Centre girls to rely on young players
Staff writer
Centre’s varsity girls have a new coach this season in Landon Hinkson, but he’s not new to the school.
Hinkson coached two years with Centre junior high as well as 11 other seasons coaching basketball in his overall.
He will be assisted by Kelsey Hett in her fourth season at Centre.
Only one senior will take the court for the girls, Anna Godinez-Vinduska, who will have a big leadership role according to Hinkson.
“Anna will be competing for a starting position and significant minutes and will be asked to play multiple positions for the team,” Hinkson said. “We have a very young team, and with only two upperclassmen, we will be relying on our young players to help contribute at the varsity level,” Hinkson said.
The other upperclassman is junior Ryleigh Jones.
Jones is one of two returning starters from last season.
According to Hinkson, “Jones will be expected to be a team leader and be an interior presence on both sides of the court and take on a larger role in the offense.”
Sophomore Jaycee Stika is the other returning starter and will be joined by one other sophomore, Sarah Barlow.
“Sarah has the ability to play multiple positions,” Hinkson said, “and will be competing for increased minutes as she continues to develop and improve.
“Jaycee will be asked to handle the ball more this season, match up defensively with our opponents’ best perimeter player, and has the potential to be a good outside shooter.”
The rest of the team is made up of five freshman eager to compete for significant game minutes: Bella Angerame, Natalie Axelrad, Lacey Hancock, Addison Kitzmiller, and Katherine Rziha.
The Cougars opened up their season on the road Friday against Wakefield, winning a low scoring affair, 25-21.
“Our main focus this season is player development and building the foundation for the team we want to become,” Hinkson said.
Centre’s next games of the season will be a part of the Herington tournament Thursday through Saturday.
Boys’ basketball
The Cougars may have you intrigued this season with potential to be exciting, according to coach Richard Idleman.
“Though lacking in numbers, this group of young men will be fun to watch while having to adapt and grow up quickly,” Idleman said.
Centre returns three starters from last season, junior Micah Carlson and sophomores Noah Brunner and Brady Idleman.
“The team is the youngest in the league; however, these are returning players who have been battle-tested, if you will,” Idleman said.
Other returning varsity players are Brogan Plett and Kole Kroupa, who had time on the court last season.
“Carlson has to increase his offensive numbers this season, being aggressive with the basketball,” Idleman said. “Brunner, after taking a lot of hard knocks inside as a freshman a year ago, has been here before, so the expectation will be that he has a solid inside presence.
Brady Idleman will be navigating the offense at point guard. “The expectation this year is he will need to be ready right away with good court vision and consistency in taking care of the basketball,” coach Idleman said.
Centre’s strengths’ this season will come from returning players, mental toughness on defense, inside presence, and coaching.
“We must have great defensive communication and effort,” Idlleman said. “The team needs to take care of the ball, continue working on spreading the floor and getting to the free-throw line more frequently.”
The Cougars’ first game of the season was Friday night on the road against Wakefield.
In a dominating fashion, Centre won, 54-11.
“With a challenging schedule, if the new players integrate well and the team improves on defense, we have the potential to have a successful season,” Idleman said.
Centre will be playing in Herington Thursday thruough Saturday.