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There might be a story of a lovely lady, but here we will discuss the upcoming Dino basketball season. While Carbon lost a handful of seniors, the squad brings back an even mix of individuals with varsity experience and those set to make their first appearances. Five seniors will provide leadership and direction, but the Dinos will need some underclassmen to step up as well.
“We’ve got some experience, but we’re young,” stated head coach Jared Butler. To that point, the rest of the team consists of two juniors, a handful of sophomores and 10 freshmen.
Size, or the lack thereof, will once more be a contributing factor for this Dinos’ team. Four of the five projected starters are hovering around six feet or under. Luckily, this is not a new challenge for the crew, who will need to make up for the lack of height with speed, agility and, most importantly, hustle.
“They scrap, they have to. That’s all we could live off of [last year], and we’re going to have to do the same [this year].” Butler continued, “If we can figure out how to mesh and who wants to do what part, if we want to play team basketball, we can be a really good team.”
The four-month season will undoubtedly present some bumps in the road, but the Dinos’ goal is to remain in the region title hunt. That will be a tall task as the collective group has all improved since last season. “Every other team has gotten way better in our league,” stated Butler.
The Falcons bring back a game-changing point guard and league MVP, while both Emery’s and Richfield’s young talent is coming back with an added year of experience under their belts. The Spartans are also big, which will provide problems for the Dinos, and they can complement that with good guard play.
Richfield, on the other hand, may be smaller than last year, but the ‘Cats are full of top notched shooters. Meanwhile, Grand is expected to be more competitive as well. “It will be an uphill battle,” added Butler.
He concluded with three qualities that the Dinos need to have in order for sustained success: hard work, team unity and reliability. “If these guys want to come together and get after it. We have good shooters, if they can find the confidence. I just need them to be consistent.”
Now that we know how this scrappy bunch came together, it is time to see what they can do on the court.