Cougars begin season Friday night
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The first high school basketball contests of the season will be Friday at Centre with the visit of Southeast of Saline. Competition will begin at 6 p.m.
Russ Hake is in his fourth year as coach of the Cougars. Marc Grout is his assistant for the third year. The team is comprised of 18 players.
The three returning starters are seniors Todd Stahlecker and Travis Burns and junior Justin Garrard.
As a 5'8" guard, Stahlecker was the second leading scorer last year. Throughout his career, he has averaged 17.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Coach Hake said Stahlecker brings excellent ball control, shooting range, and quickness to the team.
Burns, a 5'9" guard, gives additional quickness on defense and is a good ball handler and perimeter shooter, Hake said. Burns' record shows an average of 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.
Garrard, a 6'3" forward, brings height to the team. He handled most of the post work as a sophomore. He averaged 8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. Hake said Garrard has gotten stronger and quicker and will be a strong player because of his experience.
Aaron Barney is a 6' senior forward and returning letterman. He played a lot of minutes last season and is expected to provide additional strength on the inside and on the perimeter.
Junior Andrew Hajek, a 5'10" guard, and sophomore Bryant Gutsch, a 5'7" guard, also are returning lettermen.
"Hopefully, quickness will be our greatest asset," Coach Hake said. "We hope to put a lot of pressure on defensively."
He also is hoping to have a more balanced offense, with good attack on the inside as well as outside.
"We should have some players with good range from the outside and some stronger play from our post," he said.
The coach is concerned about the team's lack of depth. He is hoping to see some younger players step up and do their job. He also wants to see rebounding improve.
He looks for Solomon and White City to be very competitive in the Eisenhower League. However, overall, he thinks the league is pretty balanced.
"We should be able to compete with everyone in the league," he said, "but we could have some match-up problems with some of the bigger teams."
