Prep Hoops: Brains Over Braun
It's some uncharted waters for Harrisburg head boys' basketball coach Randy Smithpeters.
The residuals of his team that won the school's first state title in 2013 is nearly all gone with the biggest loss being Bahari Amaya to graduation.
Amaya leaves the Bulldogs after averaging 23 points per game. Amaya was a sophomore on that team and is now suiting up for Illinois-Springfield this season.
Another freshman on that team Anfernee Houston suffered a broken foot in the preseason and is expected to miss most - if not all - of this year.
So what's left for Smithpeters?
He returns a core of players that played alongside Amaya and Houston last season in sophomores Blake Drue, Isaiah Saulsberry and Jordan Bartok, along with the lone senior Patrick Bittle, who was also a part of that 2013 state championship team.
Saulsberry averaged 7.3 points per game a year ago, while Bartok averaged 4.0.
Bittle averaged 3.8 and Drue averaged 3.5.
In most cases, age is only a number. In this case, Smithpeters knows his teams youth will lead to some early problems.
"We are without Anfernee at least for now, we'll just have to see how that works out. That really just changed the entire dynamics of the group. So, being young and inexperienced and we know we don't have a lot of size, we're just going to try to do some different things and try to use our strengths. We'll try to make defense as important as we possibly can. Also knowing that we have some deficit areas in size that's going to be difficult to make up, especially defensively."
Of those strengths - and Smithpeters doesn't expect to see it in the early going - will be shooting.
"I think it's a down the road a little bit, but we have a few shooters, we have a few penetrators. We can be fairly athletic. I've been happy with our intelligence, as far as just knowing what to do and picking up on things. So I think this is a group that will improve rather quickly, especially early, and hopefully, just keep improving."
Having guys like Bartok, Drue, Saulsberry and Bittle back in the mix is a bright spot for Smithpeters, knowing that its not a situation where he's starting completely from scratch.
"There is experience there and the great difference is, we don't have Bahari. They played a role last year behind Bahari and Bahari was carrying a lot of the weight we didn't have the pressure and the decision making situations that we're going to have this year, which they have not experienced. So that's a whole new world that we're stepping into, and being young altogether, they would have provided some of that leadership. Now I do want to brag on Patrick Bittle who is right now our lone senior that will be on the floor. A great example of hard work and desire and he will provide leadership."
Harrisburg opted out of the Goreville Invitational after just one season and will start its 2015-16 campaign in Murphsyboro at the 13th Annual Ernie Bozarth Memorial Tournament. Most of the schedule stays pat for the Bulldogs as they are once again part of the Eldorado Holiday Tournament and will play in the Carmi-White County Invitational in mid-January, before making the jump to Class 3A in the postseason.
Smithpeters isn't quite sure what to expect from his Bulldogs this season, but knows that brains always wins out over braun.
I think we have to work together and play much harder and prepare much harder than our opponent. I think intelligence will be a factor. My concern is how well we shoot. We've got to defend. And size will be a major problem, but hopefully we can shoot well enough to create the points that if we defend well enough, we can win. If we can't score well enough, then that's not an easy thing to fix."
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
HARRISBURG BASKETBALL
<p>Coach: Randy Smithpeters<br />Last Year: 18-11<br />Who’s Gone: Bahari Amaya (23 ppg), Carson Batts (5.4 ppg).<br />Who’s Back: Anfernee Houston (9.3 ppg), Blake Drue (3.5 ppg), Jordan Bartok (4.0 ppg), Isaiah Saulsberry (7.3 ppg), Patrick Bittle (3.8 ppg).<br /><br /></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Roster</strong></span></p>
<p>No. Name Class Height<br />3 Carson Burtis So. 6-0<br />4 Alvin Villanueva So. 5-6<br />11 Patrick Bittle Sr. 5-10<br />12 Blake Drue So. 5-11<br />14 Jordan Gould So. 6-0<br />15 Jaden Sigler Fr. 5-10<br />22 Austin Hefner Jr. 6-0<br />21 Hunter Smith So. 6-0<br />23 Isaiah Saulsberry So. 5-7<br />25 Will Sanders Fr. 6-2<br />33 Anfernee Houston Sr. 6-1<br />40 Dalton Lambert So. 6-0<br />42 Jordan Bartok So. 6-1<br />44 Noah Ferrell Jr. 6-1<br />45 Presley Gauch So. 5-11<br />55 Riley Barnard So. 6-0<br /><br /></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Schedule</strong></span></p>
<p>Nov. 28 Confluence, Mo.* 11 am<br />Dec. 1 Murphysboro* 7:30<br />Dec. 2 Christ Our Rock Lutheran* 5<br />Dec. 5 Sumner, Mo.* 11 am<br />Dec. 5 Carterville* 6:15<br />Dec. 8 FAIRFIELD 6:15<br />Dec. 11 WEST FRANKFORT 6:15<br />Dec. 18 at Massac County 6:15<br />Dec. 19 at Du Quoin 6:15<br />Dec. 26-29 EHT TBA<br />Jan. 5 at Benton 6:15<br />Jan. 8 MURPHYSBORO 6:15<br />Jan. 9 at Eldorado 6:15<br />Jan. 15 at Herrin 6:15<br />Jan. 18-22 at CWC Invite Tourn TBA<br />Jan. 29 at West Frankfort 6:15<br />Feb. 5 MASSAC COUNTY 6:15<br />Feb. 6 at Rich Herrin Shootout TBA<br />Feb. 12 BENTON 6:15<br />Feb. 13 at Murphysboro 6:15<br />Feb. 16 CARTERVILLE 6:15<br />Feb. 19 HERRIN 6:15<br /><br />*Ernie Bozarth Memorial Tournament at Murphysboro High School<br /><br /></p>