The Capital City Cavaliers already have plenty of experience on the basketball court ahead of tonight's season opener.
This summer, the Cavaliers played eight games at the Hickman Shootout and another 25 games in Lincoln's summer league at The LINC between their varsity and JV teams. Now players are ready to get after it in the regular season, starting with tonight's game against the Rolla Bulldogs in the Rolla Tip-Off Classic.
"We have provided a bunch of opportunities early on, with our preseason conditioning and morning shootings since the season started," Capital City coach Darrin Young said. "I think that's built a lot of our confidence, which is something that is going to be very important going into the start of the season."
Cedric Warren, a sophomore, was slated to be the starting point guard for the Cavaliers, but he suffered an ankle injury during the preseason and is expected to miss the first two weeks of the season. Sophomore Corde Brown will start at point guard in Warren's absence.
"He's played some high-level AAU basketball over the summer," Young said of Brown. "That helps to have somebody that has that experience in that position."
Ashden Cason, a sophomore who transferred from Fulton, will take one of the starting guard positions. The other guard position is up for grabs between freshman Jamisen Schwarzer and sophomore Mitch Renfrow.
"Both of those guys are very coachable and play hard," Young said of Schwarzer and Renfrow. "They're both excellent shooters as well."
In the post, sophomore Marcus Davis will take a starting spot, while freshman Blake Meredith plays more like a guard, but because of his height at 6-foot-4, he'll likely be a forward for the Cavaliers.
Freshman John Hightower and sophomore Miguel Gutierrez will come off the bench as guards, while sophomores Thomas Kesete and Owen Stieferman will be substitutions in the post. Gutierrez also suffered a preseason injury and could miss the season opener.
Capital City plays Monday at Camdenton, then goes to the Marshall Tournament the following week for pool-play games against Sedalia Smith-Cotton and Kirksville.
"I want to see how competitive we are," Young said. "How will we embrace adversity? When you go against bigger opponents, how do you respond to that?"
Like all Capital City teams this year, the Cavaliers will have a roster of just sophomores and freshmen.
"I make this analogy that I'm asking kids that were in middle school math to jump right into a calculus class as freshmen," Young said. "The reality of it is, is once they jump into that calculus and they go through those trials and tribulations so quickly, by the time they get to that second year of taking that calculus class, and then their third year of that calculus class, it becomes like clockwork in terms of what to expect on a regular basis."
After playing Dec. 10 at Moberly, the Cavaliers are off for three full weeks before its home opener Jan. 2 against Iberia.
"They're going to be the first ones to start whatever tradition follows," Young said. "They'll be excited as we come closer and closer to that day."
Capital City will be in Class 4 District 10 with Boonville, Camdenton, Helias, Marshall and School of the Osage.