in practice the last two years, and vice versa, so that helped him improve."
Jack Robbins, a 6-3 guard, and 6-1 guard Alex Flannigan provide some reliable outside shooting for the Lions.
They are joined by 6-1 forwards Luke Allen and Ray Eickmeyer.
"Luke will play inside a lot, he's a good jumper who really came on at the end of last year, and Ray is a small forward who can guard people bigger than him and who may also see time at the point when Collin needs a break."
The remainder of the varsity consists of 6-2 junior Robert Ashbaugh and 6-1 sophomore Matt Allen.
It's a roster boasting pretty decent size, which is a nice attribute for Calvary to have.
"Two years ago, we didn't start a player over six feet tall," Buffington said. "We did OK, but that's kind of tough. This year, all our starters with be six foot and above, with the exception of Collin."
Buffington said the team,which follows up tonight's opener with an appearance next week in the Eugene Tournament, must improve its mental toughness to have a successful season.
"I'm not bad-mouthing the kids by any means, but we just need to be ready for adversity," he said. "We work on at practice on staying tough mentally and not letting negative things be a negative for the whole team."