Some Leadership and Some Size for Bucks
by Jim Morgan
FARWELL – Bucktail boys basketball coach Dave Pentz is hoping to turn things around from last year’s 7-15 record.
The Bucks will have two important leaders returning in seniors Chuck Probst and Trent Risley. Both can handle the ball and drive to the basket well.
Probst last year in his first 12 games averaged 16 points per game. In the next 10 games he became a leader on the floor and put up 22 points per game.
Risley dropped off a bit in the season’s second half as his first 12 games he averaged12 points per game. In the last 10 games he dropped to ten points per game.
Probst and Risley have to be leaders on the court and get the other three returning letterman, juniors Willie Hopkins, Ryan Fantaskey and sophomore Ryan Prebble involved with the offense. Pentz will be looking at sophomores Josh Knauff, Derrick Long and Keifer Mason to come off the bench.
Keys to the Bucks winning are that the forwards need to let the guards take care of the ball out front. Fantaskey and Prebble need to stay in the key area for their scoring. Rebounding on both ends is going to be a big key of each game. We have some size this year and we need to use it. Risley, Probst, Fantaskey and Prebble will have to crash the boards and let Hopkins check for any cherry pickers. If Fantaskey and Prebble can score on the boards, that will open the outside a lot for Risley, Probst and Hopkins to score; whether it be driving to the basket or a nice 12 to 15 foot jump shot
Coach Pentz even has the option to go small and have speed out on the floor with his subs. This will help out with man-to-man defense and maybe with a fullcourt press.
The Bucks scrimmaged Cameron County last Friday and things were not working out. Coach Pentz said there is work to do: “We could not run our offense. There was no speed on the floor and we could not get anybody into the flow of the game. We have to be able to work through that mental part of the game and not one or two players trying to do it all on their own. You’re not going to beat a lot of teams that way.
Coach Pentz has numbers this year. Sixteen total boys are out. That is the biggest number in Coach Pentz’s seven years as head coach. The Bucks will open at Cowanesque Valley Tip-Off Tournament this Friday, Dec. 6 and Saturday, Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. Then the Bucks will travel to Sullivan County on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 6:30 p.m.
