2022-23 BOYS' BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Clovers look to piece together winning squad under Turk

Friday, November 18, 2022
Mcguire Lee
Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

For the first time since the 2004-04 season, Cloverdale will have to build a varsity roster without a Rady at the helm.

Also, for the first time in ages, the Clovers will not have a perennial scoring power to build around and will rely on a squad that head coach Karl Turk will guide after an 11-13 and 5-5 WIC mark during the 2021-22 season, though the new boss said numbers were booming early on.

“The first week of official practice has been intriguing,” Turk said. “Pressed to give a single descriptor, I would say they have been spirited.

“It was a revelation to me, the coaching staff and the student-athletes the first official day when we noted we didn’t have enough lockers in the varsity locker-room for each player to have their own locker and having to dip into previous editions of practice gear to outfit each person. The enthusiasm and volume level have been higher, though every program hopefully experiences that first week excitement, and it was certainly a moment when we were able to have five-on-five in two separate gyms.”

Turk, who took over the team in the summer after the resignation of Patrick Rady as head coach, said the squad was getting used to not having a single player to focus around and was feeling its way through the new systems being put in place.

“On the court, players have certainly given significant amounts of hard work but sometimes we’ve noted it hasn’t been the smartest work and a lot of that is related to the amount of inexperience we have in the program,” Turk noted. “On paper, we have four seniors, but none of the four will graduate having played four basketball seasons; in fact, for two of them this will be the first season of varsity experience.

“Admittedly, getting our system to be implemented is taking time as we want to make sure the system matches the players and the first week of practice was the first time we’ve had the overwhelming majority of varsity players in the gym stepped up and represented our school and community through football and cross country participation.”

Cloverdale has four seniors in returns Mcguire Lee (4 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.5 apg) and Levi Hilton (3.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg) along with Jesse Miller and Garrett Monnett, juniors Noah Betz (2.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg), Scottie McGuire, Liam Ramsey, Jalen Ream, Caiden Watts, Dakota King and Emmanuel McDougall, sophomores Tayt Jackson (4.6 ppg, 3 rpg), Levi Johnson, Landon Bates and Bejamin Campbell and bring in several freshmen in Artrevion Henderson, Justin Peters, Spencer Nees, Desmond Alexander, Dustin Peck, Austin Shepherd, Corbin Lewellen and Evan Barnett.

Lee, Hilton and Jackson were providing plenty of spark according to Turk.

“We’ve been certainly pleased with the three returning varsity players Mcguire, Levi and Tayt,” Turk said. In Particular, Mcguire has shown a level of leadership that we’ve lacked. He’s been appropriately vocal and has been able to match what he’s saying to a higher degree.

“Levi has the good senioritis, implying that he just wants to win and is volunteering to do whatever it takes and, quite frankly, Tayt has really matured in disposition and ownership of the team. He’s winning sprints, giving counsel to teammates and certainly holding people accountable for not paying attention and showing proper respect to coaches and the program.”

Turk was also pleased to have Monnett out for the 2022-23 season.

“We’ve been pleasantly excited about senior Garrett Monnett,” Turk pointed out. “Many viewed him as the player with the most potential in the program in middle school but for a variety of reasons, he has not dressed for a single Cloverdale basketball game during his four years of high school.

“He has been in the gym consistently since the fall and appears to be a difference maker for us this season. We are excited for his time experiencing the crowd and pageantry of high school hoops.”

Other returners in Betz and McGuire have potential to break out according to Turk.

“Scottie may be the person in the program with the most improvement,” Turk said. “He is definitely stronger, quicker and seems more poised and confident.

“A key to the season will be junior Noah Betz. He was really coming on last year before an injury. He elected to work on basketball in the fall and is the best shooter in the gym.

“However, he needs to display the same pride in his defense as he has in his offense,” Turk added. “When he does, he can be a special player and we can be a special team. He certainly has been challenged in practice and to his credit he has responded to each challenge with the appropriate attitude and redirection of effort.

“He still has a learning curve as he’s never played a large varsity role but we all believe in him and it appears he is willing to do the work.”

“We really aren’t trying to temper the first few games in any particular way as the score will be counted and we want to win,” Turk said. “We may not be ahead on the scoreboard after time expires, but in no way to do we want to take the sting out of a loss; we feel that adds to a sense of contentment and false accomplishment.

“Growth will occur throughout the season, but the other teams will also experience growth, so we need to get ahead on the scoreboard as quickly as we can.”

With as many newcomers and younger faces in the squad, Turk expected growing pains to occur as the season begins but wasn’t looking to use that or the lack of a special talent to prevent the team from getting after it all season and, by the time tournament play begins, become a well-balanced unit that would be hard to beat.

“By county and sectional time, we aspire to be a team the is the epitome and personification of this season’s mantra, ‘strength in numbers,’” Turk said. “We want to defend and play offense that way as its going to take a more collective effort for us to reach our goals.

“A generational talent such as Cooper Neese, Jalen Moore or Kyle Thomas is not in this edition of Cloverdale basketball for the first time in years, so its going to take a higher number of players coming closer to maximizing their potential in order for us return to our championship ways. The players seem to realize this and look forward to the challenge and winning in a different way.

“Early on, we’ve noted that though they realize we haven’t fully understood yet, but collectively we are on our way of getting there.”

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