The Calvary Lutheran boys basketball team will be on the younger side this year, but depth and scoring ability are not something that worry Lions coach Mark Buffington.
The team graduated several seniors from its varsity squad a year ago: R.J. Mays, Jimmie Wehmeyer, Matt Allen and Nick Stark are all gone. Wehmeyer and Mays were CCAA first-team selections last year, and Allen was an honorable mention.
But the Lions also kept a group of seven freshmen together on last year's junior varsity team that kept Saturday's varsity-JV scrimmage closer than it was a year ago. Those players now have a year's worth of high school experience and will hopefully be able to contribute this year.
"I like our young kids and the fact that they competed," Buffington said after Saturday's scrimmage. "I thought that was maybe one of the better things about it. And we got in situations that we need to see during games, and our varsity kids handled it pretty well."
Buffington sees that depth as an advantage as Calvary Lutheran prepares for its season opener on the road against New Bloomfield. The JV game is set for a 6 p.m. tip, followed by the varsity game around 7:30 p.m.
"I think we've got depth up and down, meaning JV to varsity," Buffington said. "Varsity is going to be a little thin; we've got a couple kids hurt or ineligible, and we had a couple kids not (at the Crimson & Silver scrimmage) that make a little bit of a difference. But up and down, I like our balance, and when we get into a rhythm I think our varsity is capable of scoring a little better."
This team will look different than last year's squad that finished 6-16 and lost in the first round of the district tournament to Eugene. With just two returning starters and two players that Buffington expects to be made eligible by the Missouri State High School Activities Association by the start of January, it's possible the team will also look different from 2018 to 2019.
Josh Pritchett and Ian McLaughlin both started as sophomores and return to lead the Lions, who will also have junior Sam Owens available for the entire season after sitting into February of this year waiting to become eligible.
"Starting point guard Conner Duscheke was hurt most of the year last year, he's a senior," Buffington said. "Another guard, Sam Felger, came off the bench last year and didn't play a whole lot. Caleb Blinn, the other senior, is a transfer student. So we're really still getting to know each other."
The challenge this season for Calvary Lutheran will be putting all the pieces together to start the season, which begins today, and then do it again for the start of conference play, when the two currently ineligible players will be made eligible.
As a coach, Buffington would always like a little more time than the calendar allows to achieve that goal, but thinks the team will be ready.
"It's here, so we have to be," Buffington said. "The kids are ready to play."