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2022-23 BOYS' BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Eagles look to experienced group to buckle down and move up
Of the four county teams, South Putnam brings back the most experienced roster from the 2021-22 season.
That it comes from a team that was 5-19 a year ago and avoided being bottom of the WIC at 1-9 by virtue of a win over Brown County leaves plenty to work on, for new head coach Kyle Swafford, who many remember for his time at Monrovia coaching the Bulldog girls’ and boys’ basketball teams.
“I’m glad to be back,” Swafford said. “I left a pretty good (Southridge) team that had a lot coming back but I felt my heart was here and my family was here, which is important.
“I’m glad to be a South Putnam, working with good administrators and have hit the ground running,”
Swafford is the fourth coach in the last four years at South Putnam, a change Swafford said had not only affected the Xs and Os on the court but had further reaching consequences he wanted to help negate.
“Experience is very important in varsity basketball because it takes time to learn the speed of the game, the athleticism and physicality of it,” Swafford noted. “What these guys need here is consistency: from me, from the athletic department in general and in their day-to-day, something they’ve lacked.
“Their record last year shows. I wasn’t a part of that and I’ve talked to them about moving forward and not dwelling on the past but having a different outlook on things. So far, we’re heading in the right direction and while there’s a long way to go, I do like the pieces we have and the chemistry has been a pleasant surprise.”
The Eagles bring back five seniors in Cayden Witt, Fisher Jones, Austen Branam, Griffin Garner and Jeremiah Hibbeln along with junior Drew Hill, a group that made up the bulk of the varsity minutes a year ago.
“So far I’ve been impressed when you look at Drew, Austin and Griffin, who are the nucleus of this team and have the most experience,” Swafford said. “I’m relying on them because of that experience but there are a lot of other guys stepping up as well.
“Austin is our glue guy; he keeps everyone in shape and makes this thing go, showing a tremendous amount of leadership and helping me as a new coach. For the seniors, I am their fourth coach in four years, so I am relying on them a lot because I want them to have a voice and identity not only in the program but for the younger guys looking up to them.
“Everyone hears my voice. In practice, they hear it constantly, so having a different voice like Austin or Griffin is important,” Swafford added.” They are bonding together because they want a better experience, building on the past but wanting more. They also show a lot of poise throughout practice and have a tremendous amount of character, which leads to success down the road.”
Behind the upperclassmen is a solid sophomore group in Wyatt Mullin, Cameron Bozell, Wyatt Switzer, Zach Dorsett and Parker Harris that round out the varsity squad, a group Swafford hopes will bring the success on the football field into the locker room and on the court.
“We have a really strong sophomore group with Wyatt Switzer, Wyatt Mullin and Zach, who are all physical guys who played on the football team, a winning team, and I like that aspect for all three,” Swafford said. “They’re weight room guys, used to the physicality on the football field and are used to being coached, which does make a difference.
“They had another winning season and we talked about bringing that mentality over because our non-football players haven’t been as successful in the past. We want that to change and intertwine everybody to make that success for everyone.”
Juniors Isayah Hardwick, Logan Sillery and Andrew Weiland, sophomore Conner Arnold and freshmen Kenny McDaniel, Hayden Tincher, Stephen Benton, Khalil Jefferson and Tristen Coons will begin the year on JV with Swafford pleased with how the younger members of the squad are taking to the program early in the season.
“We’ve got a good mix of kids and had to make cuts this year, which you hate to do as a coach but also is a good program-sign because you’ve got interest and too many kids,” Swafford pointed out. “Basketball is a numbers game and it shows where the program is with so many kids having interest.
“We have five or six freshmen who will be playing up on JV and making that transition from middle school, skipping freshman ball, is a tough jump to make but competing against our JV every day makes a huge difference because they’ll make big gains throughout the year.
“We might struggle early on but you want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the year,” Swafford added. “We don’t want to be taking a step forward and two steps back all year but take consistent steps to play our best basketball in March.”
The Eagles will have some breaks in the schedule this season after pulling out of the Edinburgh Holiday Tournament to give the team time to gear up for the January start, as well as a week-long break before the Putnam County Classic.
Swafford said having the season broken into thirds helps the team build up a head of steam before heading into sectional play as well as gives the team the time to understand what it wants to be on the floor and can execute the game plan to a high level when it’s most needed.
“I like our chemistry and our work ethic but we’re going to have to have guys step up,” Swafford said. “We need them to have an identity, a role and to understand that role.
“We want them to know why we play our style and do the things we do, which is important going into February and into the tournament. It’s important the kids know their identity as a team, which leaves less to stress about.”